Longs Drugs

Longs Drugs

File:Longs Drugs logo.svg
File:Longs Drugs continues to operate in Hawaii (31688019600).jpg Front view of a Longs Drugs location in Downtown Honolulu (2016)
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Retail
Founded	1938 (1938) in Oakland, California
Founders	Thomas J. Long Joseph Long
Headquarters	Walnut Creek , California, United States (prior to acquisition)
Area served	Hawaii (previously in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington)
Products	Pharmacy services cosmetics health and beauty products general merchandise snacks 1 hour photo processing
Parent	CVS Health (since 2008)

Longs Drugs is a U.S.-based pharmacy chain currently under the ownership of CVS Health, operating around 70 drugstores across the state of Hawaii. The company once had a broader presence on the U.S. mainland.

Prior to its acquisition by CVS Health in 2008, Longs Drugs operated more than 500 outlets mainly distributed along the Western United States. The chain maintained locations not only in Hawaii but also in states such as California, Nevada, Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Its corporate headquarters were situated in Walnut Creek, California.

History

Established in 1938 under the name Longs Self-Service Drugs by siblings Thomas and Joseph Long, the enterprise was initially funded through a loan from Joseph's father-in-law, Marion Barton Skaggs, who co-founded Safeway Inc.. Their inaugural store opened on Oakland’s Piedmont Avenue. The business was incorporated as Longs Stores in 1946. Its first Hawaiian store commenced operations on March 29, 1954, located in Honolulu. The brand transitioned to the Longs Drug Stores name by 1961 and was also listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange that year. The company marked its 50th store opening by 1970. By 1971, with a network of 54 stores, Longs reported sales totaling $169 million (~$Template:Format price adjusted for inflation) and was publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. By 1975, the chain had expanded to encompass 82 locations.

Expansion continued with entry into Alaska in 1977, followed by openings in Arizona and Oregon during 1978 and Nevada by the following year. By the year 1982, Longs operated 162 stores with sales exceeding $1 billion (~$Template:Format price adjusted). In 1985, after reincorporating as Longs Drug Stores Corporation, it ranked as the fifth-largest drugstore chain nationwide by revenue, generating $1.21 billion from its portfolio of 178 stores. The company expanded through acquisition in 1987 by purchasing eleven Osco drugstores across California and one in Colorado while divesting fifteen Arizona locations to Osco. By 1990, annual sales surpassed $2 billion (~$Template:Format price adjusted).

After Joseph Long passed away, his son Robert assumed the roles of chairman and CEO in 1991. To counter increasing competition during the early ’90s, Longs introduced point-of-sale scanning technology in 1992 along with centralizing pharmacy operations and implementing uniform pricing throughout its stores. In 1993, it acquired Bill’s Drugs—a twenty-store chain based in Northern California—for $23.9 million (~$Template:Format price adjusted). That same year also saw the purchase of six Thrifty PayLess outlets located in Hawaii.

In 1995, Longs established Integrated Health Concepts as its pharmacy benefit management division. Two years later, it joined forces with American Drug Stores Inc.—then a subsidiary of Albertson's Inc.—to merge their PBM operations into RxAmerica, each retaining equal ownership. The company withdrew from Alaska during that period.

Longs expanded further by acquiring twenty Drug Emporium stores in western Washington and Portland, Oregon from Western Drug Distributors in 1998. Following Eckerd’s acquisition of Genovese Drug Stores later that year, Longs remained the last major drugstore chain under family control. In October 1999, Rite Aid sold thirty-eight former PayLess Drug locations in California to Longs for $150 million (~$Template:Format price adjusted).

In the year 2000, Robert Long stepped down as CEO—marking the first time since inception that no family member led the company. Facing mounting pressure from dominant drugstore competitors, the company undertook supply chain restructuring and shuttered fourteen underperforming outlets. On September 17, 2001, Longs exercised its option to acquire full ownership of RxAmerica by purchasing Albertson's share.

Warren F. Bryant was appointed CEO in 2002. Robert Long retired as chairman a year later with Bryant succeeding him. In April of that year, the company acquired American Diversified Pharmacies—a Sacramento-based mail-order pharmacy service. Under Bryant’s leadership, corporate staffing was reduced by approximately one hundred seventy positions, purchasing and distribution were centralized; automated dispensing systems were installed, and older store locations underwent renovations.

By 2006, RxAmerica expanded its offerings to include Medicare Part D prescription plans across thirty-five states plus Washington D.C. That June saw Longs acquire Network Pharmaceuticals—a chain of twenty-four pharmacies primarily located near hospitals and medical offices—which differed from their traditional retail format. In early January of the following year, four additional stores were purchased from PharMerica.

In March of 2007, an announcement confirmed closure of thirty-one stores across four Western states—effectively ending operations in Colorado, Washington, and Oregon. Later that year marked the launch of Hawaii’s first retail-based medical clinic within a Longs store.

With Walgreens planning entry into Hawaii during that period, Longs responded by opening six new locations within the state in 2007.

A storefront for Longs Drugs.

Longs Drugs storefront located in South San Francisco, California, featuring signage announcing an upcoming CVS/pharmacy opening.

Acquisition by CVS

On August 12, 2008, CVS revealed plans to purchase the Longs chain, consisting of 521 drugstores, aiming to strengthen its foothold along the West Coast and enter the Northern California and Hawaii markets. The total payment made by CVS Health to acquire all outstanding Longs Drugs shares amounted to $2.54 billion.

On September 12, 2008, Walgreens entered the bidding with a proposal that included a premium of $3.50 (~$Template:Format price in Template:Inflation/year) per share over CVS' cash offer. Nevertheless, the majority of Longs shareholders declined Walgreens’ bid, primarily due to regulatory concerns. Walgreens subsequently withdrew its proposal on October 8, allowing CVS to proceed with the acquisition. By October 29, CVS had obtained ownership of 78.07% of Longs shares, and the merger was finalized the following day on October 30. After the merger was completed, Longs’ corporate headquarters were closed and approximately 800 employees were laid off.

The integration of Longs into CVS did not yield immediate gains. While it established CVS as a dominant national player, several Californian markets experienced stagnant or even reduced market shares during the initial years following the merger. In 2011, CVS shuttered its flagship superstore located at 5100 Broadway in Oakland, California—a facility spanning 90,000 sq ft (8,400 m²)—due to redevelopment initiatives affecting the property.

Ongoing Presence in Hawaii

At the moment of acquisition, Longs operated 39 outlets across Hawaii. The decision was made to retain the Longs Drugs brand within the Hawaiian market due to its strong local recognition and the physical distance from the mainland. Both management teams and staff members were preserved, with no intentions to alter store formats.

To counter Walgreens' growth in Hawaii, CVS embarked on a broad expansion across the state starting in 2010, establishing numerous new outlets often located within a mile of existing Longs Drugs stores. In July 2010, Longs introduced the first full-scale drive-through pharmacy on the island in Pearl City. Two additional Longs stores were launched by CVS in 2014, one in Honolulu and another in Kapa'a. Beginning April 2014, customers were required to enroll in CVS Extracare programs to access promotional pricing at Longs. In 2015, CVS expanded its footprint by acquiring 10 Mina Pharmacy sites in Hawaii, with plans to rebrand six of these as Longs Pharmacy outlets.

Despite growth efforts, CVS shuttered two stores in Honolulu labeled as underperforming in 2019. Subsequently, in 2022, closures included two Honolulu locations along with stores in Hilo and Wahiawa. The Ewa Beach store was announced for closure in June 2024. Additionally, the Ward Village location ceased operations in June 2025.

Longs in popular culture

In 2005, Lee Cataluna, a columnist for the Honolulu Advertiser, released a collection of short stories titled Folks You Meet in Longs, and Other Stories. This book draws inspiration from Cataluna's play of the same name, which debuted in August 2003 at the Kumu Kahua Theatre.

From 1997 through 2008, Longs Drug served as the title sponsor for the Longs Drug Challenge, a 72-hole golf tournament included in the LPGA Tour. The competition was held in the Sacramento region for a decade before relocating to Danville in 2006. Following CVS's acquisition of Longs, the tournament was renamed the CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. CVS decided not to extend its sponsorship agreement with the LPGA beyond 2010.

External links

• Longs Drugs official website
• Longs Drugs Weekly Ad Page