USA Drug

USA Drug

USA Drug logo
Company type	Private
Founded	1984
Defunct	2012
Fate	acquired by Walgreens; ceased operations September 15, 2012
Headquarters	Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Products	Retail-Pharmacy
Website	www.usadrug.com

USA Drug was a convenience store and pharmacy chain operating in the United States, with over 160 locations across Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. Established in Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 1986, the company's main office remained in Pine Bluff, complemented by additional branches in Little Rock, Arkansas, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Memphis, Tennessee. Its parent company, Walgreens, managed Super D Drug Stores and Ikes Deep Discount Drug—both acquisitions made in October 1997—and later incorporated May's Drug, Med-X Drug, Drug Warehouse, and Drug Mart following their purchase in July 2004. These entities were collectively branded as "Part of the USA Drug Family". Major competitors included Wal-Mart and CVS/Pharmacy. The company's tagline was "America's Low Price Drug Store".

On October 20, 2006, Steve LaFrance resigned as CEO, appointing Joe Courtright as his successor. Prior to his promotion to CEO, Courtright had served as president since September and was previously the vice president of pharmacy for Region 2. LaFrance continued to contribute to the company as chairman.

Walgreens announced its acquisition of USA Drug on July 5, 2012. By September of that year, Walgreens revealed plans to close 76 stores affiliated with USA Drug by November. The official transfer of ownership took place on September 15, 2012.

Steve Lee LaFrance Sr., born in 1941 in New Orleans, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy from Northeast Louisiana State College of Monroe. After completing his education, he began working as a pharmacist at Medic Pharmacy in Shreveport. Four years later, he worked long hours—12-hour shifts six days a week—in Pine Bluff while developing Gibson’s pharmacy into a successful enterprise. Although initially unable to secure financing to purchase an additional nearby pharmacy due to multiple bank rejections, LaFrance eventually obtained the $5,000 needed to launch his own business. By 2012, he had expanded the chain to more than 150 stores.

In the 1970s, LaFrance founded SAJ Distributors to facilitate direct purchasing from suppliers, enabling improved profit margins. SAJ grew substantially and supplied over 22,000 health, beauty, and general merchandise items to upwards of 1,000 grocery, drug, and discount outlets.

File:USAstore.jpg

Exterior view of a typical USA Drug store located in Hot Springs, Arkansas

The initial USA Drug store opened in Pine Bluff in 1968 with an opening day profit of $26—a modest beginning that far exceeded LaFrance’s expectations. From these humble origins, he developed USA Drug into the largest privately held pharmacy chain in the nation. By covering nine states with approximately 150 locations generating $825 million annually in sales and employing more than 3,500 people and their families, USA Drug became a significant player in the retail pharmacy sector. Shortly before LaFrance’s passing in 2012, Walgreens acquired the company for over $550 million—transforming a $26 opening day return into a multi-million-dollar enterprise.

External links

• Official website (archived version available from March 20, 2006)
• Corporate details provided by Yahoo! Finance