Alex Grass
Encyclopedia
Alexander Grass was an American
businessman and lawyer
who founded Rite Aid
, one of the United States' largest drugstore
chains.
to Jewish parents, Louis and Rose Grass. His father, a businessman whom Grass described in 2002 as "relatively successful", died during the Great Depression
when Grass was 9 years old, leaving the family with little income. Grass' family relocated from Scranton to Miami Beach, Florida
in 1936 after his father's death. Grass worked a number of small jobs while living in Florida. He eventually obtained a law degree
from the University of Florida Law School in 1949 using the G.I. Bill.
He met his wife, Lois Lehrman, while in Florida and the couple married six months later.
to pursue a legal career in tax law
with the Internal Revenue Service
and other government agencies. He took a position with the Pennsylvania state Department of Revenue
.
Grass became a businessman during the early 1950s partially due to his marriage into his wife's Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
based Lehrman family. He began working for his father-in-law's, Lewis Lehrman
, wholesale
grocery distribution company in 1951.
Grass saw several opportunities for retail opportunities in the 1960s. While working for the distribution company, Grass noticed that there seemed to be a lack of competitively priced health and beauty stores in Pennsylvania
. More importantly, in the early 1960s the United States Supreme Court ruled that manufacturers could not dictate minimum prices for retailers.
Grass suddenly saw an opportunity in the retail sector, thanks to the Supreme Court ruling and lack of competing drugstores. He decided to open a store in downtown
Scranton, which he called the Thrif D Discount Center, in 1962. The store would be the first of the chain which would become Rite Aid. The first store in Scranton, which was only 17 feet (5.2 m) wide and 75 feet (22.9 m) deep, became an immediate success in the city. He quickly expanded the store, opening other locations in Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton
and Lancaster
, as well as a second location in Scranton.
By 1968, the company, which had more than 50 stores at the time, had changed its name to Rite Aid. Rite Aid's initial public offering
at $25 a share
on the New York Stock Exchange
earned the Grass family $8.75 million dollars. Rite Aid purchased a rival chain, the Daw Drug Company, which was based in Rochester, New York
, in 1969, which doubled the company's size and gave Rite Aid a pharmacy
business for the first time.
By the middle of the 1990s, Grass had grown Rite Aid drugstores into an important regional chain. Grass retired as the company's chairman and chief executive in March 1995. That year, Rite Aid had the most stores of any drugstore in the country and was the nation's number two drugstore in terms of revenue
.
Grass' son, Martin Grass, took over the company from his father in 1995. Rite Aid declined as a chain and a brand
as Martin Grass sought to expand the company. Martin Grass was fired by the company in 1999, after he was implicated in an $1.6 billion accounting scandal that nearly destroyed Rite Aid, just four years after his father had retired. Martin Grass was convicted of overstating Rite Aid's earning
s during the 1990s and sentenced to eight years in federal prison
. He is still incarcerated as of 2009. Other Rite Aid executives were also convicted in the scandal.
While still at Rite Aid, former Scranton Mayor James B. McNulty approached Grass about developing an eyesore and vacant lot at the corner of North Washington Avenue and Spruce Street at Courthouse Square in downtown Scranton, just blocks from the original "Thrif D Discount Center." Grass accepted McNulty's offer to develop the long vacant site. The four-story Rite Aid office building, with a Rite Aid store on the first floor was constructed at the site. A plaque on the side of the Rite Aid Building commemorates Grass and his establishment of Rite Aid in Scranton.
and other business interests following his departure from Rite Aid. For numerous years he headed the board of governors
of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
that bestowed him with the National Scopus Award. The Grass Center for Drug Design and Synthesis of Novel Therapeutics was founded at the university in 1993.
He served as the longtime director of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.
In 1999, Grass and his son, Roger Grass, purchased the Fleer/SkyBox sports trading card company. The company closed and was sold in 2005.
Grass divorced his first wife, Lois Lehrman. His second wife, Louise, died in 2007. Grass had four children during his lifetime.
Grass donated $1.5 million to establish the Alex Grass School of Business Leadership at Harrisburg Area Community College
. The PinnacleHealth's Harrisburg Hospital named a $14.5 million building after Grass, who was one of its benefactors.
Grass donated $1.5 million to the University of Florida to establish chair for its Center for Jewish Studies
and construct a new law school
building.
, on August 27, 2009, after a ten year long battle with lung cancer
.
Grass' funeral was held at Temple Ohev Sholom in Harrisburg. He was buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery in Lower Paxton Township, Pennsylvania
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman and lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
who founded Rite Aid
Rite Aid
Rite Aid is a drugstore chain in the United States and a Fortune 500 company headquartered in East Pennsboro Township, Pennsylvania, near Camp Hill. Rite Aid is the largest drugstore chain on the East Coast and the third largest drugstore chain in the U.S....
, one of the United States' largest drugstore
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
chains.
Early life
Grass was born in Scranton, PennsylvaniaScranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
to Jewish parents, Louis and Rose Grass. His father, a businessman whom Grass described in 2002 as "relatively successful", died during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
when Grass was 9 years old, leaving the family with little income. Grass' family relocated from Scranton to Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper...
in 1936 after his father's death. Grass worked a number of small jobs while living in Florida. He eventually obtained a law degree
Law degree
A Law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers; but while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not themselves confer a license...
from the University of Florida Law School in 1949 using the G.I. Bill.
He met his wife, Lois Lehrman, while in Florida and the couple married six months later.
Rite Aid
Grass moved back to PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
to pursue a legal career in tax law
Tax law
Tax law is the codified system of laws that describes government levies on economic transactions, commonly called taxes.-Major issues:Primary taxation issues facing the governments world over include;* taxes on income and wealth...
with the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
and other government agencies. He took a position with the Pennsylvania state Department of Revenue
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue
The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue is an agency of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The department is responsible for collecting all Pennsylvania taxes, including all corporate taxes and taxes on inheritance, personal income, sales and use, realty transfer, motor fuel, and all other state taxes...
.
Grass became a businessman during the early 1950s partially due to his marriage into his wife's Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
based Lehrman family. He began working for his father-in-law's, Lewis Lehrman
Lewis Lehrman
For the Texas judge, see Debra Lehrmann.Lewis E. "Lew" Lehrman is an investment banker who actively supports the ongoing study of American history from a conservative perspective. He was presented the National Humanities Medal at the White House in 2005 for his scholarly contributions...
, wholesale
Wholesale
Wholesaling, jobbing, or distributing is defined as the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional, or other professional business users, or to other wholesalers and related subordinated services...
grocery distribution company in 1951.
Grass saw several opportunities for retail opportunities in the 1960s. While working for the distribution company, Grass noticed that there seemed to be a lack of competitively priced health and beauty stores in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. More importantly, in the early 1960s the United States Supreme Court ruled that manufacturers could not dictate minimum prices for retailers.
Grass suddenly saw an opportunity in the retail sector, thanks to the Supreme Court ruling and lack of competing drugstores. He decided to open a store in downtown
Downtown
Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core or central business district ....
Scranton, which he called the Thrif D Discount Center, in 1962. The store would be the first of the chain which would become Rite Aid. The first store in Scranton, which was only 17 feet (5.2 m) wide and 75 feet (22.9 m) deep, became an immediate success in the city. He quickly expanded the store, opening other locations in Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton
Hazleton, Pennsylvania
Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 25,340 at the 2010 census, an increase of 8.6% from the 2000 census count .-Greater Hazleton:...
and Lancaster
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...
, as well as a second location in Scranton.
By 1968, the company, which had more than 50 stores at the time, had changed its name to Rite Aid. Rite Aid's initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
at $25 a share
Share (finance)
A joint stock company divides its capital into units of equal denomination. Each unit is called a share. These units are offered for sale to raise capital. This is termed as issuing shares. A person who buys share/shares of the company is called a shareholder, and by acquiring share or shares in...
on the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
earned the Grass family $8.75 million dollars. Rite Aid purchased a rival chain, the Daw Drug Company, which was based in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, in 1969, which doubled the company's size and gave Rite Aid a pharmacy
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
business for the first time.
By the middle of the 1990s, Grass had grown Rite Aid drugstores into an important regional chain. Grass retired as the company's chairman and chief executive in March 1995. That year, Rite Aid had the most stores of any drugstore in the country and was the nation's number two drugstore in terms of revenue
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
.
Grass' son, Martin Grass, took over the company from his father in 1995. Rite Aid declined as a chain and a brand
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
as Martin Grass sought to expand the company. Martin Grass was fired by the company in 1999, after he was implicated in an $1.6 billion accounting scandal that nearly destroyed Rite Aid, just four years after his father had retired. Martin Grass was convicted of overstating Rite Aid's earning
Income
Income is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings...
s during the 1990s and sentenced to eight years in federal prison
Federal prison
Federal prisons are run by national governments in countries where subdivisions of the country also operate prisons.In the United States federal prisons are operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In Canada the Correctional Service of Canada operates federal prisons. Prison sentences in these...
. He is still incarcerated as of 2009. Other Rite Aid executives were also convicted in the scandal.
While still at Rite Aid, former Scranton Mayor James B. McNulty approached Grass about developing an eyesore and vacant lot at the corner of North Washington Avenue and Spruce Street at Courthouse Square in downtown Scranton, just blocks from the original "Thrif D Discount Center." Grass accepted McNulty's offer to develop the long vacant site. The four-story Rite Aid office building, with a Rite Aid store on the first floor was constructed at the site. A plaque on the side of the Rite Aid Building commemorates Grass and his establishment of Rite Aid in Scranton.
Later life
Alex Grass became involved in philanthropyPhilanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
and other business interests following his departure from Rite Aid. For numerous years he headed the board of governors
Board of governors
Board of governors is a term sometimes applied to the board of directors of a public entity or non-profit organization.Many public institutions, such as public universities, are government-owned corporations. The British Broadcasting Corporation was managed by a board of governors, though this role...
of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
that bestowed him with the National Scopus Award. The Grass Center for Drug Design and Synthesis of Novel Therapeutics was founded at the university in 1993.
He served as the longtime director of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.
In 1999, Grass and his son, Roger Grass, purchased the Fleer/SkyBox sports trading card company. The company closed and was sold in 2005.
Grass divorced his first wife, Lois Lehrman. His second wife, Louise, died in 2007. Grass had four children during his lifetime.
Grass donated $1.5 million to establish the Alex Grass School of Business Leadership at Harrisburg Area Community College
Harrisburg Area Community College
HACC, Central Pennsylvania's Community College is a community college in the United States serving the greater Harrisburg, Pennsylvania metropolitan area. HACC is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools...
. The PinnacleHealth's Harrisburg Hospital named a $14.5 million building after Grass, who was one of its benefactors.
Grass donated $1.5 million to the University of Florida to establish chair for its Center for Jewish Studies
Jewish studies
Jewish studies is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history , religious studies, archeology, sociology, languages , political science, area studies, women's studies, and ethnic studies...
and construct a new law school
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
building.
Death
Alex Grass died at his home in Harrisburg, PennsylvaniaHarrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
, on August 27, 2009, after a ten year long battle with lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
.
Grass' funeral was held at Temple Ohev Sholom in Harrisburg. He was buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery in Lower Paxton Township, Pennsylvania
Lower Paxton Township, Pennsylvania
Lower Paxton Township is a township in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The township was incorporated in 1767 from Paxton Township...
.
External links
- Alexander Grass Death Notice at Pennlive.com
- Alex Grass dies at 82 at LA Times.comLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....