Overview

Discount Drug Mart, Inc., is an Ohio-based drug store chain that opened its first store in Elyria, Ohio

Elyria, Ohio

-Community:Elyria has an extensive, although financially burdened, community food pantry and "Hot Meals" program administered through the Second Harvest Food Bank and several churches Elyria is served by Elyria Memorial Hospital.-Recreation and parks:...

 in 1969. It now operates over 67 stores in more than 20 of Ohio’s 88 counties, with its corporate headquarters and warehouse based in Medina, Ohio

Medina, Ohio

In the city the population was spread out with 29.9% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 33.8% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 92.1 males...

. The store prides itself on its one-stop shopping and the variety of products it provides. Today, Discount Drug Mart has a revenue of over $550 million dollars and continues to expand, catering to smaller cities that do not have the population to attract a larger retailer.

History

In 1969, Parviz Boodjeh established the first Discount Drug Mart in Elyria, Ohio

Elyria, Ohio

-Community:Elyria has an extensive, although financially burdened, community food pantry and "Hot Meals" program administered through the Second Harvest Food Bank and several churches Elyria is served by Elyria Memorial Hospital.-Recreation and parks:...

, a city west of Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

. At the first Discount Drug Mart, customers could have prescriptions filled, purchase toiletries, and find grocery and gift items. In fact, the first store even carried durable good items such as lawn mowers and vacuum cleaners. Soon, however, Boodjeh found that customers would return these items when they needed repair, burdening his store with a service he was not interested in providing. So he opted to add to his store's shelves the hardware and parts needed to fix such items and found that this enhanced his recipe for success. Boodjeh's concept of one-stop shopping was well received, paving the way for three additional stores by 1973.

In the early 1980s, Boodjeh began standardizing the merchandise offerings among his growing chain and commissioned an architect to develop a store design on which all Discount Drug stores would be based. A 22000 square feet (2,043.9 m²) model was produced and adopted, and this design was later modified and enlarged to 24000 square feet (2,229.7 m²), making room for new product lines and a video rental business. Also during the 1980s, computer technology helped the chain distinguish itself as an innovator, with such in-store additions as electronic price scanners, which not only facilitated the check out process but also generated reports to management on product sales and reordering needs. Discount Drug also turned to computers to help map out new store displays. Using a planogram (known in the industry as a Pegman), Discount Drug computers showed store managers where and how products should be displayed.

By the late 1980s, Discount Drug was recognized as one of the hardest working chains in the country. In 1989 it ranked 34th in sales according to a Chain Store Guide list of the top 100 drug chains. Moreover, industry figures showed the chain sold more than $300 worth of merchandise per square foot. However, the early 1990s brought intense competition to the industry. Discount Drug Mart was still smaller than the Ohio drug store chains of Revco

Revco

Revco Discount Drug Stores , once based in Twinsburg, Ohio, was a major drug store chain operating through the Ohio Valley, the Mid-Atlantic states, and the Southeastern United States. The chain's stock was traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker RXR...

 and Phar-Mor

Phar-Mor

Phar-Mor was a United States chain of discount drug stores, based in Youngstown, Ohio, and founded by Michael "Mickey" Monus and David S. Shapira in 1982. Some of its stores used the names Pharmhouse and Rx Place...

, and even these chains were being threatened by the superstore concept as championed by Kmart

Kmart

Kmart, sometimes styled as "K-Mart," is a chain of discount department stores. The chain acquired Sears in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation. The company was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and...

, Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...

, and Target Corporation

Target Corporation

Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...

, which were all expanding at a breakneck pace.

In response, Boodjeh eschewed the aggressive marketing strategy of his competition, remaining content with gradual, steady growth averaging three to five new stores per year. Such conservative growth proved a successful strategy. Moreover, instead of looking to grow in areas that already featured competitors' stores, he focused on pinpointing locations that needed a discount drug retailer. Each new Discount Drug site was carefully selected to meet his specific criteria: it had to be close to the street and located near other successful businesses to ensure customer draw. And in order to keep company assets available for further expansion, Boodjeh sought out developers to purchase the land, build the store, and then lease the property to Discount Drug.

Also unlike many other retail chains, Discount Drug kept corporate costs exceptionally low. Located on the industrial southwest side of Medina, Ohio, Discount Drug headquarters were modestly furnished throughout with linoleum floors, metal desks, and a common "bullpen" room that served as office to Boodjeh and other company executives. Without the managerial "ivory tower," Discount Drug fostered a sense of community and cooperation among its executives and work force.
Finally, Boodjeh made sure that Discount Drug management remained in touch with the customer. Having observed that retaining many levels of management tended to distance the decision makers from the community they served, he established a corporate policy requiring all supervisors to spend a minimum of three days a week in each of their respective stores. In fact, Boodjeh himself served as store pharmacist one day a week at one of the chain's outlets.

Today

Today Discount Drug Mart continues to expand across Ohio, although it has no plans to go nationwide. The mid to late 90’s brought a change to the faces of many of the old stores as they were remodeled, updated, and enlarged. The face of this new store soon became a model for all subsequent stores built, with well over 25000 square feet (2,322.6 m²) of space.

Recently, a small number of stores began offering a limited number of fresh produce items such as Potatoes, Bananas, Carrots, Onions, and other fruits and vegetables as they are seasonally available. This was a departure from the store’s normal operating procedure, as many food items offered in the past were limited to those that were non-perishable with long shelf life.

Discount Drug Mart continues its tradition of remaining open 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The store is only open for half a day on Christmas and Thanksgiving.