Robert Haft
Encyclopedia
Robert Haft, is a successful entrepreneur, primarily in health care, and became a household name in the Washington, DC, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, San Francisco, Houston, and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 markets for his Crown Books
Crown Books
Crown Books Corporation was a bookseller headquartered in Lake Arbor, an unincorporated community in Prince George's County, Maryland, near Largo and Upper Marlboro. It was founded in the Washington, D.C., metro area by Robert Haft in 1977...

 television commercial tagline, "Books cost too much."

After graduating from Harvard with his MBA and Masters in Design, Robert was President of Dart Group, founded national discount book chain Crown Books in 1977, which was based on ideas contained in his Masters thesis, and discount automotive chain Trak Auto in 1981, as well as founded Cabot Morgan real estate company, Dart Financial, and purchased a controlling interest in Shoppers Food Warehouse.

Crown Books enjoyed booming success in the early 1980s and 1990s, and Robert expanded the chain rapidly, and envisioned expanding the name to other lines, including Crown Software and Crown Music, some of which never saw actualization.

In the heat of a bitter divorce, Robert's father, Herbert Haft
Herbert Haft
Herbert H. Haft was a Washington, D.C. based businessman who was famous first for the development of discount stores in the drug store, bookstore, and auto part businesses, and later as a corporate raider...

, then Chairman of the Dart Group, which owned a controlling share of Crown Books and Trak Auto, fired the Board of Directors of Dart Group, Crown Books and Trak Auto and Robert as the book chain and automotive chains president. Robert counter-sued and won all claims. After Robert left, the new management rocked the 250-store book chain and 300 store automotive chain, and both previously successful chains fell into Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

With a portion of the money from the sale of his interest in Dart Group, and proceeds from a 1994 wrongful-termination lawsuit, Robert purchased 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...

 discount drug chain in 1995, founded and grew Vitamins.com which had Internet, retail, and catalog operations, and has lead National Diabetic Pharmacies and other health care businesses.

Job History

  • National Investment Group, Founder and Chairman (1999-Present)
  • Main Street Lender, Founder and Chairman (2004-Present)
  • Morgan Noble, Founder and Managing Director (1997-Present)
  • Vitamin Superstore, CEO (1997-2000)
  • 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...

    , Chairman and CEO (1995-1997)
  • Dart Group
    Dart Drug
    Dart Drug is a now-defunct chain of discount drug stores in the metropolitan Washington, DC region. It was founded in 1955, by Herbert Haft and his wife Gloria in Adams Morgan. The chain expanded to over 100 stores, and became a vehicle by which Herbert Haft engaged in greenmail activities against...

    , President (1983-1993)
  • Trak Auto, Founder and CEO (1981-1993)
  • Crown Books
    Crown Books
    Crown Books Corporation was a bookseller headquartered in Lake Arbor, an unincorporated community in Prince George's County, Maryland, near Largo and Upper Marlboro. It was founded in the Washington, D.C., metro area by Robert Haft in 1977...

    , Founder and CEO (1977-1993)

Sources=
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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