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.jpg) Exterior of a Longs Drugs store inDowntown Honolulu (2016) | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1938; 87 years ago (1938) inOakland, California |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | , California,United States (before acquisition) |
Area served | Hawaii (formerlyAlaska,Arizona, California,Colorado,Nevada,Oregon,Utah, andWashington) |
| Products |
|
| Parent | CVS Health (2008–present) |
Longs Drugs is an American chain owned by parent companyCVS Health with approximately 70drugstores throughout thestate of Hawaii and formerly in the Continental US.
Before being acquired by parent company CVS Health in 2008, it was a chain of over 500 stores, located primarily on theWest Coast of the United States. Besides Hawaii, it had stores located inCalifornia,Nevada,Arizona,Alaska,Colorado,Oregon,Utah andWashington, and was headquartered inWalnut Creek, California.
The first store was founded in 1938 as Longs Self-Service Drugs, by brothersThomas and Joseph Long (son-in-law ofMarion Barton Skaggs, co-founder ofSafeway Inc.), when they opened their first store onPiedmont Avenue inOakland, California. The first Longs in Hawaii opened on March 29, 1954, in Honolulu. By 1971, Longs reported sales of $169 million (~$974 million in 2023) from its 54 stores. They were incorporated during the same year.[1]
The company expanded to Alaska in 1977, Arizona and Oregon in 1978, and Nevada in 1979. By 1982, Longs had 162 stores and exceeded $1 billion (~$2.67 billion in 2023) in sales.[2] In 1987, Longs acquired 11Osco drugstores inCalifornia and one inColorado. They also sold 15 stores inArizona to Osco. Their sales passed $2 billion (~$4.12 billion in 2023) for the first time in 1990. In 1993, Longs purchased Bill's Drugs, a 20-store chain located in Northern California, for $23.9 million (~$45.5 million in 2023).
In 1995, Longs formed Integrated Health Concepts, aPharmacy Benefit Management company. They also closed 2 stores located inAlaska. In 1997, Longs and American Drug Stores Inc. (subsidiary ofAlbertson's Inc. at the time) merged their pharmacy benefit management companies to create RxAmerica, with each company retaining 50% ownership.
In 1998, Longs acquired 20Drug Emporium stores from Western Drug Distributors, Inc. 18 of the stores were located in westernWashington and two in thePortland, Oregon.Rite Aid sold Longs 32 stores located in California for $150 million (~$258 million in 2023) in October 1999, which itself were formerPayLess Drug locations since 1998.
On September 17, 2001, Longs exercised its option to acquireAlbertson's interest in RxAmerica and established full ownership of the PBM.
In 2003, Bob Long stepped down as Chairman and CEO, marking the first time in the history of Longs Drugs that a member of the founding family was not involved in the company. In 2004 Longs acquiredSacramento, California-based American Diversified Pharmacies (ADP), a mail order pharmacy. On January 1, 2006, RxAmerica began offeringMedicare Part D prescription drug plans in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
In June 2006, Longs purchased 21 retail pharmacies, from Network Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The Network pharmacies are located close to the point of care (such as hospitals, clinics, and medical office buildings), and were much smaller than Long's traditional retail stores. Longs also purchased 4 stores fromPharMerica, Inc., a subsidiary ofAmerisourceBergen Corporation.
By 2008,CVS/pharmacy acquired Longs Drugs, and rebranded all pharmacies outsideHawaii by the summer of the following year. In 2011, CVS closed the 90,000 sq ft (8,400 m2) flagship superstore on 5100 Broadway in Oakland, CA, due to property redevelopment plans.[3]
On August 12, 2008, Longs Drugs announced that they were being acquired byCVS Health, the operator of the nationalCVS/pharmacy chain of drugstores.[4] CVS bought the 521 Longs locations to expand its presence on the West Coast, primarily in California. The acquisition also included access to the Hawaii market. CVS Health paid a total of $2.54 billion to acquire all outstanding shares of Longs Drugs, and hoped to save upwards of $100 million in 2009 and $140–$150 million in 2010 in expenses from synergies attained from the business combination.[5] On September 12, 2008, theWalgreen Co. stepped in with an offer representing a $3.50 (~$5.00 in 2023) per share premium over the cash purchase price offered by CVS.[6] However, Walgreens dropped their offer on October 8, allowing CVS' deal to progress. On October 29, CVS had secured 78.07% of Longs shares, and Longs was merged into CVS the next day on October 30.[7] According to theSan Francisco Chronicle, CVS retained the Longs Drugs name in the Hawaii stores "because of its high name recognition and the geographical separation."[8] Before the merger, CVS had no full-service stores inNorthern California or Hawaii.
Although aCalifornia-based company, Longs had maintained stores in Hawaii long enough to become a local establishment. Its firstHawaii store, in downtownHonolulu, opened March 29, 1954.[9] In 2005,Honolulu Advertiser columnist Lee Cataluna published a short-story collection,Folks You Meet in Longs, and Other Stories.[10] It is based on Cataluna's eponymous play which premiered August 2003 atKumu Kahua Theatre.[11]
In an effort to combat Walgreens' expansion in Hawaii, CVS began a statewide expansion in 2010, with many new locations within a mile of an existing Longs Drugs.[12] However, CVS closed two 'underperforming' stores in Honolulu in 2019.[13]