Rexall Pharmacy Group ULC is a chain of retail

pharmacies Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Founded in 1904, Rexall has almost 400 pharmacies across Canada with 8,000 employees.

History

Rexall was founded in 1904 during the early days of the United Drug Company and quickly established itself as a major retail pharmacy chain. At the same time, Tamblyn Drugs was establishing itself in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, and would eventually become Pharma Plus. These two companies would later merge to form the Rexall Pharmacy Group. McKesson Canada purchased Rexall in December 2016 for $3 billion from the Katz Group of Companies. At the time, it was estimated that Rexall had an average annual revenue of approximately $2.0 to $2.5 billion. Around this period, one of the major rival pharmacies in Canada was

Shoppers Drug Mart Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. (colloquially Shoppers; named Pharmaprix in Quebec) is a Canadian retail pharmacy chain based in Toronto, Ontario. It has more than 1,300 stores in ten provinces and two territories. The company was founded by pharmacist ...

. In 2018, the president of Rexall at that point,

Beth Newlands Campbell Beth Newlands Campbell was the President of Rexall Drugstore, a Canadian pharmaceutical chain owned by McKesson Canada. She graduated from Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences with a business degree. Newlands Campbell spent 27 ye ...

, announced that the Pharma Plus brand would be discontinued and all stores would be converted to Rexall in order to create a more consistent look for the chain. The company was in partnership with

Air Miles Air Miles is a group of loyalty programs operated by different companies in each region where the brand operates - the programs are available in Canada, the Netherlands, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Points are earned on purchases ...

, which Rexall accepted as a

loyalty program A loyalty program or rewards program is a marketing strategy designed to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use the services of one or more businesses associated with the program. Single-company vs. coalition programs Loyalty progr ...

. In May 2020, Rexall discontinued its partnership with Air Miles as a loyalty program at its stores and created its own loyalty program called Be Well, with which customers can collect points in order to redeem in-store items, similar to Air Miles. In January 2024, ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' reported that McKesson had begun exploring the possibility of selling Rexall to potential buyers. On September 5, Birch Hill Equity Partners (BHEP) announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with McKesson Corporation to acquire Rexall Pharmacy Group. On December 20, 2024, BHEP completed the purchase of the company.

References

External links

* * Canadian pharmacy brands 2016 mergers and acquisitions Pharmacies of Canada Canadian companies established in 1904 McKesson Corporation 2024 mergers and acquisitions {{canada-retail-company-stub 1904 establishments in Ontario Companies based in Mississauga