Kerr Drug was an American chain of

drug store A pharmacy (also called drugstore in American English or community pharmacy or chemist in Commonwealth English) is a premises which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmacist oversees the fulfillment of ...

s throughout

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. Its headquarters were located in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

. On September 10, 2013,

Walgreens Walgreens is an American pharmacy store chain. It is the second largest in the United States, behind CVS Pharmacy. As of March 2025, the company operated more than 8,700 stores in the U.S. Walgreens has been the subject of a number of lawsuit ...

announced its purchase of Kerr. Over the years, Kerr built a reputation as an innovative and community-first clinical pharmacy. Kerr often partnered with local physicians and universities, offering clinical services that were prioritized over prescription fulfillment.

History

The company was founded by Banks Kerr in 1951. Kerr had graduated as valedictorian from the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

School of Pharmacy. The chain's first location was at the University Mall in Chapel Hill. In January 1995,

Thrift Drug Thrift Drug was a U.S. pharmacy chain founded in 1935 and based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Company was purchased by JCPenney in 1968, and was expanded greatly thereafter, serving as the flagship chain of JCPenney's pharmacy group. The cha ...

, owned by

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC , Trade name, doing business as JCPenney (colloquially Penney's and abbreviated JCP) is an American department store chain store, chain with 649 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It is managed as part of the Catalys ...

, acquired the 97-store chain. When JCPenney attempted to purchase Eckerd Drug, the FTC required the divestment of 161 drug stores in North Carolina and South Carolina. New Kerr Drug, a new entity owned by Thrift's former president, acquired the stores. In 2002, UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Pharmacy dedicated the Banks D. Kerr Hall to the drug chain's founder. In May 2009, Kerr Drug sold its 11 stores in the Charleston, South Carolina to CVS in order to focus on its North Carolina market. The sale left Kerr with 90 stores. At the same time, Kerr introduced its Naturally Kerr store-within-a-store format that added natural, homeopathic, and organic health care and food products. The format started in Raleigh and Asheville. By August, the concept was successful enough that a third location in Chapel Hill was announced. By the following year, the chain operated three health care centers and 10 clinical hubs. In 2013,

purchased all 76 of the remaining Kerr Drug stores and its distribution center for $173 million. Kerr's long-term care pharmacy business was not included in the sale. The new owner closed 20 locations and the converted the remaining to the Walgreens name. Kerr's headquarters in Raleigh were closed in August 2014.

References

External links

Kerr Drug Online
Health care companies based in North Carolina Defunct companies based in North Carolina Defunct pharmacies of the United States Companies based in Raleigh, North Carolina Retail companies established in 1951 Retail companies disestablished in 2013 1951 establishments in North Carolina 2013 disestablishments in North Carolina 2013 mergers and acquisitions Walgreens Boots Alliance {{US-retail-company-stub