STORY OF REXALL THE PHARMACY

Story of Rexall The Pharmacy

Story of Rexall The Pharmacy

Rexall was a chain of North American drugstores, and the name of their store-branded products. The stores, having roots in the federation of United Drug Stores starting in 1902, licensed the Rexall brand name to as many as 12,000 drug stores across the United States from 1920 to 1977. (The "Rex" in the name came from the common Rx abbreviation for drug prescriptions.) Since 1985, it has been the name of over-the-counter drugs and drugstores in Canada operated by the Katz Group of Companies, and of health supplements in the United States.

Many believe the Rexall name was derived from the words "Rx to all" or "pharmacy care to all" and since Rexall Drug Stores were found in most communities across Canada, these words held true. Today, the Rexall sign continues to be a symbol of the trusted and personalized care of the Rexall family pharmacists. It started in 1904 with Louis K. Liggett. He founded the United Drug Company in order to supply retail druggists with affordable, high-quality products. Sound familiar? It should. Eventually these products became known as Rexall Brand products.

In 1902, Louis K. Liggett persuaded 40 independent drug stores to invest $4,000 in a retailers' cooperative called United Drug Stores, which sold products under the Rexall name. After World War I, the cooperative established a franchise arrangement whereby independently owned retail outlets adopted the Rexall trade name and sold Rexall products. The company was based in Boston, in an area now occupied by Northeastern University.

The Rexall Train of March to November 1936 toured the United States and Canada to promote Rexall drug store products, and to provide the equivalent of a national convention for local Rexall druggists without the cost of travel. Free tickets for locals to see displays of Rexall products were available at local Rexall drug stores. The 29,000 mile tour went to 47 of the 48 contiguous states (missing Nevada) and to parts of Canada. The blue and white train of 12 air-conditioned Pullman cars with displays in 4 cars, convention facilities in 4 cars and a dining car was hauled by a streamlined 4-8-2 Mohawk locomotive, No 2783 from the New York Central Railroad. It was the million dollar brainchild of Louis Liggett, who travelled in the rear observation car.

Justin Whitlock Dart, formerly of the Walgreens drugstore chain, took control of Boston-based United Drug Company in 1943. The chain operated under the Liggett, Owl, Sonta, and Rexall brands, which Dart rebranded under the Rexall name.

Rexall gained national exposure through its sponsorship of two famous classic American radio programs of the 1940s and 1950s: Amos and Andy and The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show. Both shows were often opened by an advertisement from an actor (Griff Barnett) portraying "your Rexall family druggist", and included the catch phrase "Good health to all from Rexall." They also sponsored the Jimmy Durante Show and there are references by the character ...