(I) Background Information
Incorporation and Brief history of Superdrug
In this section, the history of Superdrug will be highlighted briefly in three separate periods.
(a) 1961 - 1987
Beginning in 1961, Superdrug was established as a toiletry retailing business by Ronald and Peter Goldstein who both had experiences of several years in the grocery retailing industry. In 1964, Superdrug was embodied as Leading Supermarkets Limited and later in 1966 officially started to use its present name until now. In 1966, the first store was opened in Putney, London. Prior to 1968 when the first distribution warehouse of Superdrug in Wimbledon came into its possession, delivery by suppliers was made directly to stores, i.e. direct store delivery (DSD), which is an alternative distribution model to centralized distribution, had been practiced by suppliers.
The acquisition of Elgee Drugstores which was operating a chain of five stores by Superdrug in 1972 created a rapid growth expansion of the chain up to 40 stores around early 1970s. In 1973, a computerized system for stock control came into use. Over the next decade, the chain expansion reached as many as 143 outlets with the opening of the first store in Wrexham, Wales in 1980 as well as the opening of the current head office complex in Croydon took place. Also with the record sales following on, the continuing success of the Goldstein brothers’ business methods gave rise to the extension of head office and expansion of stores and the increasing profits arising out of own-label brands. Moreover, semi-automated distribution centre was completed ...
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“Throughout the Depression years, the store prospered, even in competition with seven other pharmacies in town,” said Venier. “And we are the last one standing.” After World War II, many of Lexington’s young adults came back to their hometown to start families. They returned to Theatre Pharmacy with their own children and introduced the third generation of customers. Today, many of those children are adults raising families in Lexington and returning to the pharmacy of their childhood.
Despite the outbreak of the First World War, the store strived to give a great service to the public, giving a meaning to the famous phrase “business as usual” (Harry Gordon Selfridge, 1914). During the period of 1919 and 1924, the company started its first expansion in Oxford Street and was selling everything from make-up to toys. So far, over 15 million had shopped in the store.
Mathews, A., & Rockoff, J., (2011, July 22). Megadeal unites drug rivals. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903554904576459924273283808.html
The drug manufacturing industry is concerned with the development, production and marketing of drugs which are to be used as medication. This is one of the oldest industries in the world. The first drug stores date back to the middle Ages. Some of today’s pharmaceutical companies have been founded in the beginning of the previous century. Important discoveries have been made in the early 20th century such as insulin and penicillin who became mass produced. More drugs were developed during the 1950s-1960s such as contraceptives and heart drugs. During that time numerous organizations and declarations were established in order to regulate the industry. Until the 1970s the drug manufacturing industry remained relatively small, and then it began expanding quickly. With the development of technologies and the internet research, manufacturing, marketing and sales of drugs became a lot easier.
In 1978, when two executives Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank received news they were fired from their jobs at Handy Dan Home Improvement Centers, they decided to take something negative and turn it into an opportunity. They put their experience and knowledge of the business and industry together and developed a business plan to create a chain of home-improvement warehouses. Their idea was to create a business which would be larger and more profitable than any of their competitors. So in 1979, one year after being fired, they acquired their funding and opened three stores in Atlanta which they branded with the name Home Depot. Today, Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement chain and second-largest retailer after Wal-Mart, operating approximately 2,250 stores throughout the Americas (Parnell, 2014).
We strive to be the number one provider in the United States by investing not only in our company and technological advancements, but also in the communities in which we serve. Whether our customers are new to this world or our veterans, we know that our company can provide them with the newest and most effective products and services, while promoting the healthy communities in which they live. Through our valued employees, CVS is able to provide quality services and quality products. Retail Pharmacy Growth Strategy: CVS has managed to grow considerably in the past few years with the help of acquisition of beneficial companies and integrated the operations of these companies by creating synergy to drive higher margin and greater economies of scope. CVS is building more and more pharmacy stores in convenient locations.
There is a lot of literature on the concept of continuous improvement (CI). Studies show that CI is very important to creating competitive advantages in highly competitive industries such as the automobile industry (Bhuiyan & Baghel 2005; Li et al. 2009; Schaeffer, Cadavid, & Backström 2010). These studies suggest that manufacturing firms use CI to eliminate waste in all organisational systems and processes (Bhuiyan & Baghel 2005; Li et al. 2009). Currently, manufacturing firms use lean manufacturing, six sigma, lean six sigma, and the Kaizen methods of CI methodologies to reduce wastages, simplify the production line, and improve quality (Swink & Jacobs 2012).
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In 2004 they invested £3bn revamping stores, restructuring distribution systems and upgrading IT systems as part their Business Transformation Programme which led to the development of four fully automated distribution depots costing £100 million each. There was widespread criticism over the implementation of the programme and its failure to effectively increase efficiencies. Subsequent poor sales and outrage over director bonuses / payments led to an investor revolt which ousted the then CEO Sir Peter Davis.
Persoon, T.J., Zaleski, S., & Frerichs, J., (2006) Improving preanalytic processes using the principles of lean production (Toyota Production System). Am J Clin Pathol. 2016 Oct;3(9):278-78. 2006 Jan;125(1):16-25.
According to the Kohl’s Corporation Hoover Report (2014), in the late 1920s, a man named Max Kohl opened a grocery store in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Hoover Report, 2014, pg. 9). By 1938, Max and his three sons had developed his store into a successful chain and incorporated the business. Max Kohl had experienced enough success by 1962 that he opened a department store right next to his Kohl’s grocery store. In 1972, Max Kohl and his family’s “65 food stores and five department stores were generating about $90 million in yearly sales” (pg. 9) In the same year, the British American Tobacco’s Brown & Williamson Industries (BATUS) purchased 80% of the Kohls’ two operations. Six years later, BATUS proceeded to purchase what remained of Kohl’s. In the early 1980s, BATUS decided that “Kohl’s discount image did not fit in with BATUS’s other retail operations” and decided to ultimately separate the two operations in order to put them up for sale (pg. 9). The president and chief executive officer at the time, William Kellogg, “and two other executives, with the backing of mall developers Herbert and Melvin Simon, led an LBO (leveraged buy-out) to acquire the chain’s 40 stores and a distribution center” (pg. 9). By the time Kohl’s managed to go public in the year 1992, they “had 81 stores in six states, and sales topped $1 billion” (pg. 9). At this time Kohl’s began its expansion and within the next five years managed to top sales at two billion dollars. Kohl’s then “acquired a former Bradlees store to enter New Jersey and opened stores in Washington, DC; Philadelphia; New York; and Delaware” (pg. 9). The following year Kohl’s managed to expand into Tennessee by adding new stores. The company named Larry Montgomery CEO in 1999 and short...
In the mid 1980s, and into the 1990s, business leaders realized that a renewed focus on quality was required to continue to compete in an expanding global market. (NIST, 2010) Consequently, several strategic frameworks were developed for managing, and measuring organizational performance. Among them were the Malcomb Baldrige National Quality Award, which was created by and act of congress and signed into law by the President in 1987, and The Balanced Scorecard, which is a performance management tool that was born out of research conducted in the late 1980s and early 1990s by Robert S. Kaplan, and David P. Norton published in 1996 (Kaplan, 1996). Initially the renewed emphasis on quality management systems was a reaction to the LEAN approach
For organizations who have committed to invest and deploy quality systems improvement programs, it is a huge task for every member who is a part of the transformation. The benefits are felt once completed and outweigh the cost from a long-term standpoint. Col. Larsen offers a compelling argument that Lean principles, when properly applied, also result in significant improvement and transcends industry boundaries. Leadership from all levels must challenge traditional approaches, communicate, and execute as a team to design and obtain excellence in governance of safety.
...e different supply chain mechanism ultimately helped Morrison to be strong and stable in replying the customer. In the following there have been some strategies that have been introduced in Morrison to survive and to make profit in the competitive market.
It is one of the largest hypermarket chains in the world, the second largest retail group in the world in terms of revenue, and the third in profit.