REVCO

[Anonymous]

I don't know much about Revco, except that it was a drugstore. Was it like today's Walgreens and CVS/pharmacy? Also, where does the name originate from?

[Ames#1171]

CVS bought out Revco a few years back.

[BillyGr]

The ones that we had in the Albany (NY) area were primarily former Brooks stores that had changed over to the Revco name.  However, I don't know why they changed or why Brooks got out of this area (of course now they're back after buying the Eckerd stores).

[beachgal26]

I remember them well since they were all over the MD area where I grew up.  They were formed in 1961 by Sidney Dworkin and Bernie Shulman and operated in the OH and mid-Atlantic states.  In 1983, their vitamins were blamed in the death of 38 infants and their troubles led to a leveraged buy-out in 1986.  At the time they operated over 2,500 stores and finally filed for bankruptcy in 1988.

[Anonymous]

Revco was purchased out of bankruptcy by CVS in 1997. All their stores are now CVS.

[fa152]

I never understood why their windows were always covered up.. they were a very weird store.

[Ameskid]

BTW, that was me who made this topic before I registered. We had one in Beechmont Mall that looked like it was HUGE.

[Mobil]

I need pictures of a typical Revco store!!! Wikipedia said that Revco became Eckerd in Texas.

[videogamer75]

I thought Revco was bought out by CVS/pharmacy.

[BillyGr]

Originally posted by videogamer75
I thought Revco was bought out by CVS/pharmacy.

I know that Revco stores (which had been Brooks prior to that in our area) became CVS in this area (upstate New York).

Perhaps this was another split sale (kind of like when JC Penney sold Eckerd a couple years back, CVS bought some while others stayed Eckerd and were bought by Brooks)?

[DerangedHermit]

There used to be a Revco on Montauk Highway in Patchogue, NY across from the south end of Route 112. It was a CVS for several years after they bought Revco, then the CVS closed down earlier this year and it just opened as an Advance Auto Parts.

 Here it is as a CVS:

[jmcnamara96]

In 1996, Revco entered into an agreement with Rite Aid to be bought out. The Federal Trade Commission sued to stop the buyout saying that Rite Aid would become a monopoly in many markets because Rite Aid and Revco had many overlapping stores,and Rite Aid withdrew its bid for the company.

The chain was purchased by CVS/pharmacy in June 1997, and CVS re-branded or closed all of the 2,552 Revco stores by summer of 1998.

The sale of company can be linked back to Revco's bankruptcy which was caused, indirectly, by the purchase of Odd Lots in 1983.

[ahbb18]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revco