Duane Reade

Duane Reade is a chain of drugstores/convenience stores, primarily located in New York City.

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History

Founded in 1960, the chain started with three stores, named after the location of the company's warehouse between Duane and Reade Streets on Broadway in lower Manhattan.^[1] Duane Reade completed its initial public offering (IPO) on February 10, 1998. It traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol DRD until August 2, 2004, when it was acquired by Oak Hill Capital Partners and taken private.

Expansion

The chain has greatly expanded in recent years, growing from 67 stores in 1997 to 241 stores at the end of 2003. Sales for the 2003 fiscal year totaled $1.4 billion. Almost all of the stores are in New York City or in the immediate suburbs. The chain is famous for fitting its stores into awkwardly shaped locations, meaning that many locations are multiple levels with odd layouts. In 2005, the chain lost $100 million, attributed to lack of customer service, lax standards, poor management, litigation, and a large CEO retirement package.^{[citation needed]}

Richard W. Dreiling, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "In March 2006, we announced Duane Reade Full Potential, our six point strategic plan designed to transform and improve the business, and strengthened our management team. I am pleased to report that we are off to a solid start on what promises to be an exciting phase of the Company's path to sales growth and improved profitability. During the first quarter, we continued to realize strong growth in front-end same-store sales driven by improvements across nearly all merchandise categories. On a sequential basis, we generated an improvement in Adjusted FIFO EBITDA that is consistent with our previously provided guidance, and our working capital and cash flow initiatives were in line with our plan.

"It is important to note that while we are making solid progress, we view 2006 as a transitional year during which many operational improvements will be made to the business. To that end, we expect it to take time for these changes to significantly impact our financial results, and therefore, we do not anticipate a straight line to the top."^{[citation needed]}

Criticism

Duane Reade has also been accused of encroachment (overly aggressive expansion, in which one Duane Reade is so close to another that they end up competing). This is evident in various neighborhoods where there are from three to five Duane Reades within three city blocks of each other.

Duane Reade's embattled CEO Anthony Cuti was replaced in November, 2005, by Richard Dreiling COO of San Francisco-area-based Longs Drugs stores and an industry veteran.

Two labor unions and Duane Reade Holdings Inc. struck a deal April 11, 2006 to close a five-year contract dispute at 141 drug stores, including 13 on Long Island. The three-year deal covers more than 2,600 clerks, cashiers, pharmacy clerks, pharmacy technicians and photo technicians at stores in New York City and Long Island, and it brings to a close a labor dispute that dates from 2001, when the previous contract expired.^{[citation needed]} As part of the deal, Duane Reade and the unions settled all outstanding union and company claims before the National Labor Relations Board.^{[citation needed]}

After nearly five years, Duane Reade finally agreed to settle with Disabled In Action, and it is hoped that the settlement, the first of its kind in New York, will provide a blueprint for other large retail stores, in New York and across the U.S.^{[citation needed]} Duane Reade pledged to make all of its stores ADA-compliant in the next two years.^{[citation needed]}

On Nov 20, 2007 (The Record - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) Duane Reade International Inc. has agreed to pay $200,000 to settle charges it sold expired or overpriced non-prescription drugs, infant formula, baby food and other products at its New Jersey stores. Duane Reade agreed to pay $175,000 in civil penalties and to reimburse the state $25,000 in investigative costs and attorneys' fees.

An additional $100,000 in civil penalties was suspended if the company adheres to the settlement over the next year.

The six-count complaint was filed in state Superior Court in Hackensack by the Attorney General's Office and the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs last December.

Inspections conducted by Consumer Affairs found violations at Duane Reade stores in Edgewater, Fort Lee, Hackensack, Maywood, Bayonne, Jersey City, Newark, Union City and West New York.

Without admitting any liability or wrongdoing, Duane Reade agreed to comply with state's laws and regulations governing its business practices, including the Consumer Fraud Act, the Weights and Measures Act and the Refund Policy Disclosure Act

"We will be monitoring the company to ensure Duane Reade abides by this agreement," Attorney General Anne Milgram said in a statement.

In a statement, Duane Reade said it was "pleased to have worked with the New Jersey attorney general to bring this matter to a resolution in a cooperative and expeditious manner.

"Our No. 1 priority is to provide our customers with a wide variety of safe and affordable merchandise to meet their needs, and we look forward to continuing to serve our valued customers in the New Jersey market."

This is Duane Reade's second run-in with state regulators. In 2006, the company paid $50,000 and agreed to comply with the state's Consumer Fraud Act following allegations that it sold expired non-prescription drugs, infant formula and baby food.

Anti Duane Reade Campaign in New York City

Embarrassing and unintelligent customer service and pricing policy leaded to formatting of whole anti duane reade culture in new york city: starting from Anti-DR posters and blogs to video and songs.

References

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/846695/