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Jean Coutu Group

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The Jean Coutu Group (PJC) Inc. TSX: PJC is a Canadian company headquartered in Longueuil, Quebec with its Jean Coutu Group (PJC) U.S.A. Inc. in Warwick, Rhode Island. The company was once the second largest distributor and retailer of pharmaceuticals and related products in North America with 1,800 corporately owned drug stores, which have been sold to Rite Aid and CVS. There are still 268 franchises throughout Canada.

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In the United States, Jean Coutu used to primarily operate along the east coast, trading as Brooks Pharmacy in New England and Eckerd Pharmacy from Upstate New York and Pennsylvania south to Georgia; however they sold off their US operations in a deal with Rite Aid and CVS. Coutu purchased Brooks in 1994 from the now-defunct Revco drug chain. (Revco had only acquired Brooks a few months earlier as part of its acquisition of Hook's-SupeRx, Inc, once a large operator of several pharmacy chains.) In mid-2004, Coutu acquired more than half of the Eckerd store network (mainly units along the eastern seaboard) from department store retailer J.C. Penney and has since continued to operate those stores under the Eckerd name. From 1999 to 2004 the chain was the second fastest growing retailer in the world.[1] On August 24, 2006 Rite Aid announced that it would acquire 1,858 Jean Coutu's Eckerd and Brooks US operations for $1.45bn in cash and issuing stock giving Jean Coutu a 32% equity stake in Rite Aid.[2] Rite Aid announced the acquisition completed on June 4, 2007.[3]

The company is also known for its private "Personnelle" which produce a wide variety of products such as cosmetics, papers, pharmaceutical products, etc.

The company was co-founded in 1969 by the namesake, as a pharmacy in the East end of Montreal. In 1973 Jean Coutu bought a warehouse and started the franchising operations which would eventually make the company a pharmaceuticals retail conglomerate.