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Retail pharmacy chains in the United States

Osco Drug and Sav on Drugs were the names of a pair of chain pharmacies that operated in the United States. Osco Drug was founded by the Skaggs family. Alpha Beta grocery store was purchased by American Stores in 1961. Skaggs Drug Centers bought American Stores in 1979 and assumed the American Stores name. Sav on Drugs was a California based pharmacy chain that was acquired by Osco's parent company in 1980. Both Osco and Sav on stores eventually came under the ownership of American Stores, then Albertsons, and finally SuperValu before the stores were sold off. The Osco and Sav on brands survive today as brandings for in store pharmacies in the Albertsons chain of stores. Osco pharmacies can be found in Jewel stores, which are co branded Jewel Osco, as well as in Shaw's and Star Markets. Sav on pharmacies are found largely in Acme stores. Pharmacies in Albertsons stores are called Osco in Arizona and Montana stores, and Sav On in other markets, in Nevada and predominantly in Texas for example.

In 1915, S. M. Skaggs, a Baptist minister, opened a grocery store in American Falls, Idaho, with lower prices on goods. In 1917, O. P Skaggs started a chain of self service stores, and later sold the franchise in the western states to Christian Call. In 1926, the Skaggs brothers merged the chain with Sam Seelig stores, which had become Safeway in 1925. The Sav on chain became Osco's 'Western Region'.

In 1984, American Stores Company, which consisted of Alpha Beta, Acme Markets, and Skaggs, acquired The Jewel Companies Inc.

In 1989, a new subsidiary, American Drug Stores, Inc., was formed and consisted of American Stores drugstore holdings of Osco Drug, Sav on Drugs, the Osco side of the Jewel Osco food drug combination stores and RxAmerica. RxAmerica began earlier in 1989 as a mail service prescription fulfillment center with a facility in Salt Lake City, Utah.

American Stores had a strategy to build a nationwide network of pharmacies, streamline operations and advertising to gain national recognition for the brand, especially for the high margin private label products. The name Osco Drug was chosen as the national chain banner because of the large number of stores which already had that name and existed in various parts of the US. The name change was completed for the Skaggs drugstores in 1985 and then for the Sav on stores in 1986. The name "Osco" did not resonate well with Sav on's Southern California customer base. American Stores eventually made the decision to change the name of the former Sav on stores back to Sav on Drugs. Rumors circulated at the time claiming that the reason for the name change back to ‘Sav on’ was due to "Osco" having the same pronunciation as the Spanish word "asco" (oss ko), which means "nausea" or "disgust", a considerable factor within Southern California's heavily Hispanic market. This explanation for the name change was refuted by American Stores. The name change on all stores was completed in 1989, and the Sav on Drugs brand was re launched in Southern California and Nevada.

At the same time that the company was making major divestments in the early 1990s, American Stores also looked for opportunities to make strategic minor acquisitions that would enhance its position in the main markets where it needed to strengthen market share. The company's California drugstore operations were enhanced through the early 1992 $60 million purchase of 85 CVS Stores (63 CVS Pharmacy drugstores and the rights to operate 22 CVS health and beauty aid stores) from the Melville Corporation. These stores converted to the Sav on Drugs and Sav on Express banners. Later that year, 30 Thrifty and Rx Plus drugstores in Arizona and Nevada were acquired. The following year Reliable Drug (a 55 unit chain) in Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri was bought. These stores were soon re bannered as Osco Drug stores. In February 1995, American Stores spent about $37 million for 17 Clark Drug stores in southern California, which were then converted to the Sav on Drugs name.

In 1992, American Stores shifted its strategy from that of a holding company to a centralized operating company. As a result of the decision, common functions among American Stores' operating divisions (procurement, distribution logistics, payroll, human resources, etc.) were removed from the operating divisions, consolidated and run centrally. From 1992 through 1998, American Stores consolidated operations and moved responsibilities of their division offices to their headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. Although 'American Stores' food divisions retained an operating presence in their geographical locations and other centralized marketing, merchandising and other staff functions were relocated between 1992 and 1998 from Oak Brook, Illinois, to Salt Lake City to occupy the then new American Stores Tower. Pharmacy operations were relocated to Scottsdale Arizona with certain pharmacy systems related resources continuing to operate from the Chicago area after being relocated to 3030 Cullerton Drive in Franklin Park, Illinois. After American Drug Stores' move to Salt Lake City, Utah, was complete in 1998, Osco's Oak Brook, Illinois, 1818 Swift Drive headquarters was sold to the Follett Corporation.

In 1994, American Stores converted 25 Jewel Food Stores in Chicago, Illinois, to Osco Drug free standing stores. These older and smaller Jewel stand alone stores were closed so that American Stores could focus on the combination formats only for Jewel and to expand Osco's presence in Chicago as a response to Walgreens increasing market dominance. The Osco stores replacing the Jewel stores contained expanded food and produce presentations and were coined 'Osco Foodmarts'.

To extend its core drugstore business, in November 1995 American Drug Stores launched a new format called Health 'n' Home, which was a , 18,000 item home health care superstore. The first Health 'n' Home opened in Phoenix, Arizona, and by late 1997 there were 20 Health 'n' Home stores in four states.

In 1998, American Stores RxAmerica division and Longs Drug Stores Integrated Health Concepts (IHC) division agreed to merge their Pharmacy Benefits Management (PBM) ventures. Under terms of the joint venture, RxAmerica and its former corporate partner, Geneva Pharmaceuticals, parted ways, and RxAmerica combined with Longs' IHC division in a 50/50 partnership. The alliance created a national PBM of nearly 1,400 Longs and American Stores pharmacy outlets and a nationwide network of 40,000 pharmacies serving some 3 million patients under contract. Longs and Albertsons remained equal partners up though 2001, when Albertsons sold their 50% interest to Longs.

During 1999, the drugstore operations division and general merchandise procurement functions were moved from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Scottsdale, Arizona, operating as Albertsons Drug Region. In 2002, Albertsons sold its 84 free standing Osco Drug stores in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine to the Jean Coutu Group, a Canadian drugstore company. Jean Coutu re branded the acquired Osco stores as Brooks Pharmacy. Also in 2002, Albertsons, due to financial difficulties, closed several of its stores across the country including all stores in the Des Moines, Iowa, metro market. In March 2005, Albertsons re introduced the Osco brand name to the New England region by way of its Shaw's and Star Market pharmacies.

On June 2, 2006, the sale of Albertsons essentially split the company into three parts. CVS Corporation purchased the 700 free standing drug stores (Osco Drug and Sav on Drugs). By 2007, these stores were rebranded as CVS Pharmacy. A Cerberus led group of investors (who included Kimco Realty Corporation, Schottenstein Stores Corp., Lubert Adler Partners, and Klaff Realty) purchased the Albertsons stores in Northern California, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Arizona, and New Mexico forming a new company called Albertsons LLC. Many of these stores have since been sold to other grocery chains or closed altogether. SuperValu purchased the Jewel, ACME, Shaw's divisions and the remaining Albertsons stores not acquired by Cerberus. SuperValu retains the Osco and Sav on drug trademarks allowing the pharmacies in their grocery stores to remain branded as Sav on Pharmacy or Osco Pharmacy. The SuperValu owned Albertsons stores and the chains it acquired were in turn sold to Cerberus in 2013 and Osco and Sav On pharmacies moved their operations to the base of Albertsons LLC in Boise, Idaho. Certain store support functions exist in the Franklin Park, Illinois, office.