Fred’s Pharmacy

Abstract

Throughout the Southeastern United States, one chain pharmacy attempted to fill the void of providing pharmacy care in communities that most chains would not go into. Founded as a low-cost retailer in 1947, Fred’s Corporation introduced pharmacy services in the 1970s and began to expand their pharmacy reach until approximately half their stores contained full-service pharmacies. At its peak in the early 2010s, Fred’s Pharmacy had nearly 350 pharmacy locations and 3 specialty pharmacies and had grown to be one of the five largest pharmacy chains in the United States. In addition, the company was on the verge of a major merger, which would more than triple the number of pharmacies operated by Fred’s. However, by the end of the decade, the company had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and both the pharmacy profiles and the specialty pharmacies had been sold to chain pharmacy competitors. With so much promise, what had happened to the seventy-year-old company that finally led to its closing? This article examines the history and potential reasons, both theoretical and practical, as to why Fred’s Pharmacy went from such promise to bankruptcy.