Happy Harry's

Happy Harry's, a Walgreens Pharmacy, is a division of the Walgreens Company which operates 76 locations in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey. It was founded in 1962 by entrepreneur Harry Levin. It was announced on June 5, 2006 that the chain had agreed to be acquired by Walgreens [1].

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History

In 1962, Harry Levin opened his first store in Wilmington, Delaware simply called "Discount Center." He quickly gained a reputation for his always-cheerful disposition, and customers soon simply referred to his store as "Happy's." In 1965, upon opening his third store, the name of the chain was changed to "Happy Harry's Discount Drugs." Just before the company's 25th anniversary in 1987, "Happy Harry" passed away and his son, Alan Levin, took over the growing company. At the time, Happy Harry's was the largest drugstore chain in Delaware and soon grew to number 76 stores [2][3].

Acquisition by Walgreens

On June 5, 2006 Happy Harry's announced that it would be acquired by Walgreens [4]. The announcement of the acquisition was surprising for Walgreens, whose approach differs most notably from its competitors when it comes to growth. Walgreens expansion is fueled by opening new, freestanding locations with drive-thru pharmacies, rather than expanding through mergers and acquisitions [5]. However, with little presence in Happy Harry's primary market, the addition of Happy Harry's was a valuable new resource for Walgreens to leverage in its continuing expansion.

The Future of Happy Harry's

Walgreens has decided to keep the Happy Harry's name on its existing stores for the current time. However, its 8 stores in Pennsylvania will be rebadged as standard stores due to Walgreens stronger branding there. The store's original logo will also be used, but has been modified to read "Happy Harry's, a Walgreens Pharmacy." These stores will undergo significant interior and exterior modifications to conform to Walgreens standards for product display, store arrangement, and pharmacy design. Currently, task forces from various Walgreens districts around the country have been mobilized to convert the various store systems to the Walgreens equivalents. The most important conversion is for the pharmacy, whose computer systems will be upgraded to Walgreens homegrown Intercom Plus pharmacy computer software, along with the installation of satellite equipment, which will link Happy Harry's with the over 5,400 other Walgreens pharmacies in the continental United States and Puerto Rico. This will enable Happy Harry's customers to have prescriptions refilled and records retrieved at any Walgreens pharmacy nationwide.