Jack Eckerd Corp. by Bob Andelman

Jack Eckerd Corporation is one of Pinellas County's greatest business success stories. The corporation led by the 1,630-store Eckerd Drug chain has $3-billion in annual sales and is a major American specialty retailer serving consumers in the principal markets of the Sunbelt.

By 1990, Eckerd Drug could be found throughout not only Tampa Bay where there are 171 stores but all of Florida (490 stores total). The company also has locations in Alabama (42 stores), Delaware (11 stores), Georgia (165 stores), Louisiana (114 stores), Maryland (1 store), Mississippi (25 stores), New Jersey (20 stores), North Carolina (181 stores), Oklahoma (22 stores), South Carolina (80 stores), Tennessee (60 stores), Texas (408 stores), and Virginia (13 stores).

Besides Eckerd Drug, corporate operations include the 62-unit Eckerd Optical chain in five states, 29 Visionworks optical stores in two states and 189 Express Photo labs in three states.

The company became involved in photo processing early on when founder Jack Eckerd saw people buying large quantities of film, taking pictures of their Florida vacations and mailing the photos to friends and family back north. Between its traditional processing services and Express Photo labs, Eckerd is general the busiest photo processor in most markets it serves.

While leveraged buyouts have been difficult for some companies, Chairman of the Board and President Stewart Turley turned Jack Eckerd Corp.'s 1986 experience into a positive one by focusing on businesses the company knows well. Turley, who took over the company in 1974, moved away from general merchandise in its drug store chain and re-emphasized proprietary drugs, beauty aids, cosmetics, greeting cards and film processing.

"We've changed," Turley told Chain Drug Review magazine, "the company and I. We stubbed our toe and the people in this organization had the strength to pull ourselves out of the hole and make ourselves well. The experience has changed us. My focus is now different from two perspectives. I was interested in diversification. Now I'm interested in being the best at what we know how to do best. We were a public company. Now we're a private company, and our associates and I have a much bigger stake in how well we perform."

In fighting off an unfriendly takeover attempt, Turley oversaw the privatization of the corporation and a return to the basic tenants of its business and mission. Pharmacy sales alone now account for more than $1-billion annually and Drug Topics magazine named Eckerd "chain pharmacy of the year" in 1988. Decisions have been made to enhance the long term success of Eckerd. And through stock-ownership, the management team and associates, through profit-sharing, have a stronger, healthier incentive to drive the company's future success. Jack Eckerd Corporation was "re-entrepreneurized" under Turley's leadership.

For a corporation as large as it is, Eckerd lacks the intimidating hierarchy and structure of some companies. Any employee at headquarters can walk into the chairman of the board's office to talk business. It's an open environment no ivory towers.

The company has continued and extended its commitment to disseminating medical information to the thousands of communities it serves through health care screenings (colon cancer, cholesterol, vision), diabetes awareness programs, "Teach Your Children Well" programs, free blood pressure tests in the pharmacy waiting area, drug abuse education, AIDS information, and support for community health projects.

Jack Eckerd Corp. has more than 33,000 employees nationwide now, but it was once a lot smaller. Jack Eckerd was just an independent Delaware pharmacist in 1952 when he bought three drug stores in the Tampa Bay area and renamed them Eckerd Drug. From that moment forward he grew the company aggressively, becoming a Florida-style Henry Ford as the state's population exploded in the '60s and '70s. In the course of expansion, Jack and his wife Ruth became recognized as civic and community leaders, funneling millions of dollars in profits through charitable foundations and contributions to the arts (Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater) and education (Eckerd College in St. Petersburg). Eckerd was active in the business until the mid-1970s, when President Gerald Ford appointed him to head the General Services Administration in Washington, D.C. He sold the balance of his stock holdings in the company in 1986.

The Jack Eckerd Corporation Foundation makes donations to so many worthwhile non-profit groups nationwide it must publish an 8-page, alphabetical listing to keep track of them all. In St. Petersburg alone, recipients have included All Children's Hospital Development Foundation, Alleghany Health System Foundation, American Heart Association, Bayfront Center Foundation, Goodwill Industries-Suncoast, Inc., Junior Achievement, Menorah Manor, Museum of Fine Arts, Neighborly Senior Services, Pinellas Association for Retarded Children, Pinellas County Urban League, Ronald McDonald House, St. Anthony's Development Foundation, St. Petersburg Area Emergency Foundation, St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce, St. Petersburg Free Clinic, Salvation Army, Science Center of Pinellas County, and the United Way.

Eckerd employees are also giving of their time to the community, with the incentive of cash support from the corporation. The Eckerd Volunteer Program donates an amount equal to three times the hourly salary of an employee who works with charitable and non-profit groups for every hour of time spent.

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