Arbor Drugs was a chain of drug stores based in

Troy, Michigan Troy is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. Its population was 87,294 at the 2020 U.S. census, making Troy the most populous city in the county and the 13th most-populous municipality in the state. Troy is a northern suburb of Me ...

. It was founded by Eugene Applebaum in 1974, when five stores owned by Applebaum were re-named after his Ann Arbor-based store. In 1986, the chain went public, opening on NASDAQ under the stock symbol ARBR. Through the years, the chain grew, by opening stores and acquiring rival chains, such as Sentry Drugs in 1986 and M&R in 1994. By 1998, the chain held a 45% market share in the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

area. In 1979, the chain was one of the first to offer computerized prescriptions, and by 1989, the entire chain's records were linked together. By 1994, half the chain's sales were pharmacy-related. A scandal broke out in July 1993 when it was revealed that the chain had overcharged the health insurance company

Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBS, BCBSA) is a federation, or supraorganization, of, in 2022, 34 independent and locally operated BCBSA companies that provide health insurance in the United States to more than 106 million people. It was ...

at least $17 million in prescriptions since 1988. The two sides later settled for $15 million, but only one year later, Arbor was once again involved in a controversy over overcharging

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and per ...

claims. Eventually, all charges, both criminal and civil, were dropped. By 1997, the drug store chain was the nation's eighth largest, having 207 locations throughout southeastern Michigan. In 1997, revenues totaled $962.8 million.

CVS Corporation CVS Health Corporation (previously CVS Corporation and CVS Caremark Corporation) is an American healthcare company that owns CVS Pharmacy, a retail pharmacy chain; CVS Caremark, a pharmacy benefits manager; and Aetna, a health insurance provi ...

announced on February 9, 1998, that it would be purchasing Arbor Drugs in a transaction estimated at $1.48 billion, and creating the largest chain drug retailer in the process. Although most Arbor Drug locations were converted to CVS, several of these stores were later shuttered by the CVS Corporation.

References

* American companies established in 1974 Retail companies established in 1974 Defunct pharmacies of the United States Companies based in Troy, Michigan Retail companies disestablished in 1998 Defunct companies based in Michigan 1974 establishments in Michigan CVS Health Health care companies based in Michigan 1998 disestablishments in Michigan 1998 mergers and acquisitions {{US-retail-company-stub