Hi-School Pharmacy Inc. is a chain of drugstores and hardware stores based in Vancouver, Washington, United States. It has 26 locations in the Pacific Northwest states of Oregon and Washington.[1] Until a 2003 buyout by Walgreen's, it was one of the largest pharmacy chains in the Pacific Northwest, with 42 stores.[2]
History
editThe High School Store was founded by Edith and Ira Nelson as a hardware store and named for the adjacent Vancouver High School on Main Street in Vancouver. The business was sold to Ken and Matt Zapp in 1939, who renamed it to Hi-School Pharmacy after adding a pharmacy. It expanded into an adjacent building—formerly a Safeway grocery store—and was sold to Val Mowan in 1948.[3]
Mowan sold the Hi-School Pharmacy to Steve and Jan Oliva in 1967 and the building was expanded to 22,000 square feet (2,000 m2). A second location opened in 1971 and within a decade the chain had grown to 11 stores.[4][5] Hi-School remained a private company as it continued to grow through the 1990s; by 2003, it had 37 stores in Oregon and Washington and 650 employees.[6] The company was the 31st largest drugstore chain in the United States by 2003, when it reached its peak of 42 stores in California, Oregon, and Washington. Its hardware stores were co-branded as True Value outlets.[7]
In August 2003, the company sold all 11 of its stores in Clark County, Washington, to Walgreens and entered into a non-compete agreement.[7][8] The Olivas retained space at the original location, which was among the sold stores, for a Hi-School Ace Hardware store.[citation needed] The chain returned to the Vancouver area in 2015 after the non-complete agreement had expired;[7] the new pharmacy–hardware store in the Minnehaha neighborhood closed in 2024, leaving three Ace Hardware locations as their last in Clark County.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b Wolf, Sarah (July 20, 2024). "Minnehaha Hi-School Marketplace to close, ending chain's presence in Vancouver". The Columbian. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
- ^ Anderson, Julia (August 27, 2003). "Walgreens buys several Hi-School stores". The Columbian. pp. A1, A4. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Herrington, Gregg (August 27, 2003). "Pharmacy's aisles stocked with history". The Columbian. p. A4. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Morley Smith, Karen (February 19, 1995). "Degree of success surprised Hi-School Pharmacy owner". The Columbian. p. G4. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Williams, Linda (June 28, 1998). "Hi-School Pharmacy is no fresh-faced upstart". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
- ^ White, Kristine (February 20, 2000). "Retail success with a Hi-School education". The Columbian. p. H8. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Oliver, Gordon (July 14, 2015). "Hi-School Pharmacy returning to Vancouver". The Columbian. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
- ^ Brettman, Allan (August 27, 2003). "Hi-School Pharmacy sells stores to Walgreens". The Oregonian. p. B1.
External links
edit
 | This United States retail business article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article about a building or structure in the U.S. state of Washington is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article about a medical, pharmaceutical or biotechnological corporation or company is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |