Jean Coutu Success Story
Jean Coutu is the chairman of the pharmacy retailer of Canada, Jean Coutu Group. There areabout twenty thousand people employed by the company and it has four hundred franchise stores in Ontario, Brunswick and Quebec. The first drug store was built by Coutu in 1969 and from there he built the group where he had been the chief executive until the year 2002. However, he assumed the position of the Chief Executive again in 2005 and remained so until 2007.
How he established his company
Coutu has also established the Jean Coutu and Michelle Foundation which is dedicated to fight against poverty. His company, Jean Coutu Group has its headquarters in Longueuil. The warehouse for the chief distribution of the company is in Longueuil as well. Another huge warehouse for distribution is located in Hawkesbury, Ontario. The distribution centre at Hawkesbury is looked after by Jean Coutu and the employees are workingfor the DB Ontario at the moment. The franchise of the group is under PJC Clinique, PJC Jean Coutu as well as PJC Sante Beate. The company had been one of the biggest distributors of pharmaceuticals with as much as two thousand and two hundred drug stores.
Jean Coutu's company has made its name for the "Personnelle", a personal line which is known for producing quite a variety of products like pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and papers. Jean Coutu founded the drug store in the year 1969 along with Louis Michaud. It was founded as a mere pharmacy in Montreal. It was in 1973, that the company was incorporated and the service name under which it worked was Services Farmico. By then, already five branches had been opened in Montreal. Jean Coutu changed the name of his company after thirteen years to the current name - Jean Coutu Group (PJC) Inc. and finally, it was put on stock exchange.
Taking over the drugstore industry
Jean Coutu's company entered the market of Brunswick in the year 1982, and in 1983 it entered the market of Ontario. In twenty years, he went on to acquire the rights of as many as twelve outlets of Cloutier Pharmacy, Cardieux drugstores, sixteen outlets of Douglas Drug Inc, Rite Aid drugstores, two hundred and twenty-one outlets of Brooks Drug Stores, eight of the Maryland drugstores as well as nineteen Cumberland stores.Jean Coutu was the first to open online services in Canada that would allow the customers to refill their prescriptions online. Coutu's company had earned titled such as "The Most Admired Company in Quebec" as well as "Canada's Most Respected Corporations".
Coutu earned most of his revenue from the province in Quebec. However, he has also made a lotof profit from the markets of the United States. The major competitors of his are Wal-Mart, Uniprix and Brunet. In 2013, Jean Coutu made the announcement of moving the head office of the company to Varennes from Longueuil since the office Longueuil was quite small. In the same year, Jean Coutu sold the shares of Rite Aid and does not hold any shares of it. Coutu remains as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the pharmaceutical industry of Canada and has been an inspiration to many.
Know More
Jean Coutu - Planning Calendar
- Full Name :
- Jean Coutu
- Birth Place :
- Montreal
Quebec
- Occupation :
- Pharmacist
- Industry :
- Health Services
- Networth :
- $2.3 Billion
