Shaw's and Star Market - Osco Drug

Osco Drug

Before it was acquired by Shaw's, Star Market Company had been part of Jewel Companies, and while Jewel owned Star it built many combination food-drug stores branded as "Star-Osco," with common checkstands but separate management teams. While it owned Star, Jewel also built many stand-alone Osco Drug stores in New England. After Jewel was acquired by American Stores in 1984, the Star-Osco stores were re-launched as Star Markets, and placed under a single management team. In 1999, Albertsons acquired American Stores, and in 2001, Albertsons sold its 80 New England Osco Drug locations to Jean Coutu group, which added them to its Brooks Pharmacy group. When American Stores sold Star Markets in 1994 to Investcorp, the Osco connection was ended, or so it seemed. When Albertsons bought Sainsbury's American supermarket assets in 2004, including Star Markets, Star and Osco were reunited under one corporate umbrella. By 2005, the signs on the front of all of Albertsons-owned grocery stores with in-store pharmacies were changed, adding either "Osco" or "Sav-On" to the stores' logos, to emphasize the one-stop shopping available inside. The drug store name chosen reflected which of Albertsons' drug chains operated in the specific marketing area. Because New England had previously been an Osco market area, the Shaw's and Star Markets with pharmacies were renamed "Shaw's-Osco" and "Star-Osco." Today, nearly 60 Shaw's and Star Market stores operate an Osco Pharmacy within.