Expansion & Going Public

Going Public

In April of 1986, Arbor Drugs went public, and the growth did not stop there. Eugene expanded his territory, acquiring Sentry Drug Stores and continued to build his business on the solid foundation he had laid. 

“Not only did Gene go out and hand select every store that we opened, he also had a good talent for hiring people,” Gil Gerhard, said. “He put the right people in the right positions and pretty much let them run their departments. He had an open door policy; we could walk in any day at any time and discuss whatever you wanted with him.”

Teaching the details 

Gene would always say the retail business is 20% strategy and 80% execution. Arbor Drug stores became known for exceptional quality and outstanding customer service. They were always clean and well stocked. “Mr. Applebaum surrounded himself with good, hardworking people that he could trust,” Cindy Kopp, longstanding employee of Arbor Drugs and Arbor Investment Group said. “He was the ultimate teacher. He would let me sit in his office and listen in on business calls because he wanted me to learn how to handle things.”