Why Ray Mirra Was The Best Businessman In Philadelphia.?

 Ray Mirra gained the entry into the pharmacy career path through persistence and hard work at a young age. He started working at his uncle’s pharmacy in Philadelphia at the age of 16, to help support his family after his father fell ill. He studied chemistry in college, but was never intent on practicing medicine; he put his education towards business management. In 2000, Ray Mirra established a chain of pharmacies with locations located in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Delaware.

Ray Mirra gained his first-ever experience of managing businesses right after graduating from high school. With just an initial capital provided by one of his relatives, Ray bought a corner store with a pharmacy in the place of a former grocery in Philadelphia. This piece of news is remarkable because it was at that time that Ray had decided to dedicate himself to the retail industry, and began his career as a pharmacist entrepreneur. Ever since he started leading a successful life, he always follows what he’s passionate about. He never leaves any chances to explore and develop more talents in business.

Ray Mirra, the prominent Pennsylvania pharmacist, had started his career from scratch to move ahead in his pharmacy business. To begin with, he worked as an assistant pharmacist at one of the local pharmacies owned by his uncle Ray Mirra when he was just sixteen years old. This experience of Ray Mirra found him managing a group of assistants and professionals.

Pharmacy Firm in Philadelphia

Ray Mirra was only eighteen when he took one of his first managing jobs at a local pharmacy. With the aim to inspire others about the same industry and to increase their awareness, Ray Mirra decided to establish his own pharmacy firm in Philadelphia. As per his plan, the company started operations with a single store in 1976. The company grew steadily ever since its inception under Ray Mirra’s management expertise. It was during 2002 that the company started opening its stores outside the state of Pennsylvania including some other nearby areas like New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. Presently, the company is into business with about eleven stores in ​Philadelphia alone, along with three other locations in Rhode Island, New York and Massachusetts

Ray’s the Pharmacy is a family-owned pharmacy in Philadelphia, whose owners have been contributing to the community for four generations already. When it comes to providing top-class service and a wide range of products, this store has proved itself to be the best one in the district. Four decades ago, Ray Mirra opened his own pharmacy and several years later he started to expand his business throughout the city. Today, Ray’s the Pharmacy is considered to be among the world’s leading pharmacies.

Ray is a serial entrepreneur and benefactor. In 1952, at the age of 20, he established himself as the pharmacist’s apprentice to his uncle, who owned a pharmacy in Philadelphia. By the time he was 24, he had opened his first pharmacy in Brooklyn, New York, which became the third most crowded pharmacy in New York City. His prime objective was to create affordable drugs for people who were unable to afford them. In 1966, he pioneered further by opening up a discount drug store in Upper Manhattan on Dyckman Street and Broadway. That same year, Ray opened another pharmacy on Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn.

Ray’s First Business Venture 

Rite Aid Pharmacy comes with a proud history of serving and giving back to the communities it serves. It was founded in Los Angeles, CA in 1927 by two brothers-in-law: Ben and Fred Heslop. Today, Rite Aid’s nearly 4,600 stores span more than 30 states and the District of Columbia. Ray Mirra is known for his commitment towards the community. 

His inventive mind was displayed by the variety of jobs he used to work at- a pharmacy owned by his uncle, where he learned the skills and gained industry knowledge; an ice cream parlor that attracted attention with its unusual flavors (he made the flavors from scratch); and a grocery store that offered ethnic food items. Ray’s first business venture was buying a run-down Philadelphia pharmacy. He then became the successful owner of another grocery store in Center City. The well-known grocery store is still there even after 50 years. This managing experience of Ray Mirra later contributed to his achievements as well as to his pharmacy venture’s success.

Ray Mirra’s life is replete with instances that have taught him the importance of humility, hard work and simple living. He was raised in a family of immigrants and his parents worked hard to support the family. Even though he graduated from high school as a “barely passing student,” Ray demonstrated a flair for business, which inspired him to found three pharmacies in Philadelphia before tinkering with art. This transition into a career driven by creativity turned out to be highly successful, landing Ray with numerous awards like the Entrepreneur of the Year award from the Small Business Association of New Jersey.