Duane Reade Inc. is a New York City pharmacy and convenience store chain that became part of the Walgreens family of companies in 2010. The chain’s visual identity has undergone two significant changes since the late 2000s, first with a comprehensive rebranding effort beginning in 2008, and later with signage updates following the Walgreens acquisition.
Design and History
For decades, Duane Reade used a blue and red logo featuring a blue “D” and red “R” in large intersecting letters. The chain, which began in 1960 as a single store on Broadway between Duane and Reade Streets in Lower Manhattan, carried this mark for roughly 50 years. [1]
In November 2008, Duane Reade began rolling out a new logo as part of a larger overhaul of the chain’s stores. [2] The new mark replaced the intersecting red and blue letters with a white-on-black logo featuring a large sans-serif “D” placed side-by-side with, but not intersecting, a more elegant “R,” with the words “Duane Reade” below in matching lettering. [1] The redesign was part of a broader effort to convert the chain’s crowded, cramped stores into brighter, more appealing shopping environments. [3]
The rebranding effort began taking shape in 2006 under then-chief executive officer Rick Dreiling, and was further accelerated when John Lederer took over the role. [4] Fifteen new stores opened in 2008 bearing the new Duane Reade logo, with seven featuring the full new store concept. [4] The chain planned to rebrand 100 of its 253 New York locations over the following year. [5]
In 2014, after Walgreens had acquired Duane Reade, the parent company announced it would update the logo to read “Duane Reade by Walgreens” on remodeled and new store exteriors as part of normal signage maintenance. The update was expected to eventually extend across the entire Duane Reade chain of 236 locations. [6]
Meaning and Symbolism
The 2008 logo change was accompanied by a shift in the chain’s color palette. The familiar red and blue color scheme, which the New York Times described as reminiscent of the early 1980s and used by many other drugstore chains in the city, was replaced with a more current earth-tone palette. [3] Shopping bags featuring the new emblem appeared in white letters against blue, purple, black and green backgrounds. [7]
The new identity was part of a marketing campaign launched in summer 2009 with the tagline “Your City. Your Drugstore,” created by advertising agency DeVito/Verdi, which Duane Reade had named as its lead agency in April 2009. [8] [9]
Typography and Design
Contemporary commentary on the 2008 redesign described the new logo as using an unadorned font with a palatable color palette. [10] The New York Post characterized the new mark as a “blocky, modern logo” that appeared in white letters on black backgrounds in some parts of stores and black on white in others. [7] The specific typeface used in the logo has not been publicly documented.
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