began building what would eventually become the Bermuda Drug Company Limited.

Armed with no more than his brain and a will to succeed, he began working with Frederick William Grantham in the Phoenix Drug Store -- which was then situated on the corner of Reid and Queen Streets, just a few feet down from the Phoenix Centre's present location, where Aston & Gunn is now. Mr. Grantham bought the Phoenix building across the street just before the turn of the century. Mr. Young moved with him. It was not long after however, that he, along with Laurie Trott, bought out Mr. Grantham and became the first head of the Bermuda Drug Company. The company operated very much behind the scenes of its public front, the Phoenix Drug Store, until November 5, 1922 when it was incorporated, complete with a board of directors -- Mr. Young, Mr. Trott and Howard Mercer. According to archival records, people who knew Mr. Young described him as `a kind man with a fine sense of humour'; people who knew Mr.

Trott described him as `a man of unbounded energy and one who was dedicated to the service of his customers'; people who knew Mr. Mercer said that his `suave personality made him an excellent salesman.' According to records, the combination was unbeatable and the company has continued to prosper since. In the beginning of the century, the Phoenix occupied only the ground floor of the Phoenix building. Above it was the Nikamis Inn where rooms where rented to tourists. After World War I, the Nikamis Inn closed down and the Bermuda Drug Company opened a toy store called the Bon Marche; this was later moved across the street to Reid Hall and renamed the Annex. The company continued to grow and, because of the demand by suppliers for wider distribution of their merchandise which was imported by the Bermuda Drug Company, the Bermuda General Agency (BGA) came into being in 1933. First located on Church Street, as its accounts increased, the company -- then and today the wholesale arm of the BDC, a building on the corner of Church and Parliament Streets. When that became too cramped, it moved to Reid Hall at the back of the Annex, occupying the space formerly given to offices and the greeting card selection, before moving to Trott Road in 1966. The area was then taken over as an extension of the Annex. Mr. Young's son, John Gibson began working part time with the company until 1932, when he obtained a pharmaceutical degree. He then became a full time employee as an assistant in the dispensary although he also helped out on the floor. It was in 1947 that Mr. Young, Mr. Mercer and Mr. Trott retired from active participation in the business that John Gibson took over the job of managing the company. A man who inherited his father's business acumen and a tenacity to make things grow and work, John Gibson catapulted the Bermuda Drug Company to its next level, creating the Bookmart and Magazine Distributors. According to BGA archives, when asked how Magazine Distributors came into being, John Gibson responded: "...we used to bring in Time magazine along with Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitan to the Island and sell it to the Phoenix. Time magazine was not happy with the distribution so we formed Magazine Distributors.'' Today, 59 years later, Magazine Distributors imports and distributes over 1,400 magazine titles throughout the Island as well as 80 percent of the paperbacks sold in Bermuda. After the formation of Magazine Distributors, the Bookmart was a natural and it was in 1955, that John Gibson took over as president of the Bermuda Drug Company. It was through Mr. Young's efforts that the Bermuda Drug Company expanded and grew. Consisting of four branches in 1947, he pruned those which he considered obsolete, and strengthened those which remained so that by 1972, seven more had been successfully added. After completing their studies abroad, John Gibson's two sons, Reid and Ward, joined the company. Reid Young eventually became President of the Phoenix Stores and Vice President of BDC Ltd., while his brother Ward, became President and CEO of BDC Ltd. Fernance Perry acquired a reported nine percent stake in BDC Ltd. in 1993, shortly after the company had bought out Purvis Ltd. to become one of the largest wholesalers on the Island.

The investment made him the single largest shareholder outside of the Young family, which at that time held 80 percent of the stock. Significant changes in 1996, saw businessman Fernance Perry become the largest shareholder of BDC Ltd outside the Young family when he, with Ward Young, bought the stock of Reid Young, who was retiring as President of the Phoenix Stores. It was at this time also, that John Gibson Young stepped down from the position of chairman of BDC Ltd., a post which was taken on by Mr. Perry. At the time, Mr.

Ward Young said that Mr. Perry, the former owner of Piggly Wiggly supermarket chain (now the MarketPlace group) had been involved with the restructuring of the retail side of the company. He also spoke highly of his brother's involvement in the development of the company saying: "Mr. Reid Young has decided to pursue personal interests and take a respite from the rigours of 35 years in the retail business in Bermuda. Reid Young's contribution to the retail business included the opening of the Woodbourne Chemist and Collectors Hill Apothecary. He was also instrumental in the purchase of Bermuda Pharmacy from the Eve McPhee Group in the early 1980s. "Under his direction and leadership, the Phoenix Centre was built and today stands as one of Bermuda's landmark retail outlets.'' It was also at this time that former general manager of the Phoenix Centre, Edmina Bradshaw was promoted to vice president, assuming total responsibility for its operations from Mr. Reid Young.

According to Mr. Ward Young, Mrs. Bradshaw, who was appointed general manager of the Phoenix Centre in 1990, then became the first woman in Bermuda to have total responsibility for a retail store the size of the Phoenix Centre. PHOTO Former President and CEO of BDC Ltd., John Gibson Young and his two sons, Ward (left), and Reid PHOENIX BUSINESS BUC