by Richard Schenker
September 10, 2025–In 1997, I made one of the hardest but best decisions of my career. I left a high-profile loyalty marketing role with my first employer, the Hudson’s Bay Company, where I had very successfully built and grown the Bay’s first customer loyalty program, Bay Card Dollars. Walking away from that success to go to Shoppers Drug Mart, I accepted what felt more like a question than a certainty: did Shoppers Drug Mart really need a store-wide loyalty program?
At that time, Shoppers Drug Mart already had three strong loyalty programs. The much-loved Cosmetics Club had a devoted core female shopper following. The Seniors Club offered discounts on front store merchandise to seniors. The Baby Club provided new mothers with valuable baby information, samples, and offers. Yet the most powerful “loyalty program” at Shoppers Drug Mart wasn’t even branded as one. HealthWatch in the pharmacy, built trust and lifelong patient connections with the store pharmacists, by helping patients understand their medications, manage disease states, and improve their health. What Shoppers Drug Mart lacked was a way to connect the front store with the back store; the head with the heart. That became my mission. It led to an extensive body of strategic and financial work in order to shape the customer loyalty strategy, design, and value proposition for the company. This in-depth effort eventually gave rise to the birth of Shoppers Optimum.
After much internal debate and rigour, and a serious temptation to join the turnkey Air Miles Reward Program, Shoppers Optimum was piloted in Kingston, Halifax, and Calgary in early 1999. Each market tested a different reward structure. The program’s design was shaped by customer research, which fine-tuned the value proposition, and by the involvement of every area of the business. The results were astounding. Customers and employees embraced the program with enthusiasm, far exceeding business expectations. For the first time, Shoppers had an enterprise-wide loyalty program that singularly celebrated and rewarded the full customer shopping relationship.
After 16 months of testing, the new ownership group led by KKR, and including CIBC, Bain Capital, and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, approved a national launch on September 10, 2000. I will never forget that day. From the boardroom to cashiers across the country, the entire company was united behind one purpose: the launch of Shoppers Optimum from coast-to-coast. With its introduction, the three paper-based programs: Cosmetics Club, Seniors Club, and Baby Club were wound down and replaced with Shoppers Optimum. The transition was celebrated with great fanfare by customers and employees alike. A decision to allow employees to participate in this new program created a new level of extraordinary ambassadorship. Store employees instantly became passionate advocates, sharing their own rewarding program experiences with customers. It was organic and authentic enthusiasm which was infectious with all Shoppers Drug Mart customers.
The launch came with the largest marketing campaign in Shoppers Drug Mart history at that time. Excitement swept across Canada, fueled by television, radio, outdoor, print, and in-store promotions. But something even more memorable set the campaign apart. For the first time in Canada, two stretch Hummer vehicles were brought into the country, wrapped in Shoppers Optimum branding, and sent on a cross-country promotional tour. One started in Newfoundland, where Terry Fox had begun his Marathon of Hope years earlier. The other began in Toronto, heading west to Vancouver. For six weeks, the Hummers visited more than 60 cities and towns. They created a spectacle everywhere they went and generated a wave of positive PR. Media across the country reported on their day-to-day and hour-to-hour locations creating a major scene in every town and city they visited. Tens of thousands of Canadians enrolled directly from these tours. The Hummers became symbols of change, representing the move from paper-based clubs to something modern, exciting, and unifying. I still smile remembering the Toronto International Film Festival, when a hired Austin Powers look-alike popped out of the Shoppers Optimum Hummer sunroof, stealing all the cameras away from the Hollywood stars on the red carpet during the premiere screenings.
The national launch exceeded every expectation. Very aggressive enrollment targets set for the first 52 weeks were achieved in just six weeks. By the end of year one, more than six million Canadians had joined. Many redeemed rewards after their very first purchase, thanks to the abundance of store-wide bonusing opportunities. Shoppers Optimum quickly became a household name, woven into everyday Canadian life. The program was designed for simplicity, real value, and instant gratification, all trailblazing qualities in loyalty at the time.
In 2002, a co-branded bank credit card was introduced. It allowed members to earn points wherever they shopped, further driving redemptions and store traffic. When I left Shoppers in 2003 to join LoyaltyOne (owner and operator of Air Miles) the program already had 10 million members. It was likely the largest adult female database in the country and had become Canada’s most loved loyalty program.
When Loblaw purchased Shoppers Drug Mart in 2014, Shoppers Optimum was recognized as one of its most valuable assets. In 2018, the merger of Shoppers Optimum and PC Plus created PC Optimum, uniting 11 million Optimum members with 8 million PC Plus members. The result was a loyalty powerhouse that continues to shape Canadian retail. It was gratifying to see Loblaw preserve the essence of the original program. That decision confirmed both its business value and customer appeal.
As I reflect on my 30-plus years in loyalty, nothing compares to what was achieved at Shoppers Drug Mart. The conception, launch, and success of Shoppers Optimum remain the pinnacle of my professional life. Some call me “The Father of Optimum,” but the truth is this was a team effort. My inspiring mentor and amazing manager, Neil Everett, gave me the freedom to dream big and deliver something extraordinary. My direct reports, Marshall Warkentin, brought marketing creativity and energy, while Nadine Rubin ensured flawless operational execution. Countless others contributed in ways too numerous to list, but their efforts are still deeply admired 25 years later.
What we built was more than a program. It was a bond of trust between Shoppers Drug Mart and millions of Canadians. It proved that when a company listens, innovates, and invests in its customers, magic happens.
Optimum was, and still is, a gift. Twenty-five years later it continues to delight, inspire, and differentiate. Even now, when I mention my role in creating Shoppers Optimum, I am met with heartfelt praise and personal stories of gratitude, often from women who relied on the program in their daily lives. For me, Shoppers Optimum will always be a source of pride and gratitude.
So today, I raise a heartfelt toast. To the store and corporate employees who made Shoppers Optimum a reality. To the visionary leaders: the late CEO David Bloom, the late Vice-Chairman Herb Binder, former President & COO Stan Thomas, the late EVP Marketing Gord Stromberg, former CMO Neil Everett, and former CIO Bruce Burgetz who all had the courage to believe in it. And to the millions of customers who embraced the program and made it their own. You are the true reason Optimum has endured and thrived.
As I mark this milestone, I celebrate the past with pride and look forward with excitement to an even brighter future for PC Optimum.
Richard Schenker is a highly accomplished customer engagement thought leader, loyalty practitioner and partnership curator who has designed, renovated, and managed some of the world’s leading customer loyalty programs. He has an impeccable track record of success at enriching transactional and emotional relationships between iconic brands and their customers, across multiple business sectors. Richard has spent the first half of his career in senior loyalty roles with the Hudson’s Bay Company and Shoppers Drug Mart and the remainder of his career in leadership roles with leading loyalty agencies, Air Miles and Bond Brand Loyalty. Currently he is the Founder & Chief Customer Engagement Officer of Loyal Strategy Consulting, a consulting firm focused on enriching customer loyalty for leading brands. Richard can be reached at: rschenker@loyalstrategyconsulting.com or visit: https://loyalstrategyconsulting.com
