Longs Drug Stores yesterday announced plans to purchase three small retail pharmacies in Hawai'i from a Florida company as part of a new expansion strategy.

Longs said it has agreed to purchase three PharMerica Inc. pharmacies in Hawai'i and one in California. The transaction is expected to be completed in 60 to 90 days.

The Hawai'i pharmacies being acquired are the IPC Pharmacy in Kailua on O'ahu, and two on Maui, in Kihei and Wailuku.

The four pharmacies being acquired by Longs average 1,800 square feet and will be renamed Longs Pharmacy upon completion of the sale. Financial terms of the purchase were not disclosed.

The acquisition comes as national drugstore chain Walgreens is pushing ahead with plans to open its first stores in Hawai'i, but is also part of a Longs strategy to expand by adding small pharmacies to the chain of mostly large general merchandise stores featuring broad healthcare sections and pharmacies.

California-based Longs in June bought a company with 21 retail pharmacies averaging 1,100 square feet primarily in or near medical facilities around Los Angeles, and last month bought and expanded the small neighborhood Gulick Pharmacy in Kalihi.

The Gulick Pharmacy marked the first time since 1999 that Longs opened a new store in Hawai'i.

After completing the Phar-Merica purchase, Longs will have 35 stores in Hawai'i.

PharMerica, a subsidiary of AmerisourceBergen Corp., will continue to operate five other pharmacies in Hawai'i that serve long-term-care patients at skilled-nursing, sub-acute and assisted-living facilities.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.