c.o. bigelow surgical

What c.o. bigelow surgical does

C.O. Bigelow Surgical operates as the medical supplies retail division of C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries, America's oldest apothecary, founded in 1838 in Greenwich Village, New York City. The company runs a single, fully stocked showroom on the second floor of 414 Sixth Avenue, offering home healthcare products, medical supplies, wound care items, mobility equipment, orthopedic and sports injury products, personal care items, and professional medical equipment sourced from established third-party brands (Invacare, Drive Medical, 3M, Littmann, Welch Allyn, Convatec, Medela, Juzo, Sigvaris, and others). Staff specialists with approximately 50-55 years of combined experience provide consultative selling, custom fittings including Juzo certified compression garment fittings, and personalized customer service.

The business generates revenue primarily through retail hardware sales to individual consumers and a secondary medical professional segment (doctors, nurses, medical students), supplemented by short-term equipment rentals of wheelchairs, knee walkers, hip chairs, and breast pumps at reasonable prices with low minimum charges. Distribution is omnichannel within a constrained footprint: physical showroom visits, phone ordering, an own-site e-commerce storefront at bigelowsurgical.com, free local delivery in lower Manhattan, messenger service for nearby areas, and mail-order shipping throughout the Continental US. Marketing relies on organic social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and the brand's 185+ year heritage. The company is privately held with no disclosed funding, parent company, or acquisition history, and operates as a HIPAA-aware healthcare retailer without proprietary technology, software platforms, or AI/ML capabilities.

Name

c.o. bigelow surgical

Legal name

C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries

Website

https://bigelowsurgical.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1838

Operating status

Operating

Short description

C.O. Bigelow Surgical is the medical supplies retail division of America's oldest apothecary (est. 1838), operating a single Greenwich Village showroom in New York City that sells home healthcare products, mobility equipment, wound care, orthopedic supplies, and professional medical equipment to individual consumers and medical professionals, with national mail-order shipping and short-term equipment rentals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: Retail sale of home healthcare products and medical supplies to individual consumers and medical professionals through physical store, phone, and online channels.
2. Equipment Rentals: Short-term rental of medical equipment including wheelchairs, knee walkers, hip chairs, and breast pumps at reasonable prices with low minimum charges.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

C.O. Bigelow Surgical is the home healthcare and medical supplies division of C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries, operating a single fully stocked retail showroom in Greenwich Village, New York City. The company sells and rents medical equipment, mobility aids, wound care, orthopedic, and personal care products to residential customers and medical professionals through in-store, phone, online, local delivery, and mail-order channels.

Product overview

C.O. Bigelow Surgical is a New York City-based home healthcare and medical supplies retailer operating as a single, unified retail store (not a software platform). The company offers an extensive product portfolio organized into six main categories: (1) Mobility Products including wheelchairs, transport chairs, walkers, rollators, canes, crutches, wheelchair cushions, and mobility accessories; (2) Home Care Products including bath safety, incontinence supplies, aids for daily living, respiratory supplies, and Golden Technology lift chairs; (3) Sports Injury & Orthopedics including braces, supports, hot and cold therapy, orthotics, foot care, arm slings, walking boots, cast protectors, and physical therapy supplies; (4) Wound Care Products including tapes, bandages, dressings, advanced wound care, wound cleansers, and pressure sore prevention; (5) Health & Personal Care including compression stockings, breast pumps, maternity supplies, ostomy supplies, catheterization supplies, orthopedic pillows, cushions, and hernia supports; and (6) Medical Equipment including stethoscopes, blood pressure monitors, diagnostic equipment, glassware, surgical instruments, and PPE such as gloves, masks, lab coats, and scrubs. The company also offers equipment rentals for wheelchairs, knee walkers, hip chairs, and breast pumps. As a licensed US pharmacy operating since 1838, the company serves both residential clients and medical professionals with over 50 years of combined staff experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mobility Products Wheelchairs, transport chairs, walkers, rollators, canes, crutches, wheelchair cushions, and mobility accessories for individuals with temporary or permanent mobility limitations.
• Home Care Products Bath safety products, incontinence supplies, aids for daily living, respiratory supplies, and lift chairs for individuals requiring home healthcare assistance.
• Sports Injury & Orthopedics Braces, supports, hot and cold therapy products, orthotics, foot care items, arm slings, walking boots, cast and bandage protectors, and physical therapy supplies for injury recovery.
• Wound Care Products Tapes, bandages, dressings, advanced wound care products, wound cleansers, and pressure sore care and prevention supplies for wound treatment and healing.
• Health & Personal Care Compression stockings, breast pumps, maternity supplies, ostomy supplies, catheterization supplies, orthopedic pillows, cushions, and hernia supports for personal health management.
• Medical Equipment Professional stethoscopes, blood pressure monitors, diagnostic equipment, glassware, surgical instruments, gloves, masks, lab coats, and scrubs for medical professionals.
• Equipment Rentals Short-term rentals of wheelchairs, knee walkers, hip chairs, and breast pumps for home medical equipment needs at reasonable prices with low minimum charges.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Vitality Medical: Online retailer specializing in home medical supplies, mobility equipment, and wound care. Directly competes with Bigelow in DME, compression, incontinence, and daily living aids via e-commerce rather than showroom.
• Allegro Medical: Online home medical equipment and supplies retailer with a broad SKU catalog across mobility, orthopedics, wound care, and daily living — a close catalog and channel analog to Bigelow's online business.
• Carewell: DTC home medical supplies retailer focused on incontinence, wound care, and mobility, serving caregivers and individuals managing chronic conditions at home. Overlaps with Bigelow's home care and personal care categories.
• Apria Healthcare: National home medical equipment provider offering mobility, respiratory, and home care products through referral and direct channels. Comparable in product scope but operates at much larger scale and via insurance billing.
• AdaptHealth: Public home medical equipment company providing sleep, respiratory, mobility, and diabetic supplies across the US. Competitor in core DME categories with substantially broader geographic reach and payer relationships.
• Rotech Healthcare: Home medical equipment provider focused on respiratory, mobility, and wound care equipment delivered to patients' homes. Overlaps with Bigelow's home care and mobility product lines through an at-home delivery model.

Broad incumbents

• CVS Health: National pharmacy and health services retailer carrying an overlapping selection of DME, mobility, and personal care products. Competes with Bigelow on convenience and assortment breadth, though Bigelow offers deeper specialty SKU selection and specialist service.
• Walgreens: Major US pharmacy chain with walk-in medical supply offerings across mobility, daily living aids, and personal care. Broad incumbent competitor on convenience; less competitive in hard-to-find and specialty categories where Bigelow focuses.
• McKesson: Largest US distributor of medical, pharmaceutical, and surgical supplies. While operating a different (wholesale) model, McKesson underpins much of Bigelow's upstream supply chain and competes for institutional DME contracts.
• Henry Schein: Distributor of medical, dental, and veterinary supplies to office-based practitioners. Comparable in the medical equipment and surgical instruments category where Bigelow also serves medical professionals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/COBigelow
• Facebookfacebook.com/CO-Bigelow-NY-163117807057779
• Instagraminstagram.com/cobigelow
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/c.o.-bigelow-surgical

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about c.o. bigelow surgical