Document:

<PAGE>   1
                                Exhibit 10.10(d)
                 FOURTH AMENDMENT TO LOAN AND SECURITY AGREEMENT
                 -----------------------------------------------

         This Fourth Amendment to Loan and Security Agreement (the "Fourth
Amendment") is made as of this ___ day of March, 2000 by and between

                  Fleet Retail Finance Inc., formerly known as BankBoston Retail
         Finance Inc. (in such capacity, herein the "Agent"), a Delaware
         corporation with offices at 40 Broad Street, Boston, Massachusetts
         02109, as agent for the ratable benefit of the "Lenders", who are party
         to the Agreement (defined below)

                  and

                  Back Bay Capital Funding LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability
         Company with offices at 40 Broad Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109
         (the "Term Lender")

                  and

                  Drug Emporium, Inc. (hereinafter, the "Borrower"), a Delaware
         corporation with its principal executive offices at 155 Hidden Ravines
         Drive, Powell, Ohio 43065

in consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained and benefits to be
derived herefrom.

                              W I T N E S S E T H:

         WHEREAS, on October 28, 1998 the Agent, the Lenders and the Borrower
entered in a certain Loan and Security Agreement, as amended by a First
Amendment to Loan and Security Agreement dated May 11, 1999 a Second Amendment
to Loan and Security Agreement dated September __, 1999, and a Third Amendment
to Loan and Security Agreement dated December 10, 1999 (the "Agreement"); and

         WHEREAS, the Borrower, the Agent, and the Lenders desire to amend
certain of the provisions of the Agreement to include a Term Loan in the amount
of $7,500,000.00 to be funded by the Term Lender;

         NOW, THEREFORE, it is hereby agreed among the Agent, the Lenders, the
Term Lender, and the Borrower as follows:

         1. Capitalized Terms. All capitalized terms used herein and not
otherwise defined shall have the same meaning herein as in the Agreement.

                                      -1B

<PAGE>   2

         2. Amendment to Article 1. Article 1 of the Loan Agreement is hereby
amended by the addition of the following defined terms:

         "APPRAISED INVENTORY LIQUIDATION VALUE": The product of (a) the Cost of
                  Acceptable Inventory (net of Inventory Reserves) multiplied by
                  (b) that percentage determined by the then most recent
                  appraisal of the Borrower"s Inventory undertaken at the
                  request of the Agent as reflecting that appraiser's estimate
                  of the net realization on the liquidation of the Borrower"s
                  Inventory expressed as a percent of the Cost of Acceptable
                  Inventory.

         "BASELINE COVENANT BREACH": For three (3) consecutive days,
                  (A)      The aggregate of (i) the unpaid principal balance of
                           the Loan Account plus (ii) Availability Reserves plus
                           (iii) the Stated Amount of all then outstanding
                           L/C's, plus (iv) the then unpaid principal balance of
                           the Term Loan
                  exceeds
                  (B)      the lesser of
                           (i) 63% of the Cost of Acceptable Inventory, or
                           (ii) 94% of the Appraised Inventory Liquidation Value
                  plus
                  (C)      80% of the face amount of Acceptable Accounts (net of
                           A/R Reserves).

         "CURRENT PAY INTEREST": Is defined in Section 2(A)-4(a)(i).

         "E-COMMERCE SALE": The sale of all or substantially all of the assets
                  of the assets of or Borrower"s equity interest in E-Commerce.

         "PIK INTEREST": Defined in Section 2(A)-4(a)(ii).

         "TERM LENDER": Defined in the Preamble.

         "TERM LOAN": Defined in Section 2A-1.

         "TERM LOAN COMMITMENT FEE": Described in Section 2A-5.

         "TERM LOAN EARLY TERMINATION FEE": Defined in Section 2A-3.

         "TERM LOAN FEES": The Term Loan Commitment Fee, the Term Loan Early
                  Termination Fee, and all other fees (such as a fee (if any) on
                  account of the execution of an amendment of any Loan Document)
                  payable by the Borrower in respect of the Term Loan other than
                  any amount payable to an Agent as reimbursement for any cost
                  or expense incurred by the Agent on account of the discharge
                  of the Agent's duties under the Loan Documents.

         "TERM LOAN MATURITY DATE": One (1) year from the date of this
                  Agreement.

         "TERM NOTE": Defined in Section 2A-2.

                                      -2B
<PAGE>   3
         3. Amendments to Article 1. The following definitions in Article 1 of
the Loan Agreement are hereby amended to read as follows:

         "FIXED CHARGE RATIO": The decimal equivalent (determined on a
                  trailing/rolling 12 month basis) of a fraction, the numerator
                  of which is the result of EBITDA minus cash outlays on account
                  of capital expenditures and the denominator of which is the
                  aggregate of cash payments of: interest, principal (inclusive
                  of any principal payments made to the Term Lender less any
                  amounts deemed capital expenditures for the purpose of the
                  calculation of the numerator above), capital leases, income
                  taxes, dividends, and capital stock repurchases.

         "LENDER":Collectively and each individually, each Revolving Credit
                  Lender and the Term Lender, except that all references to the
                  "Lenders" in Article 2 of the Loan Agreement (exclusive of
                  Article 2A) mean and refer to the Revolving Credit Lenders.

         4. Amendment to Article 2. Article 2 of the Loan Agreement is hereby
amended by the addition of the following Article 2A:

         Article 2A.       The Term Loan:

         2A-1.             Commitment to Make Term Loan.

                  (1) Subject to satisfaction of all conditions precedent by on
         or prior to the date of this Agreement, the Borrower shall borrow from
         the Term Lender and the Term Lender shall lend to the Borrower the sum
         of $7,500,000.00 (the "TERM LOAN"), repayable with interest as provided
         herein.

                  (2) The proceeds of the Term Loan shall be used to provide
         working capital support for E-Commerce and for general working capital
         purposes.

         2A-2. The Term Note. The obligation to repay the Term Loan, with
interest as provided herein, shall be evidenced by a Note (the "TERM NOTE") in
the form of EXHIBIT 2A-2, annexed hereto, executed by the Borrower. Neither the
original nor a copy of the Term Note shall be required, however, to establish or
prove any Liability. In the event that the Term Note is ever lost, mutilated, or
destroyed, the Borrower shall execute a replacement thereof and deliver such
replacement to the Agent.

                                      -3B

<PAGE>   4
         2A-3.    Payment of Principal of the Term Loan.

                  (3) Except as provided in Section 2A-3(b), the Borrowers may
         not repay all or any portion of the principal balance of the Term Loan
         prior to the repayment in full of all Liabilities under the Revolving
         Credit and the termination of any obligation, under the Revolving
         Credit, of the Agent, or any Working Capital Lender to make any loans
         or to provide any financial accommodations.

                  (4) The Term Loan may be repaid as follows:
                           (1) On the Term Loan Maturity Date or earlier at the
                  Borrower"s option, at any time after the sale of E-Commerce,
                  provided that in either event each of the following conditions
                  is met:
                                    (1) Availability, immediately following the
                           making of such prepayment, is not less than $25
                           Million.
                                    (2) The Agent shall have been provided with
                           the following:
                                             (1) A Certificate of the Borrower's
                                    President or Chief Financial Officer that,
                                    with the exception of those accounts which
                                    are the subject of a good faith dispute, all
                                    accounts payable by the Borrower are within
                                    usual and customary trade terms.
                                             (2) A forecast, prepared in a
                                    manner which is consistent with those
                                    previously provided to the Agent, which
                                    reflects that Availability, for the shorter
                                    of the then next 12 months or the period
                                    through the Maturity Date will not be less
                                    than $15 Million.
                                    (3) EBITDA for the then most recent 12 month
                           period, shall not be less than $12 Million, excluding
                           E-Commerce for the entire period if E-Commerce was
                           sold at the time of calculation, or $5 Million if
                           E-Commerce was not sold at the time of calculation.
                                    (4) No Suspension Event is then extant and
                           no Event of Default shall have occurred or will occur
                           by reason of the making of such prepayment.

                  (5) The Borrower shall pay the Agent, for the account of the
         Term Lender, the "TERM LOAN EARLY TERMINATION FEE" (so referred to
         herein) equal to $750,000.00 less the

                                      -4B

<PAGE>   5
         Commitment Fee, and all paid and accrued and unpaid (but only if paid
         when due and payable) Current Pay Interest, and PIK Interest (but only
         if paid when due and payable), not to be less than $0.

                  (6) The Borrower shall repay the then entire unpaid balance of
         the Term Loan and all accrued and unpaid interest and fees thereon on
         or before the earlier of (i) the Term Loan Maturity Date, or (ii) the
         Termination Date.

         2A-4.    Interest On The Term Loan.

                  (7) The unpaid principal balance of the Term Loan shall bear
         interest, until repaid, fixed at 14% per annum, payable as follows:

                           (1) Interest on the unpaid principal balance of the
                  Term Loan, equal to 11.5% per annum ("CURRENT PAY INTEREST")
                  shall be payable monthly in arrears, on the first day of each
                  month, and on the Maturity Date.

                           (2) Accrued Interest on the unpaid principal balance
                  of the Term Loan, equal to 2.5% per annum ("PIK INTEREST") ,
                  shall be added to the then unpaid principal balance of the
                  Term Note quarterly, on the first day of each April, July,
                  October, and January hereafter.

                  (8) Following the occurrence of any Event of Default (and
         whether or not Acceleration has taken place), at the direction of the
         Term Lender, Current Pay Interest shall be 13.5% per annum and PIK
         Interest shall remain at 2.5% per annum.

         2A-5. Term Loan Commitment Fee. As compensation for the Term Lender's
having committed to make the Term Loan, the Term Lender has earned the Term Loan
Commitment Fee of $225,000.00, payable at closing.

         2A-6. Payments On Account of Term Loan. The Borrower authorizes the
Agent to determine and to pay over directly to the Term Loan Lender any and all
amounts due and payable from time to time under or on account of the Term Loan
as advances under the Revolving Credit it being understood, however, that the
authorization of the Agent provided in this Section 2A-6 shall

                                      -5B

<PAGE>   6
not excuse the Borrower from fulfilling its obligations to the Term Lender on
account of the Term Loan nor place any obligation on the Agent to do so. The
Agent shall provide prompt advice to the Borrower of any amount which is so paid
over by the Agent to the Term Lender pursuant to this Section 2A-6.

         5. Amendment to Article 5. Article 5 of the Loan Agreement is hereby
amended by the addition of the following Section 5-13:

                  5-13. Inventory. The value of the Borrower"s Inventory
         calculated at Cost shall at all times be equal to or greater than
         $140,000,000.00.

         6. Revisions to Exhibits. Exhibit 2-21 (Acceptable Voting Rights) and
Exhibit 5-4 (Borrowing Base Certificate) are hereby replaced with Exhibit 2-21
and Exhibit 5-4 annexed hereto.

         7. Ratification of Loan Documents. Except as provided herein, all terms
and conditions of the Agreement and of the other Loan Documents remain in full
force and effect. Furthermore, except as provided herein, all warranties and
representations made in the Agreement and in the other Loan Documents remain in
full force and effect. The Borrower hereby ratifies and confirms that the grant
of security interest set forth in Article 8 of the Loan Agreement is intended to
constitute a grant of security interest in favor of the Agent on behalf of all
Lenders, including, without limitation, the Term Lender.

         8. Conditions to Effectiveness. This Fourth Amendment shall not be
effective until each of the following conditions precedent have been fulfilled
to the satisfaction of the Agent and the Lenders:

                  (1) This Fourth Amendment shall have been duly executed and
         delivered by the respective parties hereto.

                  (2) No Suspension Event shall have occurred and be continuing.

                  (3) The Borrower shall have provided such additional
         instruments and documents to the Agent as the Agent and the Agent's
         counsel may have reasonably requested.

                  (4) The Agent shall promptly notify the Borrower when such
         conditions are satisfied.

                  (5) The Borrower shall have paid to the Agent for the account
         of the Term Lender, the Term Loan Commitment Fee.

                                      -6B

<PAGE>   7

         9. Miscellaneous.

                  (1) This Fourth Amendment may be executed in several
         counterparts and by each party on a separate counterpart, each of which
         when so executed and delivered shall be an original, and all of which
         together shall constitute one instrument.

                  (2) This Fourth Amendment expresses the entire understanding
         of the parties with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby. No
         prior negotiations or discussions shall limit, modify, or otherwise
         affect the provisions hereof.

                  (3) Any determination that any provision of this Fourth
         Amendment or any application hereof is invalid, illegal or
         unenforceable in any respect and in any instance shall not effect the
         validity, legality, or enforceability of such provision in any other
         instance, or the validity, legality or enforceability of any other
         provisions of this Fourth Amendment.

                  (4) The Borrower shall pay on demand all costs and expenses of
         the Agent, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys' fees,
         in connection with the preparation, negotiation, execution and delivery
         of this Fourth Amendment.

                  (5) The Borrower warrants and represents that the Borrower has
         consulted with independent legal counsel of the Borrower's selection in
         connection with this Fourth Amendment and is not relying on any
         representations or warranties of any Lender or the Agent or their
         respective counsel in entering into this Fourth Amendment.

                                      -7B

<PAGE>   8
         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Fourth Amendment to
Loan and Security Agreement to be executed by their duly authorized officers as
a sealed instrument as of the date first above written.

                                        DRUG EMPORIUM, INC.
                                                       ("Borrower")

                                        By:_____________________________________

                                        Name:___________________________________

                                        Title:__________________________________

                                        FLEET RETAIL FINANCE INC.
                                                             ("Agent")

                                        By:_____________________________________

                                        Name:___________________________________

                                        Title:__________________________________

                                  The "LENDERS"

                                        FLEET RETAIL FINANCE INC.

                                       By:______________________________________

                               Print Name:______________________________________

                                    Title:______________________________________

                                      -8B

<PAGE>   9
                                        NATIONAL CITY COMMERCIAL FINANCE, INC.

                                       By:______________________________________

                               Print Name:______________________________________

                                    Title:______________________________________

                                      -9B

<PAGE>   10
                                        AMERICAN NATIONAL BANK AND
                                        TRUST COMPANY OF CHICAGO

                                       By:______________________________________

                               Print Name:______________________________________

                                    Title:______________________________________

                                        LASALLE BUSINESS CREDIT, INC.

                                       By:______________________________________

                               Print Name:______________________________________

                                    Title:______________________________________

                                        BACK BAY CAPITAL FUNDING LLC

                                       By:______________________________________

                               Print Name:______________________________________

                                    Title:______________________________________

                                      -10B<PAGE>   1
                                Exhibit 10.10(e)
                 FIFTH AMENDMENT TO LOAN AND SECURITY AGREEMENT
                 ----------------------------------------------

         This Fifth Amendment to Loan and Security Agreement (the "Fifth
Amendment") is made as of this 10th day of May, 2000 by and between

                  Fleet Retail Finance Inc., formerly known as BankBoston Retail
         Finance Inc. (in such capacity, herein the "Agent"), a Delaware
         corporation with offices at 40 Broad Street, Boston, Massachusetts
         02109, as agent for the ratable benefit of the "Lenders", who are party
         to the Agreement (defined below)

                  and

                  Back Bay Capital Funding LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability
         Company with offices at 40 Broad Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109
         (the "Term Lender")

                  and

                  Drug Emporium, Inc. (hereinafter, the "Borrower"), a Delaware
         corporation with its principal executive offices at 155 Hidden Ravines
         Drive, Powell, Ohio 43065

in consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained and benefits to be
derived herefrom.

                              W I T N E S S E T H:

         WHEREAS, on October 28, 1998 the Agent, the Lenders and the Borrower
entered in a certain Loan and Security Agreement, as amended by a First
Amendment to Loan and Security Agreement dated May 11, 1999, a Second Amendment
to Loan and Security Agreement dated September 15, 1999, a Third Amendment to
Loan and Security Agreement dated December 10, 1999, and a Fourth Amendment to
Loan and Security Agreement dated March 8, 2000, 1999 (the "Agreement"); and

         WHEREAS, the Borrower, the Agent, the Lenders, and the Term Lender
desire to amend certain of the provisions of the Agreement;

         NOW, THEREFORE, it is hereby agreed among the Agent, the Lenders, the
Term Lender, and the Borrower as follows:

         1. Capitalized Terms. All capitalized terms used herein and not
otherwise defined shall have the same meaning herein as in the Agreement.

                                      -1B
<PAGE>   2
         2. Amendment to Article 1. The definition of "Availability Reserves"
contained in Article 1 of the Agreement is hereby amended by the addition of the
following subparagraphs thereto:

                  (ix)     all Accounts processed by McKesson Corporation,
                           McKesson Pay Systems, Inc., or any entity related
                           thereto.

                  (x)      If the value of the Borrower"s Acceptable Inventory,
                           valued at cost, falls below $180,000,000.00, 10
                           percent of the amount of Acceptable Inventory less
                           then $180,000,000.00.

                  (xi)     If the value of the Borrower"s Acceptable Accounts
                           falls below $12,000,000.00, 80 percent of the Amount
                           of Acceptable Accounts less than $12,000,000.00.

         3. Amendment to Article 1: Article 1 of the Agreement is hereby amended
by deleting the definition of "EBITDA" and replacing it with the following:

         "EBITDA":The Borrower's earnings (exclusive of one time noncash
                  nonrecurring gains or losses arising subsequent to February
                  27, 2000), before interest, taxes, depreciation, and
                  amortization, each as determined in accordance with GAAP,
                  applying a FIFO convention to the cost of goods sold provision
                  within earnings. Any increase in an asset investment account
                  (or reduction in a liability investment account) related to
                  E-Commerce shall be subtracted from EBITDA, to the extent that
                  the Borrower"s calculation of EBITDA does not otherwise make
                  such subtraction.

         4. Amendment to Article 1. Article 1 of the Agreement is hereby amended
by deleting the definition of "Libor Margin" and replacing it with the
following:

         "LIBOR MARGIN":   (a)     Until Section (b) of this Definition is in
                           effect: 200 basis points.
                                    (b) Commencing June 2000, the Libor Margin
                           shall be reset monthly (commencing with the Business
                           Day after the Agent"s receipt of the Pricing
                           Certificate (Section 5-6(a)(i)(E)) for loans
                           initiated on or after the date when so set, that is
                           to say Libor contracts in effect at the time of
                           increases/decreases in margin will remain at the
                           margin originally utilized when the contract was
                           opened. The margin in effect at a given time will
                           apply to contracts opened at that time, and shall be
                           based upon the following pricing grid: LIBOR MARGIN
                           PRICING GRID

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     MARGIN
                                       TRAILING/ROLLING 12 MONTH     (BASIS
TIER  FIXED CHARGE RATIO               AVERAGE EXCESS AVAILABILITY   POINTS)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                                    <C>                           <C>
I     Equal or Greater than 1.7        Equal or Greater than         125
                                       $20,000,000.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
II    Equal or Greater than 1.7        Less than $20,000,000.00      150
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
III   less than 1.7 and greater than   N/A                           150
      1.25
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
IV    less than 1.25 and greater       N/A                           200
      than 1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
V     less than or equal to 1.0        N/A                           225
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>

                                      -2B

<PAGE>   3
         5. Amendment to Article 1. Article 1 of the Agreement is hereby amended
by deleting the definition of "Term Loan Maturity Date" and replacing it with
the following:

         "Term Loan Maturity Date": May 1, 2002.

         6. Amendment to Article 2A. Section 2A-1 of the Agreement is hereby
amended to read as follows:

         2A-1. Commitment to Make Term Loan.

                  (1) Subject to satisfaction of all conditions precedent by on
         or prior to the date of this Agreement, the Borrower shall borrow from
         the Term Lender and the Term Lender shall lend to the Borrower the sum
         of $12,500,000.00 (the "TERM LOAN"), repayable with interest as
         provided herein.

                  (2) The proceeds of the Term Loan shall be used to provide
         working capital support for E-Commerce and for general working capital
         purposes.

         7. Replacement of Term Note. The Term Note annexed to the Agreement as
EXHIBIT 2A-2 is replaced with the Term Note annexed hereto as EXHIBIT 2A-2.

         8. Amendment to Article 2A. Section 2A-3(b)(i)(3) of the Agreement is
hereby amended to read as follows:

                  (3) EBITDA for the then most recent 12 month period, shall not
         be less than (i) $18 Million, excluding E-Commerce for the entire
         period if E-Commerce was sold at the time of calculation, or (ii) $7
         Million if E-Commerce was not sold at the time of calculation.

         9. Amendment to Article 2A. Section 2A-3(c) of the Agreement is hereby
amended to read as follows:

                  (c) The Borrower shall pay the Agent, for the account of the
         Term Lender, the "TERM LOAN EARLY TERMINATION FEE" (so referred to
         herein) equal to $1,375,000.00 less the Additional Term Loan Commitment
         Fee (as defined herein), and, with respect to all payments made after
         May 10, 2000, all paid and accrued and unpaid (but only if paid when
         due and payable) Current Pay Interest, and PIK Interest (but only if
         paid when due and payable), not to be less than $0. To the extent of
         any partial prepayments of the

                                      -3B

<PAGE>   4
         Term Loan, which shall only be made in the amount of $2,500,000 or
         greater, such Term Loan Early Termination Fee shall be paid on a pro
         rata basis at the time of partial prepayment, based upon the percentage
         of the Term Loan prepaid. In no event shall the Term Loan be prepaid
         prior to December10, 2000.

         10. Amendment to Article 2A. Section 2A-4(a) of the Agreement is hereby
amended to read as follows:

         2A-4. Interest On The Term Loan.

                  (1) The unpaid principal balance of the Term Loan shall bear
         interest, until repaid, fixed at 15% per annum, payable as follows:

                           (i) Interest on the unpaid principal balance of the
                  Term Loan, equal to 12.5% per annum ("CURRENT PAY INTEREST")
                  shall be payable monthly in arrears, on the first day of each
                  month, and on the Term Loan Maturity Date.

                           (ii) Accrued Interest on the unpaid principal balance
                  of the Term Loan, equal to 2.5% per annum ("PIK INTEREST") ,
                  shall be added to the then unpaid principal balance of the
                  Term Note quarterly, on the first day of each April, July,
                  October, and January hereafter.

                  (b) Following the occurrence of any Event of Default (and
         whether or not Acceleration has taken place), at the direction of the
         Term Lender, Current Pay Interest shall be 14.5% per annum and PIK
         Interest shall remain at 2.5% per annum.

         11. Amendment to Article 2A. Article 2A of the Agreement is hereby
amended by the addition of the following Section 2A-7:

                  2A-7. Term Loan Annual Fee. As compensation for the Term
         Lender's having committed to increase and extend the term of the Term
         Loan, on May 10, 2000 the Term Lender shall have earned and the
         Borrower shall pay the Term Loan Annual Fee of 2.5% of the principal
         balance of the Term Loan outstanding on May 10, 2001.

         12. Amendment to Article 5. Effective as of February 26, 2000, Section
5-12 of the Agreement is hereby amended to read as follows:

                  (a) EBITDA: The Borrower shall not permit or suffer its
         EBITDA, tested as of the last day of each fiscal quarter on the basis
         set forth below, to be less than the following:

<TABLE>
                          MINIMUM CONSOLIDATED EBITDA:
<CAPTION>
                              "()" Denotes Negative
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 BASIS TESTED                                                 MINIMUM EBITDA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                                                            <C>
                     Quarter Ending February, 2000             ($10,200,000)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     Two Quarters Ending May, 2000             ($15,994,362)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Three Quarters Ending August, 2000             ($18,089,773)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Four Quarters Ending November, 2000             ($20,965,521)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Four Quarters Ending February, 2001              ($5,956,307)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>

                                      -4B

<PAGE>   5
For fiscal quarters thereafter, minimum EBITDA shall be established based upon
reasonable projections prepared by the Borrower and agreed upon by the Agent.

In the event that E-Commerce is not consolidated with the Borrower for the
purpose of calculating EBITDA then the covenants described above shall be reset
at a minimum of 80 percent of reasonable projections to be prepared by the
Borrower and agreed upon by the Agent.

In the event that the Borrower fails to furnish projections to the Agent or, if
furnished, the Agent and the Borrower fail to agree to any proposed projections,
then until the Borrower and the Agent reach agreement as to any projections the
Borrower shall at all times maintain minimum Availability, after giving effect
to all then held checks (if any); accounts payable which are beyond credit terms
then accorded the Borrower and overdrafts of not less than $10,000,000.00.

         13. CAPITAL EXPENDITURES The Borrower will not suffer or permit its
Capital Expenditures to exceed the following:

<TABLE>
                           CAPITAL EXPENDITURES
<CAPTION>
         ----------------------------------------------------------------
         Fiscal Year Ending                       Maximum for fiscal Year
         ----------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                                               <C>
         February, 2001                           $8,500,000
         ----------------------------------------------------------------
         February, 2002                            9,000,000
         ----------------------------------------------------------------
         February, 2003                            9,500,000
         ----------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>

         14. Amendment to Article 5. Section 5-13 of the Agreement is hereby
amended to read as follows:

                  5-13. Value of Collateral. The value of the Borrower"s
         Acceptable Inventory calculated at Cost shall at all times be equal to
         or greater than $170,000,000.00. The value of the Borrower"s Acceptable
         Accounts shall at all times be equal to or greater than $10,000,000.00

         15. Amendment to Article 5. Article 5 is hereby amended by the addition
of the following Section 5-14 thereto:

                  5-14. Minimum Excess Availability. Availability after giving
         effect to all then held checks (if any); accounts payable which are
         beyond credit terms then accorded the Borrower and overdrafts shall not
         be less than $15,000,000.00, measured on a rolling thirty (30) day
         average basis.

         16. Waiver of Compliance with Sections 4-18, 4-19, 4-20 and 4-23. The
Lenders waive compliance by the Borrower with the terms of Sections 4-18, 4-19,
4-20 and 4-23 of the Agreement in connection with the investments in and/or
loans to be made in connection with the continued operation

                                      -5B
<PAGE>   6
of Borrower's commerce business ("E-Commerce", which term includes
DrugEmporium.com Inc. and the business to be carried on by it), including
without limitation, any amount invested in, advanced to or paid or incurred by
or on behalf of E-Commerce up to a maximum aggregate amount of $30,500,00.00. No
further amounts shall be advanced to E-COMMERCE directly or indirectly,
including by way of any additional trade support.

         17. Additional Tem Loan Commitment Fee. As compensation for the Term
Lender's having committed to increase the Term Loan from $7,500,000.00 to
$12,500,000.00, the Term Lender has earned the Additional Term Loan Commitment
Fee (so referred to herein) of $150,000.00, payable at closing.

         18. Amendment Fee. As compensation for the Revolving Credit Lenders'
having committed to enter into this Fifth Amendment the Borrower shall pay to
the Agent for the benefit of the Revolving Credit Lenders, at closing, an
amendment fee in the amount of $165,000.00.

         19. Ratification of Loan Documents. Except as provided herein, all
terms and conditions of the Agreement and of the other Loan Documents remain in
full force and effect. Furthermore, except as provided herein, all warranties
and representations made in the Agreement and in the other Loan Documents remain
in full force and effect. The Borrower hereby ratifies and confirms that the
grant of security interest set forth in Article 8 of the Agreement is intended
to constitute a grant of security interest in favor of the Agent on behalf of
all Lenders, including, without limitation, the Term Lender.

         20. Conditions to Effectiveness. This Fifth Amendment shall not be
effective until each of the following conditions precedent have been fulfilled
to the satisfaction of the Agent and the Lenders:

         (1)      This Fifth Amendment shall have been duly executed and
                  delivered by the respective parties hereto.

         (2)      No Suspension Event shall have occurred and be continuing.

         (3)      The Borrower shall have provided such additional instruments
                  and documents to the Agent as the Agent and the Agent's
                  counsel may have reasonably requested.

         (4)      The Agent shall promptly notify the Borrower when such
                  conditions are satisfied.

         (5)      The Borrower shall have paid to the Agent for the account of
                  the Term Lender, the Additional Term Loan Commitment Fee.

         (6)      Availability after giving effect to all then held checks (if
                  any); accounts payable which are beyond credit terms then
                  accorded the Borrower, any overdrafts, and the funding of the
                  Term Loan, shall not be less than $25,000,000.00.

         (7)      The Borrower shall have furnished the Agent with

                                      -6B

<PAGE>   7
                  corporate resolutions authorizing the execution of this
                  Amendment and the documents contemplated herein.

         21. Miscellaneous.

         (8)      This Fifth Amendment may be executed in several counterparts
                  and by each party on a separate counterpart, each of which
                  when so executed and delivered shall be an original, and all
                  of which together shall constitute one instrument.

         (9)      This Fifth Amendment expresses the entire understanding of the
                  parties with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby.
                  No prior negotiations or discussions shall limit, modify, or
                  otherwise affect the provisions hereof.

         (10)     Any determination that any provision of this Fifth Amendment
                  or any application hereof is invalid, illegal or unenforceable
                  in any respect and in any instance shall not effect the
                  validity, legality, or enforceability of such provision in any
                  other instance, or the validity, legality or enforceability of
                  any other provisions of this Fifth Amendment.

         (11)     The Borrower shall pay on demand all costs and expenses of the
                  Agent, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys'
                  fees, in connection with the preparation, negotiation,
                  execution and delivery of this Fifth Amendment.

         (12)     The Borrower warrants and represents that the Borrower has
                  consulted with independent legal counsel of the Borrower's
                  selection in connection with this Fifth Amendment and is not
                  relying on any representations or warranties of any Lender or
                  the Agent or their respective counsel in entering into this
                  Fifth Amendment.

                                      -7B

<PAGE>   8
         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Fifth Amendment to
Loan and Security Agreement to be executed by their duly authorized officers as
a sealed instrument as of the date first above written.

                                        DRUG EMPORIUM, INC.
                                                       ("Borrower")

                                        By:_____________________________________

                                        Name:___________________________________

                                        Title:__________________________________

                                        FLEET RETAIL FINANCE INC.
                                                             ("Agent")

                                        By:_____________________________________

                                        Name:___________________________________

                                        Title:__________________________________

                                  The "LENDERS"

                                        FLEET RETAIL FINANCE INC.

                                            By:_________________________________

                                    Print Name:_________________________________

                                         Title:_________________________________

                                      -8B

<PAGE>   9
                                        NATIONAL CITY COMMERCIAL FINANCE, INC.

                                            By:_________________________________

                                    Print Name:_________________________________

                                         Title:_________________________________

                                        AMERICAN NATIONAL BANK AND
                                        TRUST COMPANY OF CHICAGO

                                            By:_________________________________

                                    Print Name:_________________________________

                                         Title:_________________________________

                                        LASALLE BUSINESS CREDIT, INC.

                                            By:_________________________________

                                    Print Name:_________________________________

                                         Title:_________________________________

                                        BACK BAY CAPITAL FUNDING LLC

                                            By:_________________________________

                                    Print Name:_________________________________

                                         Title:_________________________________

                                      -9B

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