The sweet smell of success

Jay Rayani acquired a business in a town alien to him, revamped it according to his vision and ended up winning two awards for his efforts. Here he shares his winning formula, especially with regards to health and beauty products in a pharmacy...

A career in medicine, engineering or law is the preferred choice for Asians, but for Jay Rayani, it was a peer-instilled dislike for becoming a doctor combined with a love for sciences and interacting with people on a daily basis that drove him to take up pharmacy as a profession.

He was 14 when he did work experience at an Uxbridge pharmacy, a stint which sparked an interest in the retail side of the healthcare business. Later, he worked at Boots while growing up the ranks, spent time with a primary care trust and acted as a locum. However, when the chance to acquire a pharmacy came up – albeit in a town alien to him – Rayani grabbed it with both hands, revamped the place and ended up winning awards for his efforts.

His Riverside Pharmacy won him the Pharmacy Business Health & Beauty Retailer of the Year in 2008 and comes just two years after winning the Pharmacy Business Young Pharmacist gong.

‘I like interacting with people, and a pharmacy always has that buzz about it. So I decided to venture in that direction rather than becoming an optician where it’s quieter or a dentist where you’re fiddling inside a person’s mouth all day,’ Rayani said. ‘That is what led me to the work experience decision all those years ago. When the opportunity came up to buy this pharmacy, I decided to take it up straight away.’

Not being a local, it was a difficult decision. But Rayani was determined and set about carrying out some first-hand market research of Rickmansworth. He took a walk around the high street, looking at the range and type of products on offer.

‘We knew the footfall, we knew the demand in town and we knew we couldn’t possibly incorporate all that demand and make the pharmacy look like a shabby little shop. People needed fragrances and high-end cosmetic products.

'Rickmansworth is an affluent area and we found out that there were several customers who went to Watford [a nearby town] to shop for these products since there wasn’t much on offer on the high street here.

‘We had to plan something new. The existing business had an established reputation as well as a loyal customer base. But the old style of the shop wouldn’t have gelled with the beauty products I was planned to introduce. So we had to revamp it completely.’

It was not an easy task. Instant changes were not what he had in mind, even though he was clear about what he wanted. When Rayani took over the business, the shop had not had a refit for the last 20 years. So he let the shop run as it is to gauge the business, see what type of customers came in and act accordingly.

‘The shop was redesigned by myself. I implemented the continental style as we seldom witness pharmacies with a long counter. Since we were busy with healthcare, we decided to go ahead with that.

‘We did change a lot of things so as to accommodate beauty products, skincare and other essentials. We didn't want customers to think this as a just a beauty shop.

'We added a baby section and tried new window displays which drew in customers. Adding a ‘99p’ gondola end did wonders as we stocked that up with fresh and new stuff products. Although of not much profit, the products tempted the customers into the shop that followed with them buying other things as well.’

Brimming with new ideas was one thing but Rayani was keen to retain the familiar faces walking across the shop's aisles, both in the form of customers and staff.

‘We gave the pharmacy a new name to generate extra interest. At the same time, regular customers would see no change in the service offered. There was also a log of loyalty attached to the shop – the previous owner was based here for 20 years – and we wanted to keep that as it is.

The staff present when Rayani took over the business is still employed by Riverside, but things are better organised and laid-out now than previously, according to Rayani.

‘All staff have their own sections to look after. I’ve also given them a bit of a creative license to come up with ideas to improve sales. I’m open to new ideas, so the staff can look at a range and we can have a chat about what's worth trying.

‘It has become a relaxed atmosphere, it's not a military atmosphere but they know when it’s work time.’

As part of the new business model, Rayani has laid emphasis on staff training; employees have undertaken NPA training and there exists an NVQ-qualified technician in the pharmacy now. Rayani also makes it a point for the visiting company representatives to provide the necessary product training on new and upcoming products whenever they are in-store so that the regular staff not only acquire product knowledge, but also impart credible advice onto customers.

Despite a heavy workload that comprises the clinical as well as the administrative side of the business, Rayani is managing just fine largely due to his established vision of where he wants to take the business complemented aptly by his prioritising and delegating qualities.

‘It’s [the workload] not that bad,’ he said. ‘The simplest solution is to prioritise everything and delegate accordingly. A lot of clinical stuff, such as blood pressure testing, I assign to my staff. I then do the follow-up chat with the customer and the delegating of tasks take a huge burden off my shoulders.. It’s the same with administrative tasks, they are divided among the staff. We also have an accountant that takes care of all the numbers so I don’t need to worry about that on a daily or a monthly basis.’

One drawback of the business is that Riverside Pharmacy has failed to conquer the local GP market. However, according to Rayani, that is the case with all pharmacies in the area.

‘No pharmacy in Rickmansworth has a great relationship with the doctors. There are five independent contractors in the area, we get together and visit the surgery as a unit in order to put our views across to them.

‘We have meetings every few months, discuss issues, take an appointment and visit the doctor. We do have a daily surgery collection service but we don’t have daily chats with the doctors. The important thing is they know who we are and what services we offer so the recommendations are always there. Having a loyal set of customers - which we do our best to hold on to - also goes a long way in having a steady flow of business.’

Running a successful business means listening to customers and encouraging feedback, and the box of chocolates and Christmas cards received by the pharmacy are proof of Rayani's affinity with his customers. The dual awards sitting behind the pharmacy counter also reaffirms customers’ faith in Riverside Pharmacy.

‘Although I was quite shocked at winning the second award, I must admit that it has helped establish a rapport with my customers,’ Rayani said.

In his opinion, in a regular pharmacy, 80 per cent of the sales come from behind the counter while 20 per cent are from shopfloor sales. At Riverside Pharmacy, that ratio is 50:50, complementing the time and effort Rayani has put into all aspects of the business. And with the plans that he has for the future, expansion cannot be ruled out.

‘I would love to expand this pharmacy as we have enough products and plans.

There is a small hitch, however.

‘The guy next door doesn’t want to sell.’

© Faras Ghani 2009.
Published in Pharmacy Business Feb 2009.

Overpowering recession

While businesses around the world struggled to cope with the financial crisis that engulfed the world last year, Avicenna managed to double their membership figures. Salim Jetha, Avicenna’s CEO, and Raj Haria, director of sales and business development, provide brief insight into last year’s performance and what lies ahead...

With a 50 per cent rise in membership numbers last year alone, Salim Jetha, CEO and one of the founding directors of Avicenna, remains adamant that recession will have no effect on the business’ progress. Founded during the 1992 recession – which is why, according to Jetha, Avicenna’s performance improved during the unstable state of economy last year – it is recognised as UK’s largest independent pharmacy support organisation.

‘It was the commitment of the members played a part in starting Avicenna and that is a trend that we have carried with us throughout the years at Avicenna,’ Jetha said. Commenting on the major increase in numbers during 2008, Jetha said: ‘Although the bulk of our growth comes via word of mouth, the acquisition of Nucare [by Phoenix in 2007] played a big part in us achieving those numbers.’

While the number of members have gone past 1,000, the profit share for the financial year 2007/08 is expected to be over £1million. With all members due to benefit from the figures – thus underlying the customers’ status in the company as the owners – members also benefited from a dividend distribution of over £180,000 given out in 2007.

Despite the recent growth, Raj Haria, director of sales and business development at Avicenna, emphasised that it was not numbers they were after but the quality and dedication of its members.

‘Although it may look nice on paper, we don’t want to build up our membership figures just for the sake of it but want commitment from members,’ Haria said. ‘We have normally been getting around 100 members per year for the past two to three years [except last year] and due to the numbers and commitment, we have attained the critical mass essential for development and growth.’

Although the growth has slightly altered Avicenna’s business plans, Haria has opted to look at it as a challenge and encouragement that the members need. ‘The type of growth we have achieved was not predicted and as it has carried on in the manner it started last year, we are not restricted by the plans we had made previously and envision the pattern to continue.’

While advising pharmacists to work towards the MURs and increasing the number and type of services they offer, Jetha reminded them to place special emphasis on merchandising their products on offer to come up with the level of sales they want. He also detailed the pre-registration tutor scheme that the business is offering in order to help the pharmacists as well as the individuals fresh out of education.

‘It is surprising how often we learn from fresh students,’ Jetha said. ‘While in-store pharmacists may not get the time to go through current trends and fresh ideas, these students need to stay abreast of it at all times. Therefore, it not only pays to have an extra hand in the pharmacy – reducing the pharmacist’s workload – but also a source of learning that is on hand at all times.’

Jetha also sent out a reminder to Avicenna’s members that despite not being able to match prices set out by bigger independent and chains, due to the size of its buying group, Avicenna is able to influence its suppliers.

In the event of a doubt, he advised his members to look at the business’ logo: members sending in their input to the headoffice and in return, they get the benefits.

© Faras Ghani 2009.
Published in Pharmacy Business Feb 2009.

Room for growth

With growth and investment on their agenda, the Co-operative Pharmacy has bucked teh current trends and experienced a fruitful year. Managing director John Nuttal and commercial director Gordon Farquhar reveal where the money's at...

With almost 800 outlets that make it the third largest pharmacy chain across UK – the largest in Wales – the Co-operative Pharmacy still has plans for expansion in the coming months complemented with a £100m investment budget that has been set for 2009-10.

With considerable growth arriving via acquisitions – the number of stores increasing from 467 to 794 in the last three years – the Co-operative Pharmacy has also launched operations in China recently. Becoming the first community pharmacy in the UK to do so, there exist plans to produce 50 generics products for the UK market in the Tasly/Co-operative joint venture with the project due for completion in spring next year.

In addition to the overseas project, there has also been a £15m investment on the establishment of the National Healthcare Distribution Centre (NHDC), a 190,000 square feet purpose-built warehouse in Stoke. With 200 employees, the NHDC will fulfil the ‘demand of the fastest moving, prescriptions medicine and OTC products’ totalling about 5,000.

Commenting on the NHDC as well as a fruitful year, John Nuttall, Co-operative Pharmacy’s managing director, termed 2009 as ‘the year of Co-operative’ while being ‘proud of all the investment made’.

‘Although not entirely content with the progress the pharmacy sector has made in general, the last twelve months for Co-operative Pharmacy have been big on integration and we were able to launch the largest rebranding programme in UK’s history,’ Nuttall said.

The programme, according to Gordon Farquhar, Co-operative Pharmacy’s commercial director, involved 232 fascia changes in 2008 thus bringing the total branded fascias of the Co-operative Group to 5,500. ‘Apart from the fascia changes – resulting in the Co-operative Group having more branded fascias in the UK than McDonald’s – we also refitted 204 branches while relocating 16 as we believe brand awareness is really important,’ Farquhar said.

According to a company survey, the refits not only improved the look of the pharmacy but also improved customer satisfaction. Figures showed a five per cent increase in customers awarding a re-fitted Co-operative Pharmacy’s service full marks while there was a six per cent increase in customers giving the level of service a nine on ten on a visit to a refitted pharmacy. There was also a significant improvement in marks awarded for store cleanliness, staff friendliness, their level of knowledge and the presence of available chairs in the pharmacy.

‘Presence of available seats is something we take for granted but it played a significant role in pleasing our customers,’ Farquhar said. ‘The refit was not just taken for the building but also the way staff interacts with customers, their knowledge about the products as well as the organisation and how we portray its image.

‘We undertook staff training and incorporated the brand image realisation with it while ensuring the “customer is the owner” image is clearly understood by all. The training is then tested via customer feedback as well as mystery shopping that we undertake regularly.’

As with many other organisations across the world, the Co-operative Pharmacy too was hit by the tough economic conditions, resulting in ‘painful redundancies’ and store closures. According to Nuttall, the closures had become necessary as ‘there was no prospect of turning them around’ and ‘the economies of scale that we required to maintain good business were not possible to achieve in those locations’ before adding that there were no more closures looming on the horizon.

With the expansion plans in place, the Co-operative Pharmacy has also ensured a ‘green image’ of the organisation by with all its pharmacies in England, Scotland and Wales powered by green electricity – electricity produced from sources such as wind and solar power that do not cause severe environmental impacts. ‘In addition to the green electricity, we have ensured that all our dispensing bags are made of recycled paper and we are rebranding our plastic bags so that they are made of ten times less plastic,’ Farquhar said.

While speaking of the burning issue regarding the formation of two separate bodies in place of the existing Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, Nuttall restrained from giving a clear answer as to whether Co-operative Pharmacy would be joining the new body or not. ‘It is important to have a professional body that is transparent and offers value for money. We will support it if it provides a clear mandate of what it plans on achieving.’

Signing off with the vision of having a thousand stores under the Co-operative Pharmacy brand by the year 2010 – termed challenging due to the current market conditions – Nuttall revealed significant OTC launches this year as well as a major corporate launch to be unveiled in the coming weeks.

© Faras Ghani 2009
Published in Pharmacy Business Feb 2009.