Boots the Chemist
September 17, 2012
You may have seen the news
discussing the sale of 45% of
Alliance Boots to US rival
Walgreens. What does this sale
18,000 km’s away have to do with
pharmacy in Australia?
The answer is - more than you think!
“Alliance Boots is a leading
international, pharmacy-led health
and beauty group delivering a
range of products and services to
customers.” This is the opening
line of their web-site which goes on;
• Boots is in 25+ countries
• Operates 3,330+ health and
beauty stores
• Dispense 260 million items
annually
• Annual turnover for the 12
months to 31st March 2012 was 23
billion pounds
This business started life as
“Boots the Chemist” in 1939 and
grew into one of the largest
community pharmacy groups in
the UK, initially generating most
sales from dispensary.
Concern at the highly regulated
govt system drove them to begin
the difficult move into
emphasizing “front of shop” retail
sales. 20 years on, they have
become a major global player
manufacturing and selling a range
of goods from packaged
sandwiches to cosmetics.
But have they sold their soul to
the devil?
Boots is still focused on its role in
the provision of “Primary Health
Care” and works closely with
providers to serve their
community. They just understand
that the sales need not
compromise quality.
I am asking you to embrace
selling, but selling quality advice,
quality products and quality care is
a real need in our community.
It’s your decision and it’s your
future but much can be learnt from
history. What will you do?
This week’s
contributor is Paul
Rowe, Chief
Executive, Razor
Business Solutions.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 17 Sep 12To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 17 Sep 12
