Fiona, Collene, Lee and John
pharmacy as opposed to shopping
in a dedicated sports nutrition store,
or Sephora, or Culture Kings type
store. Retail pharmacy needs to
somehow address that.
What are the fastest moving
categories within your store?
This is a dynamic market and the
fast movers are changing regularly,
as fast as one area picks up, it or
another will drop off in no time.
Having said that, I believe much
of the natural health market has
swayed towards retail pharmacy,
especially in the skincare sector,
whilst many of the popular
cosmetics houses are losing the
race to the likes of Sephora and
Cosmetica Maxima.
What trends do you predict over
the next twelve months?
I believe it’s going to continue
to get harder before it gets any
easier. However, if community
retail pharmacy can continue to
diversify, change with the times and
emphasize the VALUE in community
pharmacy as a primary healthcare
provider, then we can continue to
serve an incredibly important need.
“Retail pharmacy is like a treadmill.
The speed dial is being turned and
if we run at the same pace, we’re
likely to fall off the back, we have
to make the concerted effort to run
faster each and every day if we wish
to move forward.”
Where do you see the natural
health sector heading in the next
couple of years?
The natural healthcare sector
continues to grow, and pharmacy is
perfectly positioned to maximise the
potential this growth has to offer.
As well as the recent growth
across the sector in natural skin
care, I believe people are focusing
more on their diet now than ever
before (again partly to do with
the social media age), which is
another area pharmacy can, if
handled properly, forge ahead as a
professional service provider within
the sector. It’s going to be more
important for pharmacy to offer
more professional advice in this field,
whether it be through pharmacists
themselves, or through employing
nutritionists and naturopaths,
and important also to be open to
diversification and acceptance of the
range of natural health products on
offer. I believe that many customers
now appreciate the more holistic
approach some pharmacies portray,
whilst still being recognised as
the pharmaceutical healthcare
professional in the community
What changes would you like to
see occur within the Natural Health
and Wellness sector?
In line with what I just said with
regards to the need for more
pharmacies to openly embrace the
natural healthcare sector, as part
of their overall primary healthcare
offer, I would certainly like to see
encouragement from the more
“traditional” Natural Health and
Wellness sector for pharmacies
to become more involved and
therefore more accepted and
respected in this field.
This might even just be in the
way of more invitations to Natural
Health expo’s, conferences and
symposiums, which pharmacists
may then be able to tie in with their
yearly CPD plan/portfolio.
What excites you about working at
Giant Chemist Pacific Fair?
Working at Giant Chemist Excites
me as I am part of an incredible
team that has the daily privilege
of being able to offer real value
and support to our amazing
customers, all in an incredibly
exciting environment. One that
offers so very much all under the
one roof, be it embracing the most
modern of technology, or offering
the finest of good old fashioned
care and attention for our deserving
customers, Giant Chemist Pacific
Fair truly is a one stop health and
beauty solution for all.
What’s the best thing about your
job?
The best thing about working at
Giant Chemist Pacific Fair is being
able to change with the times in
this dynamic world of Primary
Healthcare, ensuring we offer
exactly what our valued customers
are looking for and discovering new
opportunities each and every day as
to how we can not only meet their
expectations, but exceed them. We
welcome all feedback as a “window
of opportunity” to learn where
and how we need to grow next to
stay ahead of this rapidly evolving
sector.
Summer 2020 57