Chain Drug Review, August 26, 2019

12 Chain Drug Review August 26 2019 News SDM strikes right balance between front end pharmacy Chain Drug Review ISSN 0164 9914 is published biweekly every other Monday except for once in March May July and December 19 times a year by Racher Press Inc 126 Fifth Ave 12th floor New York N Y 10011 Subscription rates Manufacturers and their representatives 149 a year Schools libraries and all other out of field subscribers 199 a year Canadian subscribers add 10 Issue prices Single copy 25 statistical issues 100 Subscription inquiries Send letter with a copy of mailing address from the last issue received to Circulation Manager Chain Drug Review 126 Fifth Ave 12th floor New York N Y 10011 For a change of address send new address along with a copy of the old address to the same Please allow 4 to 6 weeks to process Periodical postage paid at New York N Y 10001 and additional mailing offices Copyright 2019 by Racher Press Inc All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical including photocopy recording or any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher Prices for bulk reprints available on request Publications mail agreement number 40048352 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Station A P O Box 54 Windsor ON N9A 6J5 Email pvandernoth@ racherpress com U S Postmaster Send address changes to Chain Drug Review 126 Fifth Ave 12th floor New York N Y 10011 Vol 41 No 12 August 26 2019 but is instead shipped directly to patients homes SDM is providing the expert advice that is delivered in store when other pharmaceutical products are dispensed through the Shoppers Cannabis Care Center a virtual team of health care professionals that selects the right strain of cannabis based on the prescribers recommendation reviews a patients medical history and identifies contraindications with other drugs We started this process three years ago with work around education and the pharmacology of it Leger explains We assembled a panel of experts that included pharmacists and physicians who were in mostly pain management and also in oncology for nausea We even created a formulary a kind of standardization We Understand How You Work The leader in SECURE Medicinal Product Delivery and Audio Communications Indoor Outdoor DRIVE THRU Thru the wall and remote lane solutions custom engineered to fit your needs Targeted Design Ð with reliability second to none Pharmacy specific Listed Customized Retrof it solution Engineered Solution CALL BAVIS DRIVE THRU TODAY 513 677 0500 info@ bavis com www bavis com of doses Shoppers is committed to giving our pharmacists the tools they need Its not always easy to know the right blend of different psychoactive agents theres CBD theres THC what percentages are best and what pharmacological effect they will have As a result of our work around education and awareness the comfort level of our pharmacists with medical cannabis has increased and patients have really been much more forthcoming about their needs Entry into medical marijuana is just one way that SDM is working to enlarge the positive impact it has on the health and well being of customers Leger and his team are intent on accelerating the evolution of the companys pharmacies to play a larger role in health care Weve been at this for a long long time he says but meaningfully the first service that really expanded the scope of pharmacy practice started in 2009 with flu injection Last year we were well over 15 million flu injections across the country Thats led into medication review services and prescribing in some jurisdictions Alberta being the most advanced with a pharmacist able to prescribe any medication except for controlled substances within their competency Every province has a smattering of different services like point of care testing for strep throat where pharmacists can administer the test and then also initiate a prescription Using Alberta as the gold standard weve been helping advocate with the provinces and our provincial pharmacy associations to continue to expand important health care services that help can keep people out of after hours clinics and emergency rooms All provinces are making moves every year and giving pharmacists broader authority Looking further ahead SDM plans to more closely align its resources with Loblaw and other health care providers including physicians to increase its reach and impact Leger says QHR Corp an electronic medical records company based in Kelowna British Columbia that was acquired in 2016 will help facilitate the process We have 1800 pharmacy locations across the country 420 of which are in a Loblaw grocery store and the rest in Shoppers Drug Mart locations he says So 85 of Canadians are within a 10 minute drive of our stores We have really great penetration in the community including 600 medical clinics and about 100 dietitians in our network Another new service leverages SDMs prowess in health and beauty care The Beauty Clinic by Shoppers format which is currently being piloted at two locations in the greater Toronto area GTA provides customers with easy access to cosmetic dermatology treatments including injections dermal fillers microdermabrasion peels and laser services in a discreet setting The stores in the Oakville and Don Mills neighborhoods are staffed by nurse practitioners and medical aestheticians We knew we had a lot of trust with consumers around health and around beauty says Leger It was interesting for us to make the leap to combine both because its going one step further in terms of beauty services to include dermatology services and injectables Customers really trust the Shoppers Drug Mart brand The clinics are still in the pilot phase but were pretty happy with the response thus far The Beauty Clinic by Shoppers concept stands on a strong foundation Paced by its 440 Beauty Boutiques a format that Leger asserts delivers an elevated customer experience thats among the best in the world in any class of trade the drug chain is the leader across the category from value products to such luxury brands as Lancôme Chanel and Dior The company is harnessing the power of the internet to augment that position in a couple different ways One is to amplify the online voice of its in store beauty advisors brand agnostic experts who help customers find the products that are right for them Were in the process of launching what we call Shoppers Beauty Pros a team of beauty advisors from all geographies across the country that will help drive inspiration Leger explains Beauty is all about inspiration particularly in e commerce or the digital channel Weve trained some of our best beauty advisors to serve as local influencers Our plan is to continue to use them to help drive inspiration for our brand from a digital perspective Because Gen Zed and young Millennials mostly find their inspiration online The Beauty Pros will support SDMs push into e commerce The company last summer introduced an internet platform that brings together what is said to be the largest assortment of mass and prestige beauty products in Canada Its a huge thing for us to participate as an omnichannel retailer Leger notes All of our beauty products are now available online We started with luxury products last year and have added masks derm fragrance and hair care In addition we now have a test with Instacart in Toronto involving delivery of front shop items in 13 stores Were in the process of expanding that group throughout the GTA Its gotten off to a great start Were also exploring what other frontend products we might want to sell online Food and beverages is another area where SDM aims to bolster its position The company has long had a presence in the category but its aspirations have increased considerably since the acquisition by Loblaw Weve always had a pretty large food business says Leger It was mostly around dry grocery and convenience items So we had a program to offer the lowest price on milk butter and bread Thats been in place for 15 years After the merger with Loblaw we were in a position to grow in this space We were able to be seen as an authority and attain a trust level in fresh food which you really do need especially if youre going to sell fresh vegetables fresh fruit fresh meat and meal solutions In 2014 we had a pilot involving an expanded food assortment involving six stores in the Toronto area We had to figure out how to manage shrink on food which is different especially when you have a large assortment not just milk and bread and butter when youre selling more fresh items such as meat We played around with many different combinations and really learned from the expertise of Loblaw This allowed us to create a model that we were really happy with and we were able to scale it for Shoppers Drug Mart Today SDM operates 107 stores with an enhanced food presentation Leger says that plans call for 10 to 15 more of the departments which are quite profitable to be added each year A unifying force for all the various initiatives under way at SDM and its parent company is the PC Optimum loyalty plan The program formed through the melding of Shoppers Optimum and Loblaws PC Plus in February 2018 has 18 million members almost half the population of Canada PC Optimum enables us to connect the dots says Leger Customers now can earn more points because they can earn across grocery and spend on beauty or they can spend in the drug store and use their points to pay for groceries or apparel through Joe Fresh Another big advantage we have is a Master Card program called PC Financial which is the largest issuer of MasterCards in Canada and thats connected to PC Optimum Continued from page 3 Jeff Leger The Beauty Clinic is piloting cosmetic dermatology treatments