When is it time to undertake a Pharmacy re-fit?

This is a common topic of conversation, often it is tied into lease negotiations or pressure from shopping centre landlords who are trying to ensure their centres look modern and ‘on trend.’

Many responses to the question focus on time, five years is often referred to as the ‘standard’ written into retail leases. The team at Pharmacium has a more pragmatic approach, there is no right answer to this question.

When we work with pharmacies who are investigating in re-fits, we look at several variables which come back to the question…….is your pharmacy doing the job it’s supposed to?

The reason why there are no hard and fast rules is because it is multi-factorial. It’s a combination of the following business drivers:

• Your business objectives – will a re-fit help to achieve them?
• What funds you want to invest into a re-fit and what sort of return on investment are you looking for.
• Where are you looking to get business growth from and how will it be supported e.g. front of shop, professional services, packing contracts or dispensary? Do you need to make physical changes in your pharmacy?
• Have you experienced script volume growth and need to gain efficiencies around how you work in the dispensary?
• Determining the professional services you want to offer and what space is needed to deliver these.
• Do you want to engage more with your customers? Is direct dispensing a model you are interested in changing to?
• When was the last time you undertook a re-fit? Will a re-fresh be sufficient?
• The working environment for your staff e.g. Is your packing area sufficient in size, with good lighting and appropriate storage for the number of patients?
• How your customers perceive your pharmacy and the type of customer experience you want to offer.

A re-fit does not need to be a stressful experience. It should be an exciting time where business strategy, meets customer experience and working environment. A time where you can reflect on what you want your business to become, and together we can bring it to life.