INTERVIEW
PHILIP TALKS GROWTH FOR PHARMACY
FAMILY-OWNED SCOTTISH PHARMACY CHAIN LINDSAY & GILMOUR HAVE BEEN MAKING WAVES LOCALLY, AND ACROSS THE REST OF THE UK DURING THE LAST TWELVE MONTHS IN PHARMACEUTICAL EXCELLENCE AND ENHANCED CARE FOR THEIR PATIENTS.
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t the helm driving this growth has been Managing Director Philip Galt. Rather than simply stock a uniform range of national standard products, each branch tailors its services and merchandise to fit the unique needs of its community. It’s this bespoke approach to pharmacy that sets the company apart from its competitors, says Philip as he speaks to Scottish Pharmacist about the last year and their future plans.
Philip took up the post as Managing Director in August of last year replacing long serving former Managing Director and Superintendent Pharmacist Robbie McGregor. Philip joined from Cornwell’s Chemist in Staffordshire.
“The move was a new role with a new remit,” he reflects. “It has been an opportunity to stretch my mind and enter something new. Community Pharmacy is an industry where you’re helping patients and making a contribution. This is a fantastic industry. It’s got lots of good caring people and it’s an ever-changing industry as well. It’s always stimulating because there’s always something happening so I never lose interest.
Is this a time of great opportunity or great uncertainty for community Pharmacy we asked?
“I always see things as a period of great opportunity for Pharmacy. It’s
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always challenging for community Pharmacy going right back to 2005 and the original new contract and that big change. The market place is constantly evolving. It is tough economically but community pharmacy is in a great position to seize opportunities.
“Community and independent pharmacy is entrepreneurial. It’s led by people with real passion care and commitment in the community and there’s some great opportunities coming into scope. The point is though to change your business model to evolve. You’ve got to embrace change not resist change. There’s the whole reshaping of the NHS but there’s great opportunity there.”
What does Philip think of the ethos that the independents are resistant to change?
“Independent pharmacies are very good at what they do – interact with patients dispense medicines ensure patients are looked after,” he adds. “I sometimes think the challenge is seeing the bigger picture of what’s going on and being prepared to be forward-looking and not say ‘we like it the way it is and we don’t want change.’
“You have to change in every business. You’ve got to adapt your business accordingly and lots of
independents have done that. They’ve embraced the whole service agenda they’ve got the right skill mix in the Pharmacy they’ve taken training their staff seriously they’ve looked for independent niche opportunities whether in services or products and they’ve tried to deliver excellent customer service.
“My advice is that you’ve got to run your business really well and ensure you’re getting the right income from the right areas.”
From his experience of the pharmaceutical industry Philip reflects on whether or not Pharmacists have the appetite to actively engage adding, “A lot of independent pharmacists do and some don’t. It’s like anything in life – some people make change happen some people watch change happen and some people wonder what happened!
“It’s about being proactive and engaging. It’s like our business. The business model changed and we had to reinvent our company to deal with the changing world. We had to move from a traditional wholesale model to a much more sophisticated business. At the time a lot of people said ‘this can’t happen” but they were living in the past.”
Originally established by Robert Lindsay in 1826, Lindsay & Gilmour has been trading in the same Elm
Row, Edinburgh site for almost 200 years with the young Charles Darwin said to have been a customer.
This makes it one of Scotland’s oldest pharmacies, enduring generation after generation of change. Today, Lindsay & Gilmour operate 27 pharmacies across Scotland.
The origins of Raimes Clark go back to 1816 when John Raimes moved from Yorkshire to Edinburgh to work as a supplier to apothecaries.
The chemists were all brought under the Lindsay & Gilmour name in 1988, while the wholesale side of the business was sold in 1990.
The Group have been particularly proactive in the last two years.
“In 2014 we were delighted that our Milton Road branch were nominated for two Awards at the Scottish Pharmacy Awards,” Philip add of their win of the Business Development Award for the branch refit and robot installation. “It was an incredible end to the Awards season.
“Graeme and his team have all worked exceptionally hard in the 7 months since the refurbishment.”
Following this they were also recognised at the Pharmacy Business Awards winning multiple awards.
As an independent business that’s grown from a single shop to an award winning group with locations across Central Scotland, Fife and the Scottish Borders, Lindsay & Gilmour is the epitome of pharmacy within the community. •
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