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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW 10 NEWS IN FOCUS Phil Smith CEO, BLOOMS THE CHEMIST The network’s CEO tells Retail Pharmacy that while putting the customer first has proven to be a winning formula for the network, it is using data analysis what gives Blooms The Chemist its competitive edge. Phil, please tell us a little about yourself and your experience in the retail pharmacy sector. I’ve had a lengthy career in retail. I enjoyed 12 years at Myer where I held various roles, with my last position there being managing director. I then went to Priceline. It was an exciting time being one of the founding executives of the Priceline Pharmacy brand (2003) and participating in its management buyout in 2004. Since then, I’ve observed a lot of change in the industry. In 2012, I joined the board of Blooms The Chemist and in 2013 I was appointed CEO. I thoroughly enjoy my role. I have a wonderful team and together we’re enjoying great success. Blooms The Chemist has been enjoying rapid growth. What are the key strengths of the group? Indeed, we now have more than 100 pharmacies in the network. I believe our number one strength is our people. We have more than 2500 passionate people working right across our network of pharmacies – they’re leaders in community healthcare and are committed to driving better health outcomes for Australians. Our support office team are exceptional at what they do and are committed to delivering strong results for the business. We’ve worked very hard on becoming a values driven company and developing a winning company culture. We’re clear on who our customer is, and we’ve developed a differentiated strategy to meet our customer needs. From a commercial perspective, we do things based on data, driving both the retail business and dispensary. Using productivity models to enhance our performance across our total retail floorspace and each SKU, we maximise our sales and the gross margin dollar return on our floorspace and stock. This use of data analysis is quite unique to Blooms in the pharmacy industry and gives us a key competitive advantage. How has the business coped with Covid-19 and what changes did you have to make? It’s been a challenging time, and of course we’re not through the pandemic yet, but our team has been managing the situation well. Our number one priority during the pandemic has been to ensure the safety of our people. We implemented conservative strategies such as split rostering for pharmacy staff and home delivery services for customers, to mitigate the risks. A proactive and agile approach meant we could rapidly implement the various required changes around medicine supply, customer support and supplier engagement. Changes were also required to support the rapid rollout of e-health and to support our internal communications. I’m incredibly proud of how the business came together during this crisis. 2021 is hopefully a big year for recovery. What are the key priorities for Blooms The Chemist? Key priorities will be to further our national growth plans, to win on people, and to do more for the community. In 2021 we’ll be providing more training and development programs for our people so they’re set up for success and can continue to provide the exceptional service Blooms The Chemist is known for. 2021 will also see us rolling out our corporate social responsibility strategy, and starting a shift to being a purpose-led business. We take our role in the community, in society, and in business very seriously and we’re always seeking to improve and do more where we can. What is your message to pharmacy owners who are considering joining Blooms The Chemist? As a retailer, I see massive opportunity in the pharmacy sector. So, whether you’re an existing pharmacy owner or considering buying into ownership in a pharmacy, we’d love to talk to you. At Blooms, we put people first in everything we do. Every year we hold world class conferences as an investment in the development of our people, and our pharmacists have received a unique retail education. We’re a data driven, customer centric business. If you look at one of the reports from IQVIA, you can see that Blooms The Chemist outperforms the market in the community pharmacy sector. This suggests our strategy is working, as the customer is responding. We’re a growing brand with exciting plans. We welcome you to reach out to us. RETAIL PHARMACY • JAN/FEB 2021