On Aug. 20, 1977, Family Pharmacy Inc. opened its doors in Ozark and dispensed a grand total of 12 prescriptions. In the intervening years, the company founded by Lynn and Janet Morris has grown to fill more than 7,500 prescriptions each day and currently is the 46th largest independent pharmacy in the country, according to the National Association of Chain Drug Stores.
During 37 years of Family Pharmacy’s operations, the drugstore market has seen fierce competition, with leading chains Walgreens Co. (NYSE: WAG), Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) and Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) employing more than 32,000 pharmacists who dispense prescriptions from some 23,000 locations, according to global market researcher SK&A.
Family Pharmacy Director of Operations Carrie Tennis said the company’s strategy has been one of indirect competition. Calling it surround and conquer, she says Family Pharmacy has always has a goal of “serving people where they live,” which explains why so many of the 24 current Family Pharmacy locations are in small towns surrounding Springfield, including Ava, Clever, Fair Grove and Sparta.
“In our world, there’s always been the loom of the big-box stores,” Tennis says. “Now, Wal-Mart’s doing little bitty stores in small towns where we’re located. We have to rely on our customer service being above and beyond what you’ll find in any of those other places.”
Along the way, the company has been forced to play the same retail game, albeit by stocking smaller quantities and varieties of sundry items – “everything except groceries, alcohol and tobacco,” Tennis says. The competitive edge lies in Family Pharmacy’s flexibility to meet local demand.
“It’s not about what we think every store should have, it’s what every community needs from us,” she says. “If anything, we have more variety than a Walgreens, which has to stock all the same items in every store.”
From 24/7 service, to discounts on individual prescriptions and a centralized compounding facility that prepares IV medications for long-term care patients, Tennis counts Family Pharmacy as fortunate to have been able to parlay its original culture of caring and community into a $75 million annual business.
“We have always believed that if you take care of people, they’ll take care of you,” she says.
That philosophy is most clearly visible in the company’s Helping Hand fund, which to date has raised more than $60,000, with more than 90 percent of the contributions coming from employees. Tennis says the fund is staff-directed and assists Family Pharmacy employees and community members in times of great need, with allocations being made for everything from replacing vehicle tires and purchasing propane in winter months, to assisting with medical treatment and supporting Care to Learn school projects.[[In-content Ad]]
