Elliot Lake's downtown core in undergoing a transformation.

As in so many other locales, the population of this Northern Ontario city of 11,549 is beginning to move away from the suburbs and back into the livelier centre.  That means people need services.  And that means they need pharmacies.  Elliot Lake, known as a retirement community, is becoming a highly competitive pharmacy environment, with a new Rexall and Shoppers Drug Mart opening downtown.

Darryl Freitag, R.Ph., B.Sc.Pharm., has been a fixture of Elliot Lake's pharmacy scene since joining Zellers pharmacy department after moving to the city in 2002 and running his own pharmacy for the past four years.  The one-time city councillor with a background in architecture was leasing an 1,100sq.ft. building and had developed a loyal following, but he knew that to compete he needed to expand.

The opportunity arose nearly two years ago to buy his own building in a busy location with ample parking and proximity to services like banks and liquor store.  From 1,100sq.ft., the new Freitag's Remedy'sRx, which opened on March 22, stands at a towering 6,000sq.ft.

"I used my architecture skills to design the new pharmacy," says Freitag. "We're going with the old apothecary look: wooden shelves mixed with steel shelves to harken back to the apothecary look that a lot of the seniors remember.  It will be one of the nicest looking pharmacies I've seen."

The new building is clad in dark beige stucco, with much of the interior a rich green to capture that apothecary feel.  The wall opposite the waiting area features a rain forest marble waterfall, with another smaller water feature at the gift end of the store.  "We want to keep it cozy," he adds, "and have a good flow throughout the store."

The need to expand

The new apothecary is set up to capitalize on non-Rx sales. "The only way for me to survive is to have a strong front store," says Freitag. "There's not much front store in 1,100sq.ft. I recognized that we need the front store to drive business."  But instead of focusing heavily on areas like cosmetics (which Freitag is leaving to the nearby Shoppers), his pharmacy is putting its money in gift ware, featuring upscale lines like Crabtee & Evelyn, Botanico, Bridgewater Candles and Accents de Ville, as well as cards and gift wrap.

Freitag's wife, Charlene, is overseeing the new gift area and helping to ensure the pharmacy provides a female-friendly atmosphere.

The new 1,800-2,000sq.ft. section includes some specialized skin care and cosmetics, with an expanded shaving section for the men featuring some seniors' favourites, like Brylcreem, and parts for electric razors.

Freitag is hoping to average 40-45% margins in the gift end.  The front store used to average 30-35% but is now around 28-30%.  The pharmacy gross profit is around 18% before professional allowances.

The new Freitag's will boast an expanded private office of 14sq.ft. for counselling and clinics (in such areas as cholesterol managment, diabetes care, and bone density testing), a semi-private consultation area, and a larger dispensary.

One feature that's sure to please is the addition of public washrooms, a real plus for a senior population.  Freitag has also added a separate side entrance with a handicapped door, all part of the thoughtful design.

With such a generous floor plan, Freitag has the opportunity to expand his product mix, including a larger home healthcare section as a way of offering more services to his senior clientele.

"I want to get more into the home health devices," he says.  "I already carry some of these items, like pressure gradient socks and diabetic socks.  I want to bring in grab bars, raised toilet seats, canes and walkers."

Renovation dos and don'ts

Even with his background in architecture, Freitag ran into some all too common renovation pitfalls.  His budget for the new building was $400,000, but final costs will probably be closwe to $500,000, on top of the $200,000 to buy the building.  And he had expected to open last fall. "I began working on the drawings and hired someone last year" he says.  "I got the permit in May 2009 and started the next month, but I had to fire the first contractor.  The quality of work wasn't there, and he wasn't making the deadlines.  I could tell it wasn't going to work out."  Enter contractor # 2 and add six months to the original opening date.

There were other problems, too.  "We discovered the steel columns holding up the building were rusted out," Freitag explains. "The city had raised the sidewalks, and that made the columns below the grade they used to be. "Fortunately, this problem cost a relatively affordable $2,500.

Freitag was also able to tap into Elliot Lake's Community Improvement Plan, a fund offering up to $20,000 for individual businesses and $40,000 for multi-tenanted businesses to help them fix up their properties.

The need to staff

At his old location, Freitag was the only pharmacist, aided one day a week by a Sudbury pharmacist.  The rest of the staff of six included a front store manager, pharmacy technician, bookkeeper, and Freitag's wife.  Moving from 1,100 to 6,000sq.ft. has meant bulking up on staff, too.  He has already hired two more full-timers and two part-timers for the frontshop and a new pharmacy technician.

"I would love to find a semi-retired or regular part-time pharmacist, but so far I haven't been able to hire another pharmacist," he says. On top of the expanded staff, he still needs to add another front store person for stocking and backup since the new Freitag's has increased from one to three cash areas.  "It's all a little scary," he confesses. "I'm excited, but a little scared, too."