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Terry White Makes a Move

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	Staff Writer articles by this author...
Editing and Researching news and stories about global and local Pharmacy Issues

Introduction:

It is clear that the Terry White pharmacy group is on the move with the recent purchase of Pharmacy Direct and a restructure of its own management. Terry has had a distinguished pharmacy career and his stewardship will see possibly the strongest pharmacy group in Australia emerge He is opening up the opportunity for equity for senior members of his management team.
The following excerpt extracted from pharmacy media reports explains the process.

Media Source: Pharmacy Daily, July 1 2009


"MEMBERS of the Terry White Chemists group will be offered an opportunity to acquire an equity interest in the company which operates the franchise, under a “unique partnership arrangement” with Symbion announced today.
The new agreement will see the Terry White Chemists brand licensed to a company owned by the seven pharmacist directors of the Terry White Chemists board. It will also see the business known as Terry White Management, which operates the franchise, owned by the board members effective today. Group Chairman Terry White said the move was “about stabilising the ownership of the franchise company,offering the TWC members an equity interest in the franchise company and putting in place a significant development strategy for the TWC network focused on retail systems and professional services.”
He said staff at Terry White Management would continue in their current roles, with the firm initially owned by the directors and over the next 18 months offered to all TWC members and key executives in a capital raising.
“There are a lot of opportunities for pharmacists investing and working together as a compliant network that provides a sustainable support structure for Australian Pharmacists,” White said.
The same seven pharmacist directors already own Pharmacy Direct, which they purchased as a result of Coles being forced to divest itself of the business by the NSW Supreme Court (PD 16 Apr).
White said franchisees would also be offered equity in “Australia’s largest on-line pharmacy business, thus aligning members’ interest to develop and grow the TWC on-line business in the future.”

Symbion Pharmacy ceo Patrick Davies said the deal was “a positive and optimistic outcome.

“This agreement enables the pharmacist members to take a greater role in the retail operations of the business while cementing our partnership into the future.”

Davies said that Andrew Vidler, who had been in charge of TWC for the last five years, would now head up a new Retail Services Group to expand Symbion’s retail portfolio. “We have seen excellent growth in Terry White Chemists, Chemmart, Consumer Products and Minfos over recent years, and we are in good shape to develop a range of initiatives in these areas,” Davies said."



Commentary: by Mark Coleman

With the strategic moves that Terry White is making, he is opening up a range of career opportunities for all pharmacists in the wider arena of pharmacy, as others follow the blueprint of his model.
For example, the opportunity to become a company director and be involved in strategic planning requires a subset of skills in organisational management, market planning and financial planning.
A sole trader pharmacist is no match when up against a skilled board of directors and it is time to acknowledge this.
I predict that a new round of amalgamations will begin to appear as 2010 comes closer and my only regret here is that it has taken nearly a decade since the Wilkinson Review (when these opportunities were first discussed) for a genuine business model to emerge.
Of course there are a range of other models, but I would not regard them as being of a suitable standard, particularly when the various partnerships rely on supermarket techniques, nominal ownership and poor working conditions. However there are some smaller groups emerging that are still developing their business model.
It is possible to maintain an ethical organisation without cutting costs in all areas, and by treating people equitably and decently, it is further possible to create strong loyalties.
It is called goodwill, and it is worth real money.

Terry has established appropriate boundaries around each segment of his business, and that will allow those segments to grow in an appropriate culture within those boundaries.
Even on the occasions that there may be competition for resources, having them separated allows for clear arguments for appropriate development.

I congratulate Terry on reaching this level of achievement and as we approach the next battlefield in the race to provide professional services to an ageing population in their own home setting, it is clear that Terry White Chemists will be well represented.

I also hope that he remains creative and looks at providing specific services to other pharmacy groups.
This could create a separate income stream, and while it may look like giving a competitor a leg up, it is very practical for those solutions that require volume and uniformity.

Despite the credit crisis and the lack of direction that besets some of the smaller sole trader pharmacies, there is good reason for optimism, as Terry White demonstrates.

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