Boulder pharmacy grows new model, store base
When Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy opens its third
Boulder store today, it'll give its hometown a taste
of how much it has grown up during its past six years.
"It's a big departure from our other Boulder
stores," said Barry Perzow, a Pharmaca founder.
"We've implemented our newer design that we're
using on the West Coast."
The new pharmacy in the Table Mesa Shopping Center,
the company's 13th in five states, boasts a design
that showcases a more holistic approach -- including
a compounding lab, a greater focus on skin and beauty
products and the availability of all-natural baby
products and environmentally friendly products.
The changes do not mean the company is stepping away
from its founding ideal of offering prescription services,
and traditional and alternative medicines, Perzow
said.
Rather, the changes were made to emphasize categories
that have helped drive the company's 40 percent year-over-year
sales growth, he said. The new model hopefully will
help drive future sales growth as Pharmaca plans to
nearly triple its store base to 35 stores by 2008.
The company hopes to cluster more stores in existing
markets.
"The way we want to grow our business is to
fit into neighborhoods," Perzow said.
That's why the Table Mesa location seemed right for
the company's latest Boulder store, Perzow said, adding
it's an underserved market that poses less of a risk
of cannibalizing its stores in downtown and north
Broadway.
The new Pharmaca is a welcome addition to other businesses
in the South Boulder shopping center.
"When I first saw it, I thought, 'Whoa, south
Boulder is moving up,'" said Tammy Hancock, a
manager at the Mickey C's Bagels next door. Hancock
said she expects Pharmaca to bring more business to
the center -- she plans to shop at Pharmaca herself.
Having a Boulder-based business set up shop fits
in with the center's appeal, said Dana Derichsweiler,
an owner of the Walnut Caf, which opened a second
Boulder location two years ago at Table Mesa.
"Boulder really supports locally owned businesses,
so it's nice to see that happening," she said.
If it goes as planned, Pharmaca's national expansion
-- fueled by $18 million in funding from Lexington,
Mass.-based Highland Capital Partners -- could add
at least 350 more employees to the company's current
national headcount of 300, Perzow said. The expansion
also is expected to increase the number of employees
at Pharmaca's headquarters by 10 to 50, he said.
Along with incorporating the model into its new locations,
Pharmaca plans to refurbish its current stores. The
two Boulder locations are expected to be redesigned
in January and February, he said.
Other plans include growing Pharmaca's private label
line, which currently makes up about 1 percent of
its sales, Perzow said. In three years, the goal is
to have the private label make up 10 percent of sales,
he said.
And unlike local natural foods counterpart Wild Oats
Markets Inc., Pharmaca's private label will be sold
only in Pharmaca stores. The Boulder-based Wild Oats
recently announced it will sell its branded products
in East Coast grocer Pathmark Stores Inc.
"I'm a believer in your brand is your brand
and if a customer wants your brand, they've got to
come into your store," Perzow said.
