Thursday, January 18, 2007

Shoppers Drug Mart's new CEO will help push cosmetics

Typically I avoid the business part of pharmacy in this blog. If you want to read about Jean Coutu's earnings this quarter or projections for Shoppers Drug Mart stock, there are probably some great business blogs out there that will provide more info and better analysis.

I'm making an exception this time. The article below talks about Shoppers Durg Mart hiring a new CEO with a background in cosmetics. The report mostly talks about the plans to focus primarily on cosmetics as well as food items. There is not one word about pharmaceuticals, pharmacists, or anything relating to medicine. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this from a business standpoint. Anyone who holds stock in Shoppers Drug Mart would probably agree with their plans. However, as a pharmacist I find it disappointing that the biggest "pharmacy" chain in Canada these days really doesn't seem to be even thinking about pharmacy.

From the Calgary Sun:
Jurgen Schreiber's international experience and his work at the helm of a beauty company make him the perfect choice to lead Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. (TSX:SC) as the retailer seeks more global suppliers and higher profits from cosmetics, the company said Thursday.

The firm was looking to focus more on its cosmetics section and "you will find that already in Q1, where we bring in new brands, we enhance around 700 stores," the new CEO said during a call with analysts. ...more

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