With a strong customer base already established from the old Bay Pharmacy, Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy introduced its first store in Southern California last week with 300 visitors attending the grand opening. Pharmaca hopes to build on this customer base in developing an alternative and natural remedies clientele. Continuing to provide prescription services, Pharmaca also offers a variety of supplements and natural care items, as well as regular over-the-counter medicines. The chain, launched in 2000 in Boulder, Colorado, has focused its strategy on taking over independent pharmacies in locations with highly educated populations, but where wellness practices are accepted, such as in Boulder, Mill Valley and Santa Fe. To date, the company has 11 pharmacies in Colorado, California, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington. In trying to establish a new niche, Pharmaca’s challenge will be to encourage pharmacy customers with an illness mindset to learn about complementary and integrative medicine with a wellness mindset. Company founder and CEO Barry Perzow, who was on hand at last week’s grand opening, described the ideal customer. ‘My hope is that when you come in here and speak to one of our practitioners, you would learn something you didn’t know about how to take care of yourself, something that would influence your lifestyle.’ Along with medications, Pharmaca staff also dispense plenty of information to customers. For example, when a customer buys a regular prescription drug, he or she will also learn about natural products that counteract the medicine’s side effects. In addition, over-the-counter products are displayed alongside their homeopathic counterparts. For example, in the eye care section, the Bausch & Lomb eye care products are displayed with the all-natural Optique. On the cold remedy shelf, throat lozenges are displayed with the echinacea throat spray. Pharmaca does not advocate one approach over another but offers consumers appropriate professional advice employing pharmacists, herbalists, a homeopath, naturopath and esthetician. ‘Part of what we do is offer free consulting on topics such as diet, nutrition, herbal remedies, drug interaction and nutrient depletion,’ Perzow said. Pharmaca has created a space for health screenings and a Practitioner’s Kiosk equipped with computers and reference materials. Nina Yannoukos is the Palisades store’s homeopath. With a four-year degree and three years of pre-med training in her native South Africa, she will be available four days a week to consult with customers. ‘As a homeopathic doctor, I will try to delve deeper into a patient’s history,’ she said. ‘I will make a good evaluation of all their symptoms, including physical, environmental and spiritual to try to find one cause.’ In addition to Yannoukos, naturopathic doctor Lisa Fillis will be in the store four days a week. A naturopathic doctor is a certified primary care physician in California, who looks at a broad spectrum of therapies, including medical prescriptions, supplements, herbs, vitamins and homeopathy. An acupuncturist is also on staff, and store manager Mindy Taylor is an herbalist. Breaking away from Pharmaca’s model of a small (3,500-4,000 sq. ft.) store, emphasizing an intimate, personalized philosophy, the Palisades store is 9,600 sq. ft., which presented a challenge to founding partner Russell Precious, the store’s design consultant. Precious said that several things made the remodel tricky, including keeping the store open throughout the three-month construction. ‘The other challenge was the fact that the store has two entrances, which presented a sort of feng shui confusion.’ Customers who enter from the back, near Palisades Car Wash, will encounter Palisades Flowers, which is moving from its current location on Sunset. Customers entering from Sunset are greeted with a newspaper rack and magazine display, which includes a number of foreign magazines. The overall space is bright and open. Halogen track lights are positioned above the aisles and alcoves to keep merchandise displays well lighted. ‘We light the product, not the people,’ Precious said. The design team also created alcoves to define product categories, such as supplements, natural skin care, candles and aromatherapy. Consistent with the store’s philosophy of using natural and eco-friendly products, the store’s low-pile carpet is made from recycled materials, the special water-based latex paint is low in volatile organic compounds. Light-colored paint and shelving contribute to the sense of openness. Renovations also added a 1,000- sq.- ft. event and community room, along with a cosmetic and beauty boutique. Jo Ann Issenman, Pharmaca partner and category manager, edited down the bodycare lines to eight’all biodynamic and organic’in various price points. The facial treatment room will feature the Australia-based skin care product line from Jurlique. Right now, Pharmaca is the first and only place holder in this new healthcare niche in Los Angeles. The store is betting on aging baby boomers to provide a substantial customer base and is planning another store soon in Brentwood.
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