Page 28 - Sphere No.6 (Jun 2002)

SPHERE
26
R E T A I L
cement manufacturing, tourism and
entertainment, the SM Group is headed
by Henry Sy Sr., one of the country’s
most highly regarded business tycoons.
“We’ve been talking to ShoeMart
for many years and have always been
interested in taking theWatsons concept
to the Philippines,” says Philip Ingham,
CEO of A.S.Watson Group Retail Non-
Food Division. “But before the change
of law we could only have taken a
minority stake, and we’re only interested
in business where we at least have man-
W HEN DR T.R.
Colledge founded
his first Watson’s
the Chemist dispensary in
Canton in 1828, pharmacists
were at the front-line of health
care. Customers related the
symptoms of their ailments,
and pharmacists dispensed pills
or potions to treat them.
This was the role of “old-
style” pharmacists. Seriously ill
patients were, of course, directed to the nearest doctor; but a
pharmacist was sufficiently knowledgeable of medicine and
experienced to recommend common cures.
Over the years, the key role of a pharmacy in public health
care in Hong Kong has substantially diminished. No longer are
pharmacists regarded as community health-care professionals.
If we are very sick, we go to a doctor. If we are feeling off-
colour, we look for cures ourselves in a chemist. Often, we
rely on advertising for advice.
Meanwhile, public health has changed dramatically. Society is
no longer ravaged by typhoid, cholera and such; but other
chronic diseases have taken their place. Today, living longer
with more stressful modern lifestyles, we are much more
threatened by heart disease, cancer or diabetes.
Most of these “modern” diseases need not be fatal, so long
as they are diagnosed early. But the unfortunate irony is that
old-fashioned pharmacists are no longer on hand to spot the
alarm signals in customers who are feeling unwell. Instead,
chronic conditions build up over the years, to the point where
they become much harder to treat.
In a major initiative to counter the problem,Watsons is now
taking a leaf out of its original founder’s book and is leading a
groundbreaking coalition of public and private sector organi-
sations to restore the primary health care role of pharmacies.
The collaborative programme called “Pharmacy Self Care”
is linking the resources of Watsons, the Chinese University of
Hong Kong’s School of Pharmacy, leading pharmaceutical com-
panies Glaxo Smith Kline and Bayer Diagnostics, and health
care professionals to enhance community health awareness
and provide the Hong Kong public with greater access than
ever before to simple, relevant health information and advice.
Initially being implemented in Watsons stores, with the aim
of eventually extending to all pharmacies, the programme is
providing Health Fact Sheets, Risk Factor Tick Tests and sim-
ple Risk Detection Kits alongside advice and guidance from
Watsons-trained teams of pharmacists and health & fitness
advisors.
First, the programme is focusing on diabetes, one of the
most serious and fastest-growing chronic illnesses in Hong
Kong, affecting an estimated 600,000 people – half of whom
are not aware of it.
Advice is also being offered on 11 other “everyday” ailments
such as headaches, coughs and colds, together with informa-
tion about the correct use of vitamins.
“This is a much-needed programme that we’re enthusiasti-
cally supporting,” says Dr Vivian Lee of the CUHK School of
Pharmacy. “Hong Kong needs pharmacists to play a more
active role.”
The initiative is modelled on a programme developed by the
Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, which has run successfully
there for 15 years.
“We want to change the way the public thinks about phar-
macists and uses them,” says Andrew Brent, regional Marketing
Director of Watsons. “It’s a genuine example of Watsons try-
ing to address a growing problem and do something for the
public good. It’s what we’re all about. It’s also taking Watsons
back to its Canton roots as a community pharmacy.”
agement control. In the event, we now
have a 60:40 majority holding in the
joint venture.”
The deal was in fact brokered by SM
Group President Teresita Sy-Coson,
Henry Sy’s daughter, who is leading
ShoeMart into its latest cycle of expan-
sion. She took charge of the chain in
1990 and has continued its evolution
from a simple shoe store to an aggressive
soft-goods retailer and shopping mall
operator, leading the company to adopt
new technologies like bar coding, which
is unusual in the Philippines.
“The retailing business is dynamic,”
she says. “You have to constantly reno-
vate, innovate and change to keep up
with consumer tastes and be ahead of
the competition.”
LOCAL STRATEGY
The partnership withWatsons, under the
name Watsons Personal Care Stores
(Philippines) Ltd., is destined to ensure
ShoeMart remains in the retail driving
seat. But it is not simply a case of trans-
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