Icon Group Founders and Chemist Warehouse partner up, eye hospital pharmacy expansion
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The founders of veteran cancer care service Icon Group and leading pharmacy chain, Chemist Warehouse, are set to join forces.
Their goal? An expansion of the formidable Chemist Warehouse into hospital pharmacies across Australia.
Two luminaries from the pharmaceutical industry, Cathie Reid and Stuart Giles, have joined hands with our Chemist Warehouse in what is being labelled a ‘game-changing’ move for the medical industry.
This new joint venture, aptly called Chemist Warehouse Hospital Pharmacy, also includes the legendary Chemist Warehouse founders Jack Gance and Mario Verrocchi, as together they aim to break into the in-hospital chemist market.
For those who don't know the story behind Reid and Giles, these two powerhouses built the Icon Group, a leading cancer care provider, before selling it to private equity.
Dedicated to creating the best service for patients, the couple's combined wealth is estimated to be around a whopping $555 million AUD.
On the other hand, Chemist Warehouse duo Gance and Verrocchi gave Australia more than 500 stores with their innovative models and customer-centric strategies.
It’s fair to say Chemist Warehouse has made quite a name for itself in Australia, ruling the roost with sales exceeding $3 billion last year. But, despite being a titan in the high-street chemist world, the company has yet to crack the in-hospital pharmacy sector.
It appears this venture may be the key to breaking into this fragmented market.
For Reid and Giles, it's not the first time they've teamed up with the chemist giant. Two decades back, they sold the majority of their pharmacies in Queensland and Victoria to Chemist Warehouse.
Commenting on the epic collaboration, Reid shared her perspective with The Australian Financial Review: ‘We are starting in Australia but not limiting ourselves to only Australia,’ she said, hinting at future international expansions.
‘Chemist Warehouse has stores overseas. Looking at the Chemist Warehouse track record, they don't go into anything with a view of being passive in it. They're in the business of being category killers.’
A Chemist Warehouse spokesperson also indicated that the venture would not only open up more employment for pharmacists and pharmacy assistants and enhance their ‘highly sought-after trainee programme’ by introducing it to the hospital pharmacy environment.
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Their goal? An expansion of the formidable Chemist Warehouse into hospital pharmacies across Australia.
Two luminaries from the pharmaceutical industry, Cathie Reid and Stuart Giles, have joined hands with our Chemist Warehouse in what is being labelled a ‘game-changing’ move for the medical industry.
This new joint venture, aptly called Chemist Warehouse Hospital Pharmacy, also includes the legendary Chemist Warehouse founders Jack Gance and Mario Verrocchi, as together they aim to break into the in-hospital chemist market.
For those who don't know the story behind Reid and Giles, these two powerhouses built the Icon Group, a leading cancer care provider, before selling it to private equity.
Dedicated to creating the best service for patients, the couple's combined wealth is estimated to be around a whopping $555 million AUD.
On the other hand, Chemist Warehouse duo Gance and Verrocchi gave Australia more than 500 stores with their innovative models and customer-centric strategies.
It’s fair to say Chemist Warehouse has made quite a name for itself in Australia, ruling the roost with sales exceeding $3 billion last year. But, despite being a titan in the high-street chemist world, the company has yet to crack the in-hospital pharmacy sector.
It appears this venture may be the key to breaking into this fragmented market.
For Reid and Giles, it's not the first time they've teamed up with the chemist giant. Two decades back, they sold the majority of their pharmacies in Queensland and Victoria to Chemist Warehouse.
Commenting on the epic collaboration, Reid shared her perspective with The Australian Financial Review: ‘We are starting in Australia but not limiting ourselves to only Australia,’ she said, hinting at future international expansions.
‘Chemist Warehouse has stores overseas. Looking at the Chemist Warehouse track record, they don't go into anything with a view of being passive in it. They're in the business of being category killers.’
A Chemist Warehouse spokesperson also indicated that the venture would not only open up more employment for pharmacists and pharmacy assistants and enhance their ‘highly sought-after trainee programme’ by introducing it to the hospital pharmacy environment.
Key Takeaways
- Chemist Warehouse has formed a joint venture with Cathie Reid and Stuart Giles, founders of Icon Group, to enter the hospital pharmacy sector.
- The joint venture, called Chemist Warehouse Hospital Pharmacy, plans to initially enter the Australian market before potentially expanding internationally.
- Reid and Giles, who share an estimated wealth of about $555 million, previously sold the majority of their pharmacies in Queensland and Victoria to Chemist Warehouse.
- The new partnership is expected to create employment opportunities for pharmacists and pharmacy assistants while enabling Chemist Warehouse's sought-after trainee program to operate in a hospital pharmacy environment.