A collaborative, storewide effort
Drug Store News speaks with John Fegan, VP pharmacy at Winn-Dixie.
Drug Store News: What is the vision behind Winn-Dixie’s health-and-wellness initiatives?
John Fegan: Our stated mission is to earn trust and loyalty every day. Trust comes from having the best products and the best services available at the right price. From the pharmacy perspective, we [also] would want to provide the most inclusive information available in the marketplace to assure the overall health and well-being of the patients that we serve. [Our patients] don’t have to worry about shopping around to find a health-and-wellness item. They know we’re going to have it. That’s [part of] establishing the trust, [and] that is key…. If you do that, then shoppers are going to return, [and] they’re going to be loyal to you.
DrSN: What goals are you trying to achieve through Winn-Dixie’s health-and-wellness initiatives?
Fegan: The endgame is that we want the entire store to be part of the initiative. It isn’t just pharmacy; it isn’t just [health and beauty care]. It truly is a collaborative effort among the entire team here at Winn-Dixie. It isn’t pharmacy trying to wag the dog; it’s the entire dog moving in the same direction, [and] that’s providing the information, the healthy products and the selection to the consumers who are using our stores. Every department will be pulling in the same direction to provide the health-and-wellness program that we set out to provide.
DrSN: What have you learned?
Fegan: Two things. First, the associates love it. The associates are involved in something that’s unique, something that’s different, something they can get behind, something they can learn from.
The second is that our customers are getting an education. It’s a different time, and when you used to go to the old drug store, you didn’t have the services, the selections, [all of this health] information that’s available to you. When we’re doing health testing and immunizations, [or making] follow-up calls on medicines, and the people are walking down our aisles and seeing information about a healthy product we may be selling, that creates a ‘wow’ factor among our customers. It’s an education process for them as shoppers, and they’re absorbing it.… So, the benefit behind educating the consumer is the short answer, [coupled with] an acceptance and involvement by the associates.