NACDS chairman Giancamilli urges Canadian retailers to unify
TORONTO In a deft display of cross-border diplomacy, National Association of Chain Drug Stores chairman Andy Giancamilli today made common cause with Canadian pharmacy operators while urging them to adopt some of the same grassroots lobbying strategies now wielded by their American counterparts.
Giancamilli, the Kmart and Perry Drug Stores veteran who is CEO of Canada’s largest drug store network, Katz Group North America, and its U.S. subsidiary, Minnesota-based Snyder’s Drug Stores, is no stranger to pharmacy and general merchandise retailing on either side of the border. Addressing the Canadian Association of Chain Drug Stores’ Chain Drug Conference 2009 here this morning, he made good use of that dual-country perspective.
“It’s worth the dialogue to consider how each country can improve the health care of its citizens. And each country can learn from each other,” Giancamilli told CACDS members in an appearance that coincided with Pres. Barack Obama’s first trip to Canada since his inauguration last month.
Recapping the state of pharmacy retailing in the U.S., NACDS’ chairman told conference-goers that their American counterparts are staging an increasingly coordinated battle to educate policymakers and lawmakers on retail pharmacy’s concerns — and to win their support for pharmacy-friendly legislation and regulations.
“We are encouraging NACDS members to be the face of pharmacy in the minds of lawmakers,” Giancamilli said. “Just this month, NACDS launched RxIMPACT. This is the brand name for everything we do in the area of pharmacy tours for legislators, helping NACDS members write to their elected officials, arranging Congressional meetings for NACDS members in Washington DC, and more.
“RxIMPACT is the way for NACDS and allies to take a stand for better healthcare in a very personal way,” Giancamilli added. “Humbly, I would propose that CACDS and all provincial pharmacists’ associations replicate parts of RxIMPACT here.”
The chain pharmacy veteran said pharmacy owner/operators in Canada could benefit if they “engage more dialog with members of Parliament” through “grassroots communications and mobilization.”
Giancamilli acknowledged the global economic meltdown now dogging retailers on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border, but reminded his listeners of some advice from Pres. John F. Kennedy. “When uncertainty and crisis appear, the words of President John F. Kennedy are many times cited,” Giancamilli said. “He said, ‘The Chinese use two brush strokes to write ‘crisis.’ One brush stroke for danger, the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger, but recognize the opportunity.’
“That’s what were are here to do, and I say let’s go!” Giancamilli added.