In this episode of the Pharmacy View Podcast, host Scott Carpenter, EVBC talks to John Thornett, Owner, Peak Strategies (WA) Pty Ltd, a Chartered Accountant, and a Pharmacy Expert. Listen to the episode to learn about how the qualified and professional team at Peak Strategies has been helping Pharmacy owners across Australia.
Having started off as a Chartered Accountant, John recounts the story of how Peak Strategies came into being and how its entire client base now consists of Community Pharmacies. When describing over 25 years of work with Community Pharmacies, John says, “When you love what you do, it fills your soul with so much joy.” Furthering why they enjoy working in the industry, they quote these reasons:
• First on the list for John are the people in the industry who are wonderful and have so much to offer
• Second reason is being able to specialize and have a niche. John understands what the pain points are for Pharmacy Owners because of having put in so much time to understand the industry and business as a whole. John adds that with the level of knowledge, they can provide more value to the clients and have increased abilities to help people. Pharmacy is a unique beast and having the level of knowledge that John and his team have is reassuring from the client’s perspective.
John then compares Community Pharmacies during and post Covid. When Covid hit, Community Pharmacy’s reputation really grew as they were open and accessible all the time. In Western Australia, the closing of borders meant more and more people went to their Community Pharmacies. While good money was made, it was exhausting. John then raises some pertinent concerns about Pharmacies in 2023:
• While 2021/2022 was good for Pharmacy business across the board, things have changed in 2023 as we live in a different world now.
• Family purses have been tightened because of inflation and higher interest rates. What does it mean for Pharmacies moving forward?
• What will happen to the market for buying a Pharmacy? It won’t be the same as it was in 2022.
• Pharmacy owners are exhausted and you can’t find a Pharmacist for the love of money.
• What revenue opportunities were missed in the lack of resources?
• Changes in margins owing to wages, stock-piling, and lease renewals.
Pointing out the aforementioned challenges and opportunities in the industry, John then goes on to talk about how busy Peak Strategies has been with the following:
• A lot of work in the Validation space
• Work with owners in the marketing space
• Pharmacy Mastermind Program to help owners have a profitable and sustainable business
• A lot of work in the Partner space for first-time owners looking to be Junior Partners
• Podcasts
• Content-driven website
To John, everything comes down to helping people. And they believe that technology can aid the process through the automation of repetitive tasks. This needs to be done so that people can focus on what people are good at—human interaction.
