After that, franchisee-members contribute to the corporate pot through a formula set by each regional office. Just 40 people staff the head office in Langley, B.C., including six senior executives. At the regional offices, full-time staff are kept to a minimum, depending on the size of a region. Besides the general manager, one or more employees are dedicated to professional services, merchandising and operations. In 1996, the B.C. members sold West Coast Drugs, Pharmasave's wholesale division in the west.
Members can choose from several flyer programs.
On a national level, Pharmasave offers 'Best Practices' guidelines for professional services and merchandising, as well as staff training, store design and strategic planning support, patient information materials, member retreats and an award-winning website for consumers. Barbara Ogle, national director of professional services, has developed Live Well, a series of health-information days from which members can pick and choose according to the needs of their communities. As well, Ogle is developing a managed care program so that members can approach local employers with strategies for managing drug benefit plans. What they couldn't decide, however, was whether to remain independent, join a franchise or become part of a banner program. Their father, Thaddeus, who is the store's third partner, has operated his downtown dispensary, Konop Chemists, for 34 years as an independent.