Posted on November 6, 2020
MediCare Pharmacy Group
Lifeplan’s Retailer of the Month – October 2020
Medicare group was founded by Michael Guerin who acquired his first pharmacy in 1988 in Bradbury Place, Belfast. Since then the company has continued to grow to the point where MediCare currently have 53 pharmacies across Northern Ireland, making them one of the biggest independent pharmacy groups in Northern Ireland. MediCare operate under the strap line “Caring for your Health”, they pride themselves on delivering the best service to their loyal customers.
We recently spoke with David McMahon who Is the OTC and Food Supplements Buyer for MediCare Pharmacy Group. David started with the company in January 2020, with a background working with successful retailers including Sainsbury’s and Iceland, David has been working hard through a very strange time to deliver quality products to those in need.
Lifeplan has had a strong relationship with Medicare since 2004, providing a wide range of products to their customers, including Vitamin C and Joint Action Turmeric.
During the recent COVID-19 pandemic, David noticed there were changes which had to be made in their pharmacies. With the introduction of one-way systems, social distancing measures and protective counter screens, there was not enough space to offer the range of products as they normally would.
With less merchandising space, they had to adapt what products they were buying and offering to their customers, trying to offer the best deals and the most relevant products. As the demand for vitamins and mineral supplements has grown significantly over the past 7 months, David explained “I really noticed a change in the quantities products sold. Vitamin C and Turmeric are still popular but the demand has significantly increased”.
The demand for vitamin and mineral supplements has increased in the UK during the pandemic, particularly those that support the immune system and MediCare have worked hard to keep up with that demand. In addition, with it being increasingly difficult to display as many products as they would normally, they have been constantly looking to invent new ways to display products and offer a great shopping experience for their customers.
MediCare Pharmacy Group are dedicated to their customers health and wellbeing, offering a fantastic range of products to suit their customer needs. In recent times pharmacies are also becoming increasingly used to offer advice to customers. It is now the norm for people to go to their local pharmacies to seek health advice and guidance and MediCare can offer the knowledge and the products to provide this service.
We asked David how it felt to be our Retailer of the Month and he said “It’s good that Lifeplan have taken the initiative to give great customer service and to know they are thinking about their customers during this difficult time, it sounds like it has some great potential going forward”.
We are proud to work closely with MediCare Pharmacy Group to offer support to their many customers across Northern Ireland and it’s amazing to see the way they have adapted to the new situation we all find ourselves in, able to offer consistently great service and a safe environment.
With the work that MediCare have done in Northern Ireland, both before the pandemic and during, it’s clear that they really care about their customers health and wellbeing, and also their safety during this strange time.
We really feel that they deserve this recognition for their commitment to their customers.
