Ex-Perry execs branch out with Maple chain

Drug Store News, June 18, 1990

Ex-Perry execs branch out with Maple chain

FARMINGTON, Mich. -- Seven-store Maple Drugs is laying down new roots in southeastern Michigan as former Perry executives Al Wander and Pat Teeley spearhead the chain's revival.

Wander was executive vp and chief financial officer for Perry until early 1988, when he left to put together a deal to buy the former Maple Village Pharmacy chain from former owners Alvin and Harvey Rubin. He was joined by Pat Teeley, former assistant vp-merchandising at Perry.

Since the 1988 buyout, the two have led a push to overhaul Maple's once-stodgy image and carve out a definable niche in the heavily contested greater Detroit market. The stores--which range in size from 6,500 to 7,500 square feet--have been spruced up and completely remerchandised. New management has been put in place, both at the central office and in the stores. Store service levels have been vastly upgraded.

Maple has a new, unified logo and a new red, white and blue decor package for the stores. The merchandise mix has been both broadened and deepened, with a sharper focus on drug store basics, convenience foods and one-stop necessities. Pricing has also been sharpened, with prices for most merchandise "somewhere between Arbor and Perry," according to Wander.

"It's been a real building process, and we're going on our second year of broadening the merchandise mix," said Teeley, who serves as vp-merchandise and general manager. "There were a lot of things that needed to be put in order in the sense of merchandising and image."

Added Wander, "It was a good business before we came in, but like a lot of small businesses, the focus was not on the core product. With her contacts among vendors, Pat has been invaluable in helping us improve the merchandising.

"We've spent the last year-and-a-half getting the stores the way we want them and setting a direction," he added. "We needed to build a niche, and we see that niche as `the new neighborhood drug store,' with the store manager as the focal point of the business."

Along those lines, Maple delivers the kinds of services that its bigger competitors can't. All stores offer free prescription delivery, money orders, postage and Federal Express services, and friendly staff. Pharmacists are instructed to come out from behind their counters to answer questions and help customers find the right item. All clerks wear extra-large badges proclaiming their willingness to help answer customer needs.

"We don't think customers mind paying an extra 20 cents for some items to get the service and selection we offer," noted store manager Beth Spirko.

To make each of the seven stores more responsive to local consumers and local neighborhoods, Wander created a new incentive program and gave each manager a lot of autonomy to run his or her own business. "We teach them everything--financial statements, line item accounting, and so on."

Maple brought in former Arbor manager Dave LeBrun to serve as supervisor of stores. Recently, the company launched a program to create a point-of-sale system, and it has begun looking at expansion. The chain's first new store in several years will open late this summer in the Huntington Square Shopping Plaza in suburban South Lyons.