Functional
and perfectly balanced, the pharmacy interiors designed
by Sartoretto
Verna welcome customers into an environment charged
with positive energy that complements and strengthens
the pharmacist's professional image.
Successful
communication is not only about putting words together.
If you are try to communicate to today's consumers who
are searching for new answers and solutions to health
issues, then words alone are not enough.
A new-look pharmacy
is needed that caters to consumers' demand for
high quality services rather than a large quantity of
products. Imagination and rationality, pragmatism and
innovation "speak" to customers, charging
clients with positive energy and satisfying all their needs for good health whose natural habitat is the
pharmacy.
Guido Sartoretto Verna
has led the way in pharmacy design and systems since 1965,
pioneering a design methodology according to which each
pharmacy's identity and
history is left intact and a range of
bespoke flexible fittings are tailor made.
Sartoretto
Verna has been working exclusively in the field of
pharmacy store design since 1965 and is composed of
2 joint companies. One is based in Rome and deals with
research and development into pharmacy design and
fittings. It has developed the Ral System furniture
series from the drawing board to patenting, a process which
lasts about a year for each new series. The Rome office
also deals with logistics and all administration. The other company
is based in Turin and deals exclusively with pharmacy
design and sales. Both have showrooms showcasing the
latest products and design studios. Production is
outsourced to around a dozen partner companies. Sartoretto Verna's permanent staff is around 15 people,
two thirds of which are graduates. Since 2000 growth
has been in double figures; closing the financial year in 2006 with an
increase of around 30%. Sartoretto Verna operates in all
of Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Far
East too.
Pharmacies are akin
to community health centres that have earned people's
trust. In your experience, how can you renew
the image of a place that inspires trust and stimulate
consumer demand at the same time?
Before answering your questions, I think one thing
should be said first in way of introduction. Every
pharmacy has its own history which is linked to the
places and persons that have followed each pharmacy
along its journey. It roots within the local community
are often very deep since each pharmacy has contributed
significantly to its neighbourhood's growth over the generations. Unfortunately, however,
pharmacies and pharmacist's do not have the same
standing as they used to do. Market forces have led to
the product prevailing over the professional advice of
the pharmacist, whose very raison d'être is now being
questioned. It's all of problem of substance rather than
style, as the pharmacist should decide whether he or she
wants to go back to being the leading figure in his or
her shop and community. Do pharmacists today believe in
the pharmacy's mission? Do they love their job? Sartoretto Verna
is very sensitive to people's motivations and likes
sharing a common goal.
Yes, but I think its
important to point out that common goals must keep pace
with changing customer trends which have an impact upon
pharmacy interior design. Is it possible to have some
continuity and harmony between the old and the new style
as pharmacies evolve?
The revolution in IT has transformed society as
everybody can get the information they need straight
away. Consumers are much better informed as a result but
they are also much more confused. Pharmacists can step
into this gap and offer some clarity as long as they
have kept themselves up to date. However, I don't think
pharmacies should return to how they used to be, even
though antique furniture can be used effectively when
combined with our aluminium and glass RAL2
furniture.
What should strike
customers when they first step into a pharmacy?
Harmony! We think this is the objective of every good
design and obtaining it is not easy given all of the
diverse elements that come into play. These include the
pharmacy's urban setting, the pharmacist and his team,
the pharmacy building and the hoard of different
consultants from the accountant to the window dresser.
The common goal is to increase profits, credibility and
professional standing among the local community, and
everyone of the people involved have to play their part
and work together. The company chosen to undertake the
renovation or refit is a key player as it is up to them
to understand, coordinate and leverage all of these
diverse elements in order to achieve the common goal and
make the pharmacy successful and profitable.
Do you think that by
changing a pharmacy's image
you can liberate the
pharmacist from old clichés and increase his reputation
as a qualified professional?
Certainly, I think that it's imperative to create a new
image for the pharmacy as they have been left behind and
not kept up with the changing face of retail. Nowadays,
restaurants sell cook books, bookshops sell CDs and DVDs
and fashion boutiques put on food and wine tasting. By
combining related products and experiences, modern
retail attempts to make customers' buying experience as
pleasurable (and profitable) as possible.
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Back-lit
®Ral System 2 modular shelving systems
in aluminium and glass |
From the research
that you have conducted into pharmacy interior design, which
solutions have the most strategic importance?
Sartoretto Verna has always placed great emphasis on the
importance of R&D. We were the first to introduce
floor-to-ceiling display units (RAL 1) in the 1980's;
back-lit modular shelving in aluminium and glass (RAL 2)
and antique treated furniture (RAL Classic) in the
1990's; self-supporting shelves (RAL 3) and light
diffusing materials (RAL 4) in 2000. We currently sell
over 4000 products and have a wide range of variables
and optional extras (Corian, aluminium, copper,
metacyrlic, synthetic leather, inox brushed aluminium)
which leverage production techniques and know how that
are very different to traditional carpentry. We offer
tailor-made fittings are incredibly flexible, allowing a
wide range of functional and aesthetic combinations.
This helps to diversify the pharmacy's various sectors
and make each type of product more recognisable. The
modular technology also permits you to change displays
and integrate new ones at will.
Faced by the challenge of
supermarket and chain pharmacies, how can pharmacies
leverage interior design to stand out?
First of all, pharmacies need to be spacious to succeed.
Before refurbishing and fitting takes place, you should
buy up space, as much as possible, even if its a
basement or upper floor is doesn't matter. Thanks to
robotic storage systems and modern building techniques,
at least 75% of the space can made public. Having set
aside at least 150 sq. m. for the retail area, you can
use the rest of the space for offering new services such
as vaccinations, first aid and many others.
What are the
characteristics of the pharmacy of the future? Form,
light or colour?
I'm sure you have already understood that our
approach to interior design is complex and varied. We
are not interested in simply replacing old fittings with
new ones or repainting the walls a different colour
because the
interior would still have the same defects and be under the
same limits. Sartoretto Verna is all about solving our
clients' problems at the root, changing a building's
structure if necessary in order to optimize the space
and significantly increase the business's profit
margins. This can only be achieved through developing
our relationship with the client and having a
sufficiently large space at our disposal. With all of
these key factors in place, the pharmacy can offer more
personalised services and be more interactive, involving
customers in a open-ended dialogue and putting them and
their needs at the centre the pharmacy rather than the
product. Light, colour and materials are all key
players, of course, but they will be discreetly used as
pharmacies are unique in the retail world and should
avoid being too gregarious. What do I mean by discreet?
Create charm and ambience through lighting and detailing
without allowing the pharmacy's commercial purpose to
distract from the role of the pharmacist as a
professional health expert.
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