Canadian Distributor Plans U.S. Retail Stores, Sets First Opening

VANCOUVER, British Columbia–Canadian-based AMS Homecare is
expanding across the border with the Seattle-area opening this
summer of its first in a planned network of retail eldercare
stores.

Dubbed 65 Plus, the stores will be geared toward the elderly and
disabled, and will include a pharmacy, private consulting area, DME
and other devices such as hearing aids. The first store is slated
to open in Bellevue, Wash., this June in a leased 2,500-sq. ft.
space, although subsequent units may be larger, the company
said.

“We believe the elderly and disabled represent an underserved
market. There is no single location at which they can find all the
products they need to maintain their mobility and quality of life,”
said AMS CEO Harj Gill. “We are bringing together those products in
a store that offers a convenient and dignified setting. The 65 Plus
store will provide a new departure in service to this growing
segment of the population.”

In December, the company’s U.S. subsidiary signed a letter of
intent with a Canadian pharmacy to form a joint venture to enter
the U.S. retail market. The pharmacy company will advise on U.S.
pharmacy start-up procedures, and assist in hiring pharmacists.
“The synergy of providing pharmaceutical services with our
products–which are designed primarily for the elderly and others
with mobility difficulties–will be a natural fit with our target
market,” Gill said at the time, adding that AMS will use expertise
from its distribution business in supplying the store. Locating the
first store in Washington makes sense because “we are just a couple
of hours from Washington,” he said. “We ran a marketing test in
this area recently, and we were quite satisfied with the
results.”

AMS provides mobility equipment, other medical products and
patient monitoring technology to a base of 300-plus dealer
customers in Canada.