Session Lessons

Lori Krukowski and Cathy Roberts know a good idea when they hear one.

In 2004, Krukowski, general manager of Tunkhannock, Pa.-based Lech’s Pharmacy, and Roberts, manager of the durable medical equipment segment of the business, attended a Medtrade seminar about designing a retail showroom.

It struck a chord with the Lech’s employees. For some time, they had thought about what to do with the small HME showroom attached to the rural pharmacy. HME was a profitable niche for the 20-year-old business. But the only showroom among the company’s five branches in northeast Pennsylvania was small and did not allow for much product display.

“We had 1,600 square feet just about evenly split between the pharmacy and DME,” says Krukowski. “It was very cramped.”

“Very, very!” stresses Roberts.

Still, the HME business was profitable. Should they really take on the cost and inconvenience of an expansion? The answer came at the seminar, presented by consultants Jack Evans of Global Media Marketing and Ed Lemar of Gladson Store Design.

“One thing [we learned] was that if you don’t show it, you can’t sell it. Right after the seminar, we looked at each other and said, ‘We’ve got to go home and do this,’” remembers Krukowski.

Their decision has paid off. Krukowski and Roberts say the HME business has expanded — and so has the number of customers. Even the pharmacy’s business has grown, they say.

“It’s been a win-win situation everywhere,” according to Roberts.

Not that it was inexpensive (“a significant investment” is how Krukowski puts it) or without difficulties. With an eye toward competitive bidding, Lech’s was beginning the accreditation process, was incorporating and also upgrading its computer system. The latter involved transferring huge amounts of data.

“Had we not incorporated at the same time as all this other stuff, I don’t think it would have been quite as hard,” says Krukowski.

Still, after hearing the design presentation, expansion seemed the right thing to do. Coincidentally, a space a few doors down from the pharmacy was for rent. The former pool-and-spa store “even had the racetrack layout,” says Krukowski, referring to a flooring design using linoleum and carpeting that allows customers to try out wheelchairs.

“We lucked into it,” says Krukowski. “It was two doors down, the same parking lot. This was a no-brainer. If we’d actually had to move out of this facility, I think we’d really have [had] to consider where to go.”

They hired a contractor to add some walls and doors, and about two months later, on a weekend, they moved. They borrowed shopping carts from a nearby market and, with the aid of the construction workers, ferried pharmaceutical products and equipment inventory to the new store.

“We stayed open while we were doing it,” Krukowski says, noting that the store’s clientele is “tolerant.”

“You might have to dig through boxes for what they wanted, but you found it and got them taken care of,” she says.

Let There Be Light

The new space has proven to be a boon to business. Lech’s is still located just across the street from a hospital but moved closer to the highway, where the store is now visible. Company vans are parked where people can see them, and there is a lighted sign at the end of the building.

“Our showroom has windows now, and we’re next to the highway. People who never knew we were here are now stopping by to see what we have,” says Roberts.

With about twice the square footage than it had, the company invested in some new product lines, mainly stocking and mastectomy products. It put more products on the showroom floor with displays that show how equipment is used and that promote additional sales.

There’s a bedroom set up with a hospital bed, a Hoyer lift, a trapeze bar and other appropriate DME. A bathroom complete with grab bars, a commode and other aids to daily living was built on rollers so it can be moved around the store. There is also a new, larger fitting room, a consultation room and a children’s play area.

With the nicer fitting room and expanded product lines, more mastectomy patients are seeking Lech’s out, and lift chair and scooter offerings also have expanded. “We had the same capabilities to get things before, but now, people can see them and they are selling better.”

When it came to displaying product, Krukowski says they put a number of suggestions from the design session into practice. “We used a lot of what [Evans] said about display — where you put it, how you put it,” she notes. “We have a wall of sports medicine-type things near the fitting room, and that has worked out quite well.”

There’s a reception area where Roberts can greet people, and she also has a new office in the back. “I love being out there in the front now,” says Roberts. “I am out with the bright lights and the windows.”

The store windows have made a significant difference, Krukowski adds. “I think a lot of people didn’t know we had as much product as we do [until they came into the new store]; it’s so much brighter in here.”

Worth the Work

While it was difficult to work on the move, choose an accreditor, get used to a new computer system and incorporate all at once, Krukowski says all have combined to position Lech’s for success in the future.

“At a pharmacy convention I heard a speaker say you need to keep up with technology to make your business grow. That’s true for DME, too,” she says. “DME has definitely gotten harder. But the new showroom and the new computer system have made life easier. Tracking inventory is much easier. We are even considering a bar coding system to keep track of inventory.”

This year, though, the real focus for the business is on accreditation. Lech’s competes with Apria and other nationals, so accreditation is imperative, Krukowski says.

“Our major drawback is that we are not accredited, so we are not eligible for some contracts that come up,” she explains. “We are small and very rural, so competitive bidding will not affect us right away but it definitely will be coming. So, accreditation is our major undertaking this year.”

Roberts says the expanded showroom and the new computer system should help in the process. “When we did all the renovations in the store, we tried to look toward accreditation,” she says. “We did all the renovations then so we wouldn’t have to worry about them later on.”

Lech’s is hoping to achieve accreditation through HQAA by June 2007. Where will it go from there?

Krukowski says accreditation will allow her to go after a contract with one of the larger health maintenance organizations in the area. Adding another pharmacy also is a possibility, though she doesn’t think another showroom would be a part of it. The Tunkhannock store works well as a central HME location for all the Lech’s branches, she says, especially since its expansion.

Krukowski does foresee, however, that Lech’s might invest in oxygen concentrators. And she predicts that the company’s CPAP business will continue to grow. Last year, it expanded from two patients to 25, and with two sleep labs within 20 minutes of the Tunkhannock store, she thinks it will expand even more.

Whatever Lech’s does, it will be after careful thought and planning — and maybe after Roberts and Krukowski attend a few more educational sessions at trade shows.

“You have to look down the road and plan where you want to be,” says Krukowski.

Lech’s Pharmacy

• Pharmacy and home medical equipment, 35 employees
• Five branches covering four counties in upper northeast Pennsylvania
• Working on accreditation through Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation (HQAA)

Renovation Recommendations

If you’re pondering getting into retail or expanding your showroom, Lori Krukowski, general manager of Lech’s Pharmacy in Tunkhannock, Pa., has some suggestions:

• Talk to other people, look at other showrooms. See what you like — and what you don’t like.
• Get input from customers about how easy it is to get around, what they can’t see or reach, etc.
• Put in a children’s area to keep them occupied.
• Recognize that revenues may slow down while you are moving and/or updating your computer system. Lech’s, says Krukowski, is still waiting for some reimbursement checks from Medicare because of the delay in filing claims due to the store’s move.
• Invest in new product so patients have a choice, and move displays around. “We are always rearranging things. You can’t keep everything in the same spot,” says Krukowski.