A DOSE OF SUCCESS Owner opens 2nd pharmacy

THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN
Business is booming in Austintown, so the couple is expanding into Boardman.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Rick Berry isn't afraid to take on the big boys.
The Mahoning Valley native is going head-to-head against the Rite Aid, CVS, Walgreen and Phar-Mor chains by opening his second independently owned pharmacy in the region.
Berry said his business has grown an average of 20 percent a year since he bought the Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy at 4433 Mahoning Ave. in Austintown more than three years ago.
Now, he and his wife, Mary Jo, have opened a second Medicine Shoppe in the Rosewood Centre plaza at 6241 Market St. The store celebrates its grand opening next week.
Berry's store is part of a growing chain of more than 1,100 independently owned Medicine Shoppe pharmacies.
The difference: What sets them apart, he explained, is their small store size and their focus on prescription and over-the-counter medications. They don't sell beauty supplies, greeting cards and other items that have become commonplace at larger pharmacies.
"People love it. They park at the door, walk in, and they're at the pharmacy counter," he said. "And they love our service. We have a 15-minute guarantee -- but we try to get them in and out in 10. They can't believe it."
The stores also offer free health screenings. Berry's new pharmacy will begin its screening series next week with a body-fat percentage analysis; plans are to offer flu shots and blood pressure and cholesterol screenings.
Although the Medicine Shoppe stores operate independently, he said, membership in the chain provides bulk buying power and helps in negotiating contracts with health-insurance providers.
The St. Louis headquarters also has a staff of experts available to advise store owners on business matters. Berry enlisted their help in choosing his second location.
Career: Berry grew up in Struthers, graduated from the University of Toledo with a degree in pharmacy in 1978, then began his 23-year career as a pharmacist.
He worked for the former Cunningham Drugs and Allen's Drugtown chains, did a six-month stint as a missionary in the Philippines and then worked seven years for Rite Aid before hiring on as a staff pharmacist at the Austintown Medicine Shoppe. Three years later, he bought the store.
Independent pharmacies were struggling at the time, he said, and many across the country had gone out of business. Besides, drug stores were just beginning to face competition from mail-order prescription companies.
Berry said his Austintown location proved ideal because the township's population has been growing so fast, and the small-store concept proved especially popular among senior citizens and aging baby boomers.
Family project: The Berrys are making the new store a family affair. He'll work in both pharmacies, alternating days; his wife and their 16-year-old daughter will staff the new business; and the couple's other children, ages 14 and 12, have been helping after hours. The stores have four other employees.
Berry said he encourages people to consider going into business themselves, as long as they realize they must live within their means.
"It might mean driving a 10-year-old car," he joked, "but it's worth it for the joy of owning your own business."