When Bob Rennie sold new condo owners on the benefits of moving to Olympic Village, the promise of a London Drugs in the neighbourhood was a big part of his pitch. To be a community, he knew, you needed to be able to shop in the community.
On Friday morning, he thanked the Louie family, who own London Drugs, for helping him convince people that "the ghost town cloud" hovering over Olympic Village has dissipated. Selling the last 186 units will be easy now that London Drugs has joined a thriving business community that includes Urban Fare, Terra Breads and Tap and Barrel.
"London Drugs was the missing link," Rennie told the early morning crowd before London Drugs chairman Brandt Louie joined him and other dignitaries in cutting the ribbon. "I'm so proud they stood by us."
"When people come down here, it's going to blow away their preconceptions," says Clint Mahlman, the senior vice-president of London Drugs. "There's a sense of pride here that will tip over. I don't think I've ever seen a community so enthusiastic to see us open. They immediately said, 'It's our store.'"
"We needed to make sure the store would cater exactly to the needs of the community," says president and CEO Wynne Powell. The store's product lines will reflect what people need to find in the store, an evolving process. This store features a photo centre where you can print photos from Facebook and other social media sites, a private consultation room where you can talk with a pharmacist and, in the future, health and immunization clinics. "That's the magic of London Drugs."
The store's other commitment is to sustainability. Enhancing its existing commitment to encouraging shoppers to recycle all kinds of packaging, it is introducing special bins for discarded beauty product packaging. For every package that's returned to the store, London Drugs will donate two cents to the Canadian Cancer Society.
Mahlman says everyone is thrilled that the store has reached its 95 per cent waste diversion goal. It not only includes its highly successful styrofoam recycling initiative the chain has prevented 67 tonnes of stryofoam from going into the landfill but goes right down to the dirt that's swept up from the floor and put in the organic recycling bin as part of its What's Green Deal program.
"This store sets a model for other retailers across North America," Mahlman says. "Soon our goal is zero waste."
