Fresh off successfully getting Countdown to change the music in their stores, Karen O'Leary has set her sights on a new target - discount chemists.
After hearing about the impact the Australian chain stores have had on our local pharmacies, Karen heads to Pakuranga, to a small local pharmacy run by Vicky Chan where a Chemist Warehouse and a Bargain Chemist have opened up shop just around the corner.
Vicky and fellow pharmacist Ravnit Lal explain the level of care that a local pharmacy can provide, pointing out there is still blood on the floor from when Vicky performed first aid this morning.
Karen spots a wall of thank you notes on the pharmacy wall, and Vicky chokes up recounting how grateful the community is for the help her staff were able to provide through the incredibly tough years of the pandemic.
After a quick check in about a dry patch, Karen is off to Chemist Warehouse to investigate just why it is that customers are being lured away from their local.
Karen is spellbound, and leaves Chemist Warehouse with an All Blacks perfume she didn't even want.
She can see the power of the store, aided by their huge marketing campaigns. One of the most powerful assets they have had is Dan Carter in their ads, so Karen decides to call Dan Carter for help.
The Dan Carter she calls is not the one you might know, but he is an exceptional carpet cleaning and repairman.
With his help she films a new ad to inform people of all the ways their local pharmacy provides for their community. It is, according to Karen, an exceptional piece of cinema, but when she shows it to the customers at Chemist Warehouse they seem less than convinced.
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As she questions the customers, a theme emerges. They are there because it is cheap. In particular the free prescriptions have made a big difference to these shoppers.
Chemist Warehouse, Bargain Chemist and Countdown pharmacies have been able to avoid charging these government fees to customers as they can afford to take the shortfall themselves, helping them draw customers into their store where they might be convinced to buy more.
But that all changes in July, when all prescriptions will become free. The $5 prescription fees have been a barrier to many people around Aotearoa, and the government has scrapped the fees as part of the 2023 Budget. It will make a huge difference for patients around the country, but will it be enough to save our local pharmacies?
With the fees still around until July, Karen offers her own solution: she's got a stack of $5 notes and she will hand them out to people if they will leave the Chemist Warehouse and head to the local pharmacy instead.
Some big Chemist Warehouse fans stay loyal. Some customers don't speak English and are not too impressed by Karen's attempts at French. But one person takes the $5, and agrees to meet Karen there. Could this be the start of a nationwide movement? Time will tell.
Karen O'Leary will be acting as Aotearoa's 'Community Investigator' for the rest of the year, and has put the call out to anyone who has an issue, big or small, that they would like her to help solve.
"If it matters to you, it matters to me," O'Leary says.
Email issues@paddygower.co.nz with any issues you would like to tackle.
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