OF OLD SOUTH LONDON By Kym Wolfe
A CORNER PHARMACY WITH A TWIST TURNER DRUG STORE IS A DESTINATION FOR TRADITIONAL, HOMEOPATHIC AND NATURAL THERAPIES
Turner Drug Store was established in 1938 and, for 75 years, it has been a destination for clients from all corners of London and beyond. The business, located in Old South London, has had only three owners: Stan Turner, for whom the store is named; Glen Robb, who purchased the store in 1965 and apprenticed at Turner's; and Jeff Robb, who followed in his father's footsteps to become a pharmacist, and then interned and worked at Turner's before becoming the owner in 1987. Turner's has carried vitamins since its earliest days, initially for patients referred by Dr. Evan Shute, whose research and work promoted the health benefits of vitamin E. In 1997, Jeff Robb made a conscious decision to expand his selection of vitamins and health products, and to build his business as a destination for unusual products at a reasonable cost. That was also the year he remodelled the store, opening up the retail space to 1,500 square feet. He filled half of the store with vitamins, as well as herbal, homeopathic and natural products. In addition to his training as a pharmacist, Robb pursued an
Inset: Left, owner Jeff Robb. Right, manager Mike Apostolopoulos.
interest and education in homeopathic and natural therapies, which he views as complementary medicine. “We bring a high level of expertise and a good knowledge base to what we do,” he says. Turner's has been a member of the Canadian Health Food Association for almost 30 years. Robb and his pharmacy staff are kept busy filling roughly 8,500 prescriptions a month. They get to know the regulars and their history, and provide a personalized experience to every customer they see. They have also developed a high level of trust over time since staff turnover is low. Some employees have worked there for 25 years. The store also has a healthy online presence and mail-order parcels are sent to customers around the globe. “We set up a website in 1997 when the Web was just becoming popular,” Robb says. “We built it by hand and spent $75,000 developing it.” It was another initiative that set the store apart and helped build the loyal client base that Turner's continues to nurture and grow. January/February 2014
Lifestyle 59