Duran Chemists, the owner of Britain's first drive-through pharmacy, is planning to open a second drive-through pharmacy at West Bromwich in the West Midlands. The first pharmacy was recently inspected by a delegation from Asda and Wal-Mart.
Mr Gurd Chahal (senior partner, Duran) told The Journal on May 21 that he had acquired an 11,000 sq ft cash and carry warehouse at Carters Green and an existing Lloyds Pharmacy branch across the road. The pharmacy was to be relocated and the drive-through pharmacy would open in September. The total cost of the project was around £1.6m, he said. The new drive-through pharmacy would be close to the M5 motorway and another main route through the Black Country. The first drive-through pharmacy was opened at Norton Canes, near Cannock, Staffordshire, in 1995.
Mr Chahal added that a delegation led by Mr John Evans, superintendent pharmacist at Asda Stores, had visited his existing pharmacy recently. Mr Evans had been accompanied by a senior executive from Wal-Mart, Asda's parent company, and Asda's pharmacy layout designer. Mr Chahal believed that Asda would open its own drive-through pharmacies in the near future.