News: Refurbishment at John Bell & Croyden

The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 267 No 7165 p337-341
15 September 2001

Refurbishment at John Bell & Croyden

John Bell & Croyden, the central London flagship of the Lloydspharmacy chain, was officially re-opened on 10 September after a £2.5m refurbishment (PJ, 20 January, p75).

Fred Taylor (general manager for special businesses, Lloyds) told The Journal that the project had been completed successfully but that the company had probably underestimated how difficult it was going to be. Trading continued throughout the nine-month process, despite considerable problems caused by building work.

Major changes to the store have been the removal of some internal walls on the sales floor to give more space for surgical products, aids for independent living and a larger cosmetics area. Lighting levels and signage have been improved.

The basement of the store has been completely refurbished to provide better offices and staff facilities and increased storage space.

The focal point of the store is the dispensary, which is now more open allowing staff and customers to have sight of each other. Pharmacy medicines are now on open display behind lockable glass covers, in a similar manner to the rest of the Lloydspharmacy chain.

Mr Taylor said that future developments for John Bell & Croyden would include integration into Merlin, a new electronic point of sale system for Lloydspharmacy, and a greater emphasis on external sales by mail order and to local employers.