草榴色区

鈥淭iming is everything,鈥� says Lewis 草榴色区 chief executive officer emeritus Mark Griffin, in explaining the decision to merge the chain last year with Sanford Health.

鈥淭he opportunity was there, and when you have a willing partner like Sanford,鈥� he said, 鈥渢his is the best scenario, the best fit, and I think Sanford believes that too.鈥�

The merger brought Lewis fully into Sanford鈥檚 health care system while preserving the drug chain brand鈥檚 identity and long-standing role as a community pharmacy.

The two organizations have worked together for more than 25 years. Their collaboration included co-located clinics and pharmacies, joint ownership of 44 Lewis Family 草榴色区 sites in rural communities, and pharmacy support for Good Samaritan Society facilities. Lewis also partnered with Sanford to provide ambulatory pharmacists in Sioux Falls, S.D., clinics.

鈥淭his partnership is built on trust, and our long-term relationship with Sanford Health laid the groundwork for the joint decision to bring Lewis 草榴色区 fully into the integrated Sanford Health system,鈥� Griffin said. 鈥淐ustomers and patients will continue to have the same great experience when they walk into a Lewis store as they have for the last 80 years 鈥� from our name and branding to our outstanding and dedicated customer service.鈥�

鈥淭his partnership is a natural next step in our long-term, trusted relationship and reflects our shared commitment to improving quality of life for our patients and communities and providing the highest-quality pharmacy care for those we serve,鈥� said Sanford president and CEO Bill Gassen. 鈥淟ewis 草榴色区 is a cornerstone in the communities it serves and has built a remarkably strong retail and pharmacy workforce and culture. We look forward to furthering that legacy as part of Sanford Health.鈥�

Lewis 草榴色区, which was founded more than eight decades ago 鈥� going back to when Griffin鈥檚 father was one of the founders 鈥� has built a reputation for personalized customer service and convenience. Under the merger agreement, it retained its name and branding. The regional chain鈥檚 188 pharmacists and 1,300 team members joined Sanford, with no changes to store leadership. Griffin has a multiyear advisory role to help guide the transition.

Gassen emphasized that the deal came at a critical time for health care providers. 鈥淎t a time when the health care field is facing a variety of challenges, our partnership provides stability and helps safeguard access to essential health care services for the patients and communities we serve,鈥� he said.

Lewis, which is based in Sioux Falls and operates 61 stores in South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa, just had the best five years in its history, and is poised for continued growth and the addition of new services.

The rural stores in particular go out to a 300-mile radius, and can offer DME (durable medical equipment) and hearing and vision services, noted Griffin. 鈥淭here are a number of areas they could get involved in, not to mention anything regarding direct patient interaction with doctors, with our pharmacists, which is another nice feature. And that鈥檚 important, because when the stores are spread out 25 miles or 30 miles, it makes a big difference.鈥�

The Lewis brand is well known in its operating area, 鈥渁nd Sanford has said that they鈥檙e basically going to leave everything as is and won鈥檛 touch the brand for a minimum of 10 years, if not longer,鈥� he added. 鈥淭hey actually asked me to stay on a couple years. I have a new title, and I鈥檓 now the CEO emeritus, but I don鈥檛 have a boss, which is a good feature. So, all things considered, it鈥檚 a good deal.鈥�

Nine Sanford clinics are connected to Lewis stores, and 鈥渋t鈥檚 been a great asset for the consumer because she can go to the clinic and then walk a few steps and she鈥檚 in the pharmacy and can take care of everything at once,鈥� Griffin said.

Clinic physicians and Lewis pharmacists have in some cases become good friends, he noted. 鈥淎s everybody knows, in the pharmacy business trust is paramount, and I think this builds trust, and it鈥檚 worked out very well.鈥�

Lewis is proud of, first and foremost, its team, he said, 鈥渂ut we鈥檙e also proud of our technology and efficiencies that we can share with Sanford that perhaps they haven鈥檛 developed yet. And we鈥檝e already been discussing that, and we鈥檝e already integrated some of those things.鈥�

The chain鈥檚 wide-ranging assortment of merchandise 鈥� with the likes of extensive lawn and garden items 鈥� has been one of the keys to its strong sales. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 all part of our success,鈥� said Griffin, and 鈥淚 pledge not to mess with success.鈥�

Griffin, who is the longest-serving member of the National Association of Chain 草榴色区 Stores board, said he has agreed to NACDS鈥� request that he maintain his ties to the organization. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to enjoy the interaction and still be involved.鈥�

Lewis 草榴色区

KEY EXECUTIVE

Mark Griffin, CEO Emeritus

HEADQUARTERS

2701 S. Minnesota Ave., Sioux Falls, S.D. 57105Phone: (605) 367-2000  Website: lewisdrug.com

TRADE CLASS 鈥� 草榴色区 Chain

FULL-YEAR RESULTS

Pharmacy sales 鈥� $240 million*

Overall sales 鈥� $480 million*

Number of drug stores 鈥� 61

Number of states operating 鈥� 3

*CDR estimate.