May 2014 BCBusiness 31
B.C.'s m o s t l o v e d B r a n d s
A Matter of
TRUST
London Drugs is B.C.'s most loved brand,
according to a recent survey done by Ipsos in
partnership with BCBusiness. But the iconic
retailer's strong connection with customers
is a project 70 years in the making
b y N i c k R o c k e l
W
alking into one of the 78 London Drugs stores
that dot the landscape from Vancouver to Win-
nipeg can be a jarring experience. Arranged
with care on its tall shelves are hundreds of
staples you expect from your local drugstore:
toothbrushes, cough syrup, shampoo. Turn a corner by the
pharmacy, though, and you'll find delicacies like gourmet
mustard and Himalayan pink salt. Past the small kitchen
appliances and the one-hour photofinishing counter, you
can follow the flashing lights and booming bass into an elec-
tronics section crammed with the latest PCs, home theatre
systems and
LCD flat screens. Depending on the location,
there might also be a dining-room set tucked next to the
designer-sunglasses rack.
On paper, it's a kitchen-sink mix with little chance of
success. "London Drugs is a business that should not exist.
It defies business logic," says Kenneth Wong, professor of
marketing at the Queen's School of Business in Kingston,
Ontario.
"Everybody talks about focus, and here you've got this
New York department store cosmetics area; you've got a
pharmacy area that isn't cutting corners, that's counselling
people; you've got this incredible camera staff; and then
you've got liquidation goods and imported groceries," Wong
says. "It shouldn't work, but it does. And it does because
they treat each department differently."
p h o t o g r a p h y b y N i k w e s t
p30-37_BestBrands_may.indd 31 2014-04-09 3:13 PM
