International Women's Day Spotlight: Kerryn Stokes - Life Pharmacy Barrington and Barrington Medical Centre Pharmacy

Pictured: BNZ Scholarship recipient Kerryn Stokes, left, with Icehouse Regional Lead and Icehouse Alumni Andrea Smith

Knowledge has de-risked decision-making for pharmacist Kerryn Stokes.

With the support of a BNZ scholarship, the Christchurch business owner invested in herself to complete the Owner Manager Programme in 2023. In a sector not known for rapid growth, Kerryn has since acquired two businesses, increasing group revenue by almost 70 per cent and she’s sharing her learning, joining two advisory boards, including nationwide primary care provider Green Cross Health.

As Kerryn explained to Kate de Lautour, the traditional landscape of pharmacy is adapting to change as big box retailers, and a shortage of pharmacists puts pressure on the sector.

What are the current challenges and opportunities in pharmacy?

Disruption from big box retailers is a significant challenge.

We can’t compete on price, but we have the edge when it comes to connecting with our community so that’s where we’ve centralised our focus - we’ve viewed the challenge as an opportunity.

We provide a greater level of primary health care with 9-10,000 vaccinations managed in the pharmacy and our customer base has grown as people become more aware that they can come in for great service and a coffee afterwards. We can provide specialist pharmacist services such as treatments for UTIs without a prescription. We are working on providing health wellness hubs which fills a gap in the community, left open by over-stretched primary care providers. We’re doing 23 per cent more scripts than we were a year ago because we are focused on providing a high-level of service for our local community.

We are on Uber Eats, so customers can order electrolytes and loperamide for example, when they are feeling too unwell to get out of bed - that’s been really popular!

I like to be an early adopter and give things a crack. Since I did OMP I view change with more confidence.

Do you have a challenge finding staff in Christchurch?

Instead of worrying about getting staff, we focus on keeping staff. I would rather look after the staff we have and invest effort there. Our office manager has developed her skills in the Icehouse Financial Skills Workshop and now she is taking on more of the accountancy role.

Labour costs are a challenge especially being a large group with 12 pharmacists and a nationwide shortage of pharmacists. We are constantly keeping up with that pressure.

What is the ratio of women to men in pharmacy?

It’s 70:30 now but there are numerous times when I get asked where the pharmacist is, because people still associate the profession with men in white coats. The law states that pharmacies must be owned by a pharmacist so that’s a challenge for the industry because there was little to no business management training when I was studying, plus women are often juggling families as well.

How has your role in the business changed?

When I started in the Icehouse there was a lot of talk about how to scale your business and I wondered how that would apply to us - pharmacy tends to be lucky to achieve 5% annual growth. But after drilling into our numbers with the experts, in particular Lee Maddox from Frank Accounting, I’ve bought two pharmacies – in two years we should have paid off the acquisition. If I hadn’t done OMP I’d be happy keeping my head above water and wouldn’t be achieving 70 per cent growth! I’ve surprised myself by the way I make decisions now.

One of the many changes I’ve made was making sure both my business partner and I developed closer connections with our banker, lawyer and accountant. One of the acquisitions we pulled off in five days and without those people knowing our business, we couldn’t have done it!

I am significantly more confident in my role in the business. My business partner and I share roles based on our strengths. This is a big change from the backseat role I had played for 20 years.

I’ve joined two advisory boards since the Icehouse – I wouldn’t have had the confidence to do that in the past. Both those companies have female CEO’s and both are pushing valuable change in the health sector as a whole. I think it’s important to look at change with an open mind – too much of New Zealand business is being held back by a mentality of “this is the way things have always been done.”

Best job?

When I was at Uni I worked for a Muffin Time business as the PA/office girl and in the weekends I managed the café. I learnt so much and with hindsight the life skills I gained were incredibly valuable. I was inspired by the female owner - she had a vision and backed herself, entering food manufacturing awards and joining business networks which wasn’t that common for women in Dunedin in the early 90’s.

Worst job?

When I was a teenager, I worked as a rousie because the tax rate was low but it was not my world!

What inspires you?

I get a thrill from helping people. I like to see a problem solved. Our pharmacy mission statement is - walk in with a problem, walk out with a solution.

Living in Christchurch is…

Dynamic. It feels like it’s really growing. It’s a great place to work and live.