End of the road for Sigma’s Guardian

SIGMA Healthcare will disband its Guardian Pharmacy banner with existing franchisees being invited to join its Amcal brand over the next 15 months, as part of the group’s new strategy to create a more sustainable structure.

The move was heralded by Sigma CEO, Vikesh Ramsunder, who said the group would seek to “consolidate and build” its pharmacy franchise network through its Amcal and Discount Drug Stores (DDS) banners, conspicuously not mentioning the Guardian brand (PD 26 Sep).

In a separate statement released this morning, Ramsunder confirmed the Guardian banner will be phased out by the end of 2023, to strengthen the Amcal brand.

“We are inviting our valued Guardian franchise partners to join Amcal as we grow Amcal into a powerhouse retail-led brand offering trusted healthcare and advice, affordable health and wellbeing products and services, all conveniently delivered through caring and knowledgeable people, we will be stronger together,” the Sigma CEO said.

Ramsunder, who joined Sigma earlier this year - having been named as incoming CEO almost a year ago (PD 24 Sep 2021) - said the group wanted to expand the demographics of its pharmacy franchisees’ customer-bases, by growing diversified revenue streams beyond the dispensary.

“We’re aiming to attract all age groups into pharmacy - not just people who have ailments,” he said.

“My long-term vision for the Amcal brand, for the DDS brand is we are bringing in the healthy as well as those who need medication and beauty is a nice adjacency. “You see that around the world.” The decision to drop the Guardian brand came less than a week after Sigma announced that its Head of Franchise Brands, David Preston, would take on the leadership of both the Amcal and Guardian groups following the departure of the brand’s former boss, Kurt O’brien (PD 20 Sep).

Preston confirmed that Sigma will be contacting Guardian franchisees to discuss how they can be integrated into the Amcal network.

“We will equip our franchise partners with several tools to support them, and their employees, through these changes,” he said.

“We’ll be offering our network one-on-one consultations with BDMS and team training sessions to guide them through next steps.

“It’s important that we retain the core values of each of the brands as we take them into a unified future which will be determined by how we best support our local community with professional and personalised healthcare services and programs.”