Pakuranga pharmacy merges after five decades of service

Customers are staying away. Parking is a nightmare here now

It is the end of an era for Life Pharmacy Pakuranga in east Auckland as it closes its doors after five decades.

Owner Peter Guthrie’s father, John Guthrie, first bought the pharmacy in 1976 and Peter, who qualified as a pharmacist in 1981, has worked at the pharmacy since 1985.

The pharmacy will merge with nearby Unichem Pakuranga, which Mr Guthrie co-owns with Green Cross and pharmacist Vicky Chan.

The reason for moving on is because the location, at Pakuranga Plaza shopping mall, has been in a “steady decline” for about 10 years, Mr Guthrie explains.

Major developments to the Eastern Busway and nearby motorways have caused “chaos” outside the plaza, which has itself needed upgrading for a long time.

“We’ve seen lots of plans for redevelopment of the plaza, but it keeps getting pushed back,” Mr Guthrie says.

Formerly one of the biggest malls in New Zealand, the plaza now has few shops left in it.

“Customers are staying away. Parking is a nightmare here now.”

Around five staff will make the move to Unichem Pakuranga, which is located within a medical centre, a one-minute drive from Life Pharmacy Pakuranga.

In the past four or so decades, Mr Guthrie has seen both his pharmacy and the sector change enormously. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, cosmetics and fragrance sales were hugely important for many pharmacies, including his own.

“We were probably one of the biggest pharmacies in New Zealand, in what might have been the biggest mall at the time.”

At one point, he had a staff of about 40, largely due to cosmetic sales. “There was one cosmetic rep per brand. That was before Farmers started selling cosmetics, and before online shopping.”

The advent of nearby megamalls such as Sylvia Park didn’t make a big impact on pharmacy. “We became a very strong community pharmacy.”

Many interns have also been trained through the pharmacy, including Natalie Gauld.

“We have had one or two interns most years. We were also part of the annual hospital intern exchange where we swap interns for one month.”

Mr Guthrie opened the Unichem Pharmacy, which has always had a strong dispensary side, with Green Cross in 2008. About five years ago, pharmacist Vicky Chan bought into the business, and has helped build up the clinical services into a health hub.

“From the start, Vicky’s been exploring new services and all those sorts of things. She basically drove that whole COVID revolution. I think we were one of the first stores in the country to start doing vaccinations.

“We have now taken vaccinations to marae, outreach clinics, community groups, churches and temples,” he says.

Mr Guthrie’s team is looking forward to working in the bright new premises, which has easy parking.

He is also looking forward to seeing his customers come in, and has been busy preparing for a smooth merger of records and services.

“It’s important to us that we can merge all the records and files so we can keep that continuity of care and service going.”