Chemist Chain uses Pharmacy Direct for Net

Chemist chain Terry White will use Pharmacy Direct to launch its web-based retail drug operations after its $20 million purchase of the online pioneer last week. Pharmacy Direct, which turns over $35-$40 million annually on prescription medicines and over-the-counter lines, faces a brighter future after a period in limbo. The NSW-based former mail-order pharmacy was sold by Wesfarmers for less than half the $48 million Coles paid for it in 2006, as part of Wesfarmers’ plan to shed its non-core retail assets. Coles originally bought Pharmacy Direct and its single warehouse-style store in Sydney’s Silverwater with the apparent aim of wedging the Pharmacy Guild’s campaign against locating chemists in supermarkets. The guild challenged the validity of the deal on pharmacy ownership rules, and the NSW Supreme Court ruled in its favour