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MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — Andy Giancamilli, who for the past eight years has kept Katz Group Canada Ltd. in the forefront of efforts to secure a bigger role in health care for community pharmacy, will retire as the company’s chief executive officer on February 2.
He will be succeeded by chief operating officer Frank Scorpiniti, who joined Katz last April after working at Duane Reade and Longs Drug Stores.
The operation that Giancamilli, who will serve in an advisory capacity at Katz until May 2012, hands over to Scorpiniti will have a much tighter focus than the one he inherited.
“One of the things that I’m proudest of is bringing all of our companies together under the Rexall banner,” Giancamilli says. “The Rexall family of pharmacies now covers all of our stores, which include Rexall, Pharma Plus, Medicine Shoppe, Guardian and I.D.A. outlets. We went from being an unknown entity to a national brand.”
That transition, he adds, opened the way for the company to capitalize on national advertising, national marketing and a national private label line.
Building on that base, Katz was able to launch a number of services that support Giancamilli’s “pharmacy first” vision for the company.
“Over the years we’ve been committed to helping our pharmacists do more in terms of counseling, inoculations and, in some provinces, even prescribing,” notes Giancamilli, who was trained as a pharmacist and held executive positions at Perry Drug, Kmart Corp. and Canadian Tire before going to Katz. “We’ve been able to bring training, education and innovation to community pharmacy.”
During Giancamilli’s tenure Katz has continually refined its retail formats, emerging as a leader in the process of reimagining what a drug store can be.
“We launched our first prototype store in 2004,” he says. “Today we have 205 of them.
“That model is a 10,500-square-foot store with all the SKUs and services a consumer could expect to find in any drug store in North America,” he notes. “Prior to that we were behind the curve in terms of store design and merchandise presentation.”
Katz currently has seven Healthy Living test stores in operation. The outlets serve as laboratories in which the retailer is experimenting with concepts that support its commitment to making pharmacy a pillar of community health care.
Giancamilli is quick to point out that much of the credit for the progress Katz has made during his years as CEO should go to the company’s associates.
“It has been incredibly rewarding to work alongside the talented group of individuals who comprise our organization,” he says. “The key ingredient in our success is our store and home office teams’ passion for enriching the health and well-being of Canadians. Their commitment to finding new ways of advancing the practice of pharmacy is truly inspiring.”
Katz founder and chairman Daryl Katz says Giancamilli has been the catalyst for the associates’ efforts.
“Andy has been integral in building Rexall as a nationally recognized brand and leader in pharmacy care,” he says. “We are pleased that Frank Scorpiniti will fill the CEO role as Rexall continues to expand and fulfill its vision.”
Giancamilli says he shares Katz’ confidence in Scorpiniti.
“We see Frank as a true leader, one who’s passionate not only about the customer experience within the store but also about our employees,” he says. “He’s committed to treating our staff members as well as we expect them to treat our customers.
“Frank comes from some pretty good stock at Duane Reade and Longs, and he is very knowledgeable about our industry.”
Like Giancamilli, Scorpiniti started his career as a pharmacist and rose through the ranks. After spending most of his career at Longs, he served as senior vice president of pharmacy operations at Duane Reade before moving to Katz.
Industry watchers are expected to be keeping a close eye on how Scorpiniti applies the lessons he learned at those companies to the Katz Group.
When the new chief executive goes to work early next year it will be the culmination of a long, carefully thought-out process. “It’s been a very orderly transition that began in late 2010,” notes Giancamilli. “Frank will have almost a full year under his belt at Katz before taking the reins. You won’t see any bumps in the road.”
