Almost thirty years ago, Mark Finocchiaro, then a pharmacology student, was struggling to find a job. He knocked on a dozen doors with no luck. The thirteenth, a pharmacy in Chadstone, gave him a chance.

To call that a lucky break would be an understatement. Then, in 1994, it was Gance Chemist. The co-owner was Sam Gance, one of two brothers who this week struck one of the biggest retailing deals in Australian corporate history after agreeing to merge their pharmacy business – now known as Chemist Warehouse – with Sigma Healthcare to create an $8.8 billion giant.