Calanna Cairns: TerryWhite Chemmart acquisition of family brand

One of FNQ’s locally-owned pharmacy bosses has spoken on how GP shortages and the pandemic have affected the value of his industry after a national company bought out a local business.

UPDATE SUNDAY, MAY 29: CO-OWNER of one of the region’s few remaining locally-owned chemists, Alive Pharmacy’s Trent Twomey says he wasn’t surprised hearing of the Calanna sale to TerryWhite Chemmart.

Mr Twomey awarded Calanna Pharmacy founder Mario Calanna with life membership to the Pharmacy Guild of Australia last year and said “he had known for quite a while that family and health” were important factors in the acquisition event.

Mario and Matthew Calanna in store. The Calanna’s have sold their pharmacy business to TerryWhite Chemmart.

“Mario and (son) Matthew (Calanna) have both been great locals, their name has been synonymous with the community and it will be missed.

Asked if he anticipated any impacts to customers of the brand due to the sale, Mr Twomey said the pharmacists who purchased the local stores were from Brisbane, and TerryWhite was a popular and well-known Australian brand.

“But we do know all communities have loyal customers that like to shop and support local.”

Trent Twomey serves a customer at an Alive Pharmacy store, which he said would remain locally owned.

Mr Twomey’s Alive group now remains as the largest locally-owned pharmacy network, which he said wasn’t going to change.

“We’re not selling. The families that own our chemists all live in Cairns, we play sport here, we support community clubs here and we’re members of local groups.”

He said while the role of pharmacists had increased in recent years during the pandemic and with extended wait times at GPs pushing patients towards chemists, he didn’t believe it would trigger a buyout of family-owned brands by larger national companies.

SATURDAY, MAY 28: A TAKEOVER by a national chemist brand has marked an end of an era for a family-run pharmacy network known as a North Queensland institution that’s operated since the 1950s.

The Calanna Pharmacy Group was founded by Mario Calanna in the 1950s and has gown to become the largest family-owned and first whole health pharmacy group in regional Queensland.

The respected businessman was awarded life membership last year to the Pharmacy Guild of Australia after building the first Calanna Pharmacy on his father’s Woree cane paddock in 1977.

Founder of the Calanna Pharmacy Group, Mario Calanna. Picture: Brendan Radke

But last week the ink was all-but dry on a deal with the TerryWhite Chemmart brand that will see 10 Cairns, Atherton, Innisfail, and Townsville Calanna outlets rebranded as Calanna TerryWhite Chemmart.

Mr Calanna, facing a health battle of his own after being diagnosed with blood cancer four years ago said the time had come to let the business go.

“We thought we had it under control, but I am now having treatment again. Therefore, we have made the difficult decision to sell our business to a group of four owners who will transition into the TerryWhite Chemmart Network,” he said.

“A move that will ensure the businesses can continue to grow and evolve, while also continuing to have a positive impact on the communities they serve.

Pharmacist Mario Calanna with wife Linda and children Catherine and Matthew in 1992 – when short shorts and knee-high socks were considered haute couture among the blokes of Cairns. Picture: Supplied

“I am so proud – so very proud – of the brand, the services, the people, and our influence over the physical, emotional, and mental health of individuals and families in our respective communities.

“For more than 45 years the Calanna Pharmacy business, and pharmacy as an industry has been such a huge part of my life and the lives of my wife Linda, our children Matthew and Catherine, and granddaughter Madeline.

“It’s been a true passion of our lives, and I’m deeply optimistic about what the future holds as part of this transition.”

TerryWhite Chemmart executive general manager Nick Munro said an ethos of providing high-quality care established by Mario Calanna was aligned with the TerryWhite Chemmart group.

Calanna Pharmacy Group founder Mario Calanna with children Catherine and Matthew at the opening of a new $1.2 million Woree pharmacy in 2013.

“Importantly, all ten pharmacies will recognise the heritage of the Calanna name, and will be called Calanna TerryWhite Chemmart with all staff continuing to work in the pharmacies,” he said.

“This transition is an incredibly exciting time for the Calanna pharmacy teams and their customers.

“We look forward to supporting them with a greater product range, more value and the same high quality health services, all delivered by the familiar faces the community has come to know and love.”

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General manager of Calanna Pharmacy Matthew Calanna said the ten Calanna pharmacies in North Queensland would continue to trade as normal for the “foreseeable future”.

“All staff will be retained, and my sister Catherine and I will also be staying on to work in the pharmacies on the ground,” he said.

“This transition of our business, while very emotional, given we grew up in it and helped build it, is an exciting time for our team.

“There are many growth and development opportunities within a larger group. This transition also allows our group of pharmacies and our wonderful team to remain intact and working together along with the ability to continue to support the dozens of community and sporting clubs, events and causes we have been blessed to be able to work with over many decades”.

TerryWhite Chemmart is one of Australia’s largest retail pharmacy chains with around 500 pharmacies located across the country.

Originally published as Calanna Cairns: TerryWhite Chemmart acquisition of family brand