Pamida
takes over ownership of Morgan & Thomas
By:
LAURA HAGAN
Morgan
and Thomas will see some changes in the coming months. The biggest
change is the owner.
Pamida – based in Nebraska – has bought the pharmacy
and will take over ownership on Feb. 18.
Current owner Todd Toole, who bought the pharmacy on April 15,
2002, said he had been thinking of selling for some time. He said
when Medicare Part D came about, it was a big blow to independent
pharmacies. For Morgan and Thomas, Toole said it turned 100 percent
of their business to insurance, and Medicare Part D wasn’t
paying on time.
“I was worried I couldn’t stay in business,”
Toole said.
He said he started thinking about the future and praying for a
solution. He wanted someone to come in and ask to buy the store.
In 2007, someone did.
Toole said a representative from Pamida walked into Morgan and
Thomas one day and asked if he’d thought about selling.
“I said yes,” Toole said.
He said he had a figure in mind and Pamida came back with a fair
bid.
According to a press release from Pamida, “the company operates
221 stores in 16 states...In addition, Pamida operates pharmacies
in 134 retail stores and offers free prescription mail-out service
throughout all Pamaida markets.”
“This is a way to get a nice new store, something people
could really use,” Toole said.
The pharmacy will stay in its current location for some time.
The press release states there are plans to “open a full-size
Pamida store in Owenton at a later date.”
Toole compares the store to a “small Wal-Mart” and
said it seemed a Pamida store would be a good thing for Owen County.
He will stay on as Pharmacy Manager, and the store will keep all
its employees.
Some of the changes are a different line of gifts than what is
offered now, as well as different greeting cards. Pamida sells
American Greetings cards, instead of Hallmark, which is what Morgan
and Thomas sells now.
“They won’t use all the same vendors,” Toole
said. “They’ll use their line of name-brand gifts.”
In addition to greeting cards and gifts, the press release said
Pamida stores offer apparel, electronics, toys, housewares and
more.
“They have a little bit of everything,” Toole said.
“It will keep more of our money here at home.”
The last day the store will operate as Morgan and Thomas is Feb.
15. It will close Feb. 16 for inventory, to get new equipment
and finish contracts. It re-opens Feb. 18 as Owenton Pamida Pharmacy.
It will be open from 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday through Friday
and from 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Saturday.
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