Healthy Profits Aging boomers and growing health awareness power a new breed of health-care stores.

You can't buy happiness. But if a new trend in retailing hasany merit, perhaps you can buy better health. That is, you and themillions of people nationwide who have health and mobility problemsor who care for people who do.

This new breed of store combines the products and services of anold-fashioned medical equipment dealership with merchandising savvyand a level of service that makes Nordstrom look uninterested. Theformats range from intimate boutiques to sprawling superstores, butthey share a common goal: Changing the way Americans shop foreverything from wheelchairs to blood pressure monitors.

"These are not the dingy surgical supply houses most of usthink of when we think of medical supplies," says MarieGriffin, editor in chief of Drug Store News. As thepopulation ages, people are going to need more help--recoveringfrom hospital stays, coping with mobility limitations, dealing withchronic illnesses, and living with a panoply of major and minorhealth problems. Yet most people don't know what kinds ofhealth aids are available to them, let alone where to findthem.

Merchandisers who can enlighten consumers as to thepossibilities--and ignite their retail impulses in theprocess--should enjoy a healthy and growing market.

Selling Health

Tending to illness and recuperation is nothing new. But recentdemographic and economic changes make home health care a topicalissue right now.

For one thing, our population is aging. The oldest of the babyboomers have hit their 50s, an age when health consciousness oftentakes a turn for the serious. And even as the boomers are facingtheir own maladies, they're also often caring for parents intheir 70s and 80s whose medical challenges are even moreintense.

The result is a boom in sales of home health equipment andsupplies. For instance, San Francisco market research firm Frost& Sullivan reports that the overall market for home diagnosticsand monitoring products will reach $1.44 billion this year--andit's expected to top $2 billion by the year 2000. Within thiscategory are such items as diabetic blood-glucose monitoringproducts, blood-pressure monitoring devices, respiratory therapyproducts, and pregnancy and ovulation test kits. Also hot: bathsafety products, mobility aids and incontinence supplies.

What's at work here is more than a surge in the number ofpeople with health problems. It's also a change in attitude."Baby boomers clearly are spoiled by the retail experiencesthey're used to," says Joyce Greenberg, CEO and founder ofTake Good Care, a Springfield, New Jersey-based chain ofhealth-care product superstores. "In the past, a [medicalequipment and supply] business operated almost exclusively onreferrals from health-care professionals." Today, there'sa growing desire on the part of consumers to seek out their ownhelp.

What Ails Consumers

At first glance, retailers might not seem like the best sourcesof assistance for the physically and medically challenged. Afterall, serious conditions call for professional help. But today'smedical system leaves plenty of gaps. It's not simply thatcost-conscious insurance companies are sending patients home"quicker and sicker." It's that the limits oftraditional medical care often fall short of addressing all of apatient's needs.

A case in point: When Paul Schickling sees diabetic consumers athis Fountain Valley, California, store, Guardian for Diabetics,they've already seen their doctors, heard their diagnoses, andeven received recommendations on how to deal with their conditions.But that doesn't mean they're ready to cope.

There is equipment to select--blood glucose meters and maybeinsulin injection systems. Once chosen, that equipment has to beoperated safely and accurately. Nutrition and the judiciousregulation of food intake are vital--and often mystifying to thenovice. Add complications such as impaired vision to the picture,and you've got a consumer in dire need of service.

Schickling, who is a pharmacist, can't cure his customers.But he and his wife, Clarice, a registered dietitian, can offerhelpful products and train customers in their use. They holdseminars, provide advice and furnish much-needed support because,as Schickling puts it, "[Patients] need to talk aboutwhat's happening to them."

Schickling isn't alone in realizing this market haspotential. Retail chains are springing up nationwide, includingGreenberg's superstore, Take Good Care, which boasts astaggering 20,000 square feet of merchandise. In addition to its 20departments (ranging from mobility to orthotics, back care,homeopathy and daily-living aids), Take Good Care features aconference area for in-store seminars and expert help withthird-party billing.

Greenberg concedes the very thing that makes health-careretailing exciting is also its greatest challenge: "We'vehad to find ways to get the word out that there's a whole newway of shopping for these products," Greenberg says."We're very encouraged by the response so far. Butthere's an educational process [to helping consumers learnthese stores exist]."

Teach Them Well

Understanding how to educate consumers is perhaps the number-onepriority for aspiring health-care retailers. Opportunities existfor new enterprises but only where entrepreneurs can do anexceptional job of merchandising, community outreach and providingcustomer service.

For most entrepreneurs, niche marketing is key. Although thesuperstore concept is hot, the millions of dollars required to opena mega-location are beyond the scope of many new business owners.Instead, smaller ventures like Schickling's focus on onespecific market--diabetics or specialties as diverse as back care,allergy relief, and herbal and homeopathic remedies.

Entrepreneurs in this field must be consummate retailers.It's not enough for a health-care store to be clean andattractive; it should also be informative. "I'm constantlytrying to get [home health retailers] to think about their in-storedisplays," says Jack Evans, whose Malibu, California-basedGlobal Media Marketing provides marketing advice to health-careproviders nationwide. Evans advocates setting up"vignettes" that
depict a well-equipped bath or a state-of-the-art wheelchair socustomers can see what different products do and why they might beuseful.

Knowledgeable service should be a given in this business. Goodservice might include anything from teaching a client to usediagnostic equipment to fitting them for prosthetics. Hostingseminars and support groups is smart marketing--and a commonpractice among savvy health retailers.

Reaching consumers is essential, but so is reaching out to thehealth-care community. Evans estimates as much as two-thirds ofrevenues at home health stores come from managed care and Medicarereferrals. To that end, health-care retailers must establish solidrelationships with local doctors, therapists and hospitals.Expertise in third-party insurance billing is also important,although it's possible to farm your billing out to specializedfirms.

Healthy Growth

Because this industry is still relatively new, this is not abusiness for entrepreneurs who dislike innovation and change.Specialty retailers can expect increased competition fromsuperstores, which will face still more competition from massmerchants and drugstore chains eager to tap into a growingmarket.

On the other hand, retailers who understand their markets andwho bring intelligence and compassion to the task can enjoy bothsurging revenues and strong customer loyalty.

"The attitude that's emerging is one that says,`We're not intimidated. We're not ashamed,' " saysGreenberg. "[Having an illness or disability] doesn't meanyou can't live a full life. In fact, our whole point is thatyou can."

Want To Know More?

Contact SEMCO Productions (770-641-8181) for information onMedtrade and The Future Show, trade shows that serve thehome medical equipment and supply market. Medtrade '97 willtake place October 7-10 in New Orleans; The Future Show '97 isslated for May 22-23 in Las Vegas.

HomeCare magazine covers the medical supply marketplace.Seventeen issues annually cost $59. For information, call (800)543-4116, extension 480, or write to HomeCare, MiramarCommunications, P.O. Box 8987, Malibu, CA 90265-8987.

Although Drug Store News does not specifically coverhealth products retailing, it tracks market trends. Forsubscription information, call (813) 627-6707, or write to DrugStore News, 425 Park Ave., New York, NY 10022.

Gayle Sato Stodder covers entrepreneurship for variouspublications. She lives and works in Manhattan Beach,California.

Contact Sources

Drug Store News, 425 Park Ave., New York, NY10022, (212) 756-5220;

Global Media Marketing, 5703 Calpine, Malibu, CA 90265,(310) 457-7333;

Guardian for Diabetics, 10810 Warner, #8, FountainValley, CA 92708, (714) 968-7997;

Take Good Care, 160 Rte. 22, Springfield, NJ 07081, (201)912-0200.