Talk the talk

Sharon McCabe, managing director of the McCabe Pharmacy group, talks to David Clerkin.

Please tell us about the group.

It was set up in 1981 by returned emigrants and has slowly expanded to 16 stores over the last 25 years. We have about 220 employees and are one of the last remaining 100% Irish-owned groups.

You’ve taken charge of the company at a relatively young age. How do you feel about the challenge?

I never envisaged getting involved in the family business when growing up. I worked in a lot of different sectors before deciding I actually enjoyed pharmacy and I could see there were great changes about to happen in the pharmacy market.

With increased competition the key thing is to create the future, rather than be a victim of change.

How do you view competition from foreign chains? What will you do to remain distinctive?

I welcome competition - it raises standards in everything we do. It forces us to look at our business very critically. We are very focused on healthcare and providing the most trustworthy advice. That’s how we will keep our competitive advantage.

Tell us about any expansion plans you might have. In what parts of the country do you currently have a presence - and where are you missing that might be attractive?

We have opened three new pharmacies this year and we are following a very measured sustainable growth plan. To date we have been mainly represented in Leinster but we would be very keen to examine other urban areas throughout the country.

What’s the biggest single challenge facing your business over the next three years?

Ensuring we can continue to deliver fantastic service means that we need to have the very best people in our organisation and we are going to continue to attract and retain the very best professionals in the sector. This is a very big challenge, but we will remain committed to it and invest resources to sustain it.