Laxevag, News | Boots Pharmacy has to leave Laksevåg Centre: – Sad

-You are not allowed to stop!

It’s Geir Vindenes who explains this to the staff at Boots Pharmacy in Laksevåg Centre. The BA had just told him that the pharmacy would be closing for good.

-We need this pharmacy. “I just go here, and the people who work here have a great service mentality,” Vendenes says.

– It would be sad if they closed.

Lots of supporting data

The statement of support for Vindenes is not the first pharmacist and general manager that Gisle Solhaug has received in the last 24 hours.

“There are a lot of customers who come in and call and ask if we’re going away,” he says.

-We have had many loyal and good customers who have supported us all these years, and they are sorry.

Solhaug confirms that the news that spread on local Facebook groups about the pharmacy’s closure is true.

– The pharmacy will be closed after conducting a comprehensive assessment of the competitive situation and development over time. All possibilities have been considered here. Our lease has not been renewed and expires in January 2024. Unfortunately, it appears that the pharmacy will close during the month of January. The focus now is on taking the best possible care of employees, and we’ve only just begun that work, he says.

The comprehensive assessment in situations where it is decided to close the pharmacy is carried out centrally by the Boots chain, which is also the chain office responsible for negotiations with farm owners throughout Norway.

– I have no comment on that process.

– There is no space for two pharmacies

The property manager at Scala Eiendom, which owns the Laksevåg centre, André Thier, wrote to BA that there was no problem behind the lease not being renewed.

– There was a good dialogue all the time with the management at Boots. The background is that we want to further develop and improve the Laksevåg Center and we plan to make some changes. In terms of plans, unfortunately there is no room for two pharmacies in the centre. In this case, unfortunately, Boots has an expiring lease and is affected by the lease not being renewed.

He adds: – We have great respect and sympathy for the employees affected by the closure, and we hope that Boots will be able to provide jobs for employees in other pharmacies in the Bergen area.

– I lost other stores as well

Gabriela Bass has also been a customer of the pharmacy for several years. I read about the news on Facebook on Friday.

– She says: – It’s a pity, I usually only use this pharmacy.

On the other hand, Henrik Heitmann did not realize that they would close their doors.

– He says it’s a pity we lost other stores here too, like Reema 1000.

In January 2021, Rima dealer Moyfred Teasdale was told they could not renew their lease at the centre.

– unfair

Today there are two pharmacies in Laksevåg centre, Boots Pharmacy and Apotek 1, which opened its doors five years ago.

Heitmann believes it is unfair to close down Boots, which has been there longer.

– They were the only pharmacy here for a long time, I think it is unfair that they are the ones who have to leave, he says and adds:

– I made sure to use this pharmacy, and she was very satisfied.

Apoteker Solhaug says they are grateful for all the kind words from customers.

– It’s nice to know that we meant something to so many.

– He really made an impression

At Scala Eiendom, they note the strong commitment among the people of Laksevåg.

– The staff at Boots have made a real impression among locals by always being nice and providing very good customer service, says Thier.

They also noticed that there was a lot of writing on social media that there was no need for two pharmacies when the center moved from one pharmacy to two pharmacies five years ago.

– The market is changing and we thought that was true at the time, but now we see that it is healthier to have a large pharmacy and a different mix of shops in the center.

The property manager will not reveal plans for Boots’ premises, but he can say that Apotek 1 will open a new pharmacy that is larger than it is today.