TEEGARDEN PHARMACY OBSERVES 30 YEARS OF BUSINESS IN CHAFFEE

CHAFFEE -- With the name Teegarden, you might expect Sue and her sons to run a quaint country store or bed and bath shop. But in Chaffee the name is synonymous with one thing drugs prescription drugs, to be exact.

The Teegardens are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the opening of Tee's Prescription Shop. However, a lot has changed since Sue's late husband, H.C. Teegarden, opened the store.

"When my husband started the business in 1962, we were in a small store, no more than 9 feet by 9," Sue Teegarden said. "Back then we were strictly a pharmacy. We sold prescriptions."

Soon they added front-end items such as health and beauty aides. After a move in 1964 to a larger building, the Teegardens expanded some more.

"Then in 1971, we moved to a much bigger building and became a full-line drug store," Sue Teegarden said. "Besides prescriptions, we sold cosmetics, greeting cards, candy and gifts.

"In 1984, we moved to a building, which we share with a doctor's clinic. In 1989, we purchased the Medicap Pharmacy franchise."

Though they chose to become a part of a chain and subsequently lose the family name on the business, it was a decision they don't regret.

"It was becoming harder for independent stores to compete with national chains," she said, explaining why the move was made.

"If you're a part of a chain like Wal-Mart you can buy products at a cheaper price and pass the price on to your customers. Independents don't have that kind of purchasing power."

So Jim Teegarden answered a magazine ad for Medicap franchises.

"They send you the paperwork and then you visit the headquarters to see if you like them and they like you," Kevin Teegarden said.

The Teegardens realized the benefits of being a part of a chain.

"What you get is a corporate name. With soon to be 100 stores nationwide, you get name recognition," he said. "You're still independently owned. Mom owns it 100 percent.

"We can buy merchandise for about 5 percent less than an independent," Kevin Teegarden said, explaining that Medicap, since its a large corporation, can negotiate a better contract with a supplier.

However, the Teegardens are not locked into only dealing with the main Medicap supplier.

"We still do business with the same supplier who financed the business when my dad started it in 1962," he said. "We've dealt with them in good faith and with their quality of service, we decided to stick with that supplier."

And since that supplier has met Medicap's contract pricing, the Teegardens have the same buying power as other Medicaps.

According to the Teegardens, Medicap Pharmacy advises them on operational decisions but allows them flexibility to run the business as they want.

"They have guidelines they wish you to follow, but it's our decision," Kevin Teegarden said.

"We're still our own boss," Sue Teegarden said. "We're one of the larger Medicap franchises in the area so we carry more things. I wanted to carry greeting cards and gifts because in Chaffee there aren't many places that do. I asked them and they agreed."

Since the conversion, the Teegardens have been in the process of decreasing their square footage.

"We've decreased resale items and reduced the store by 500 square feet," Kevin Teegarden said. He added that the average Medicap Pharmacy is between 800 and 1,300 square feet in size. The Teegarden franchise is over 2,000 square feet in size.

"Sometime later this year we plan to have a face lift so we can closer match the prototype Medicap store," he said.