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c saturday oct 12 2002 19 economist sun stouffville tribune business battling big box stores topnotch customer service key to competing with large chains by jeff mitchell staff writer when the heavyliitters came to town they gave bill lazenby six months before theyd put him out of business that was a couple of years ago mr lazenbys allencourt pharmacy however is still surviv ing and thriving at the same major mackenzie drive location since it opened on sept 5 1959 earlier this week the oldfash ioned bell hanging over the door at allencourt pharmacy rang steadily as morning customers came and went mr lazenby chatted with cus tomers he has tended to for decades people also want the personal touch more than the big box thing with all its plastic and chrome we just try to compete the best we can mr lazenbys 2400-square- foot pharmacy and store contin ues to do a brisk business main taining a loyal customer base and attracting new clients even as the shadow thrown by big box com petitors such as shoppers drug mart and walmart grows longer in richmond hill and throughout york region mr lazenby 70 a former mayor of richmond hill acknowledges the attraction new large stores present to shoppers but he feels his business offers customers something special too shoppers all check out the new places mr lazenby said sure theres a lot of things they have to offer but people also want the per sonal touch more than the big box thing with all its plastic and chrome we just try to compete the best we can but we compete on a service basis mr lazenbys pharmacy dates back to a time when all pharma cists in richmond hill knew and cooperated with one another their ultimate goal being to dis pense medication prescribed by doctors if a pharmacy were out of a drug the pharmacist could depend on one of his competitors to fill the prescription if money were tight a client could have a prescription filled on credit back in the days when people didnt have a lot of money we would never refuse a prescrip tion mr lazenby said i would nt say my bad debts have been that bad over the years clients have responded over the years with loyalty mr lazenby said people want that rapport and trust he said in the age of the big box mer chants must give shoppers a rea son to forego convenience says john kiru executive director of newmarkets downtown develop ment committee he is directing an exercise that will over a period of years see newmarkets aging downtown core refurbished and given new life the process so far has involved an audit of main streets assets such as its proximity to fairy lake and a host of special events that can attract crowds and liabilities such as its crum bling sidewalks lack of parking and deteriorating and vacant storefronts it is mr kirus hope a collabo rative approach to main streets revitalization combined with capital improvements slated by the town over the next few years will turn newmarkets downtown into a people place with a variety of shops and attractions future town investment could include grants and interestfree loans for improvements to indi vidual main street properties and deferred tax increases on build- sec shops page 20 staff photosteve somerville while it stands in the shadow of big box stores bill lazenbys richmond hill pharmacy opened in 1959 continues to thrive he says offering top service to customers is key internet no match for showrooms by roy green staff writer if the internet were going to take over the car market why are there so many new auto dealerships in york region it was only a few years ago that dot com experts were predicting consumers would forsake auto showrooms for the ease and comfort of ordering their vehi cles from home there were people who believed the internet would be a serious threat to auto dealers said lee wittick general manager of thornhill saturn saab isuzu not many dealers believed it but a lot of internet guys went for it they thought they were going to take over the world and while he believes the internet has become a valuable tool it will never replace the sensory ritual of buying a shiny new car people do their research on the internet they come in here and know as much about the cars and our financ ing and lease programs as we do but they still want to walk in that front door and feel it smell it drive it in 2002 theres a been a record amount of feeling smelling and driving on auto lots across canada vehicle sales here have been growing at a record pace and according to a fore cast from bank of nova scotias eco nomics division will hit a record 165 million cars and trucks sold this year the industry is doing very well said richard gauthier president of the canadian automobile dealers association everyone knows the auto industry has always been the engine of our economy ive been in this business for 33 years and i cant remember a longer sustained run of profitability mr gauthier agrees with the scotiabank forecast which credits the surge in part to interestfree financing and other incentives the manufacturers are fighting a fierce battle for market share thats what the industry is about now the big three gm ford and daimlerchrysier are see auto page 20 yorkregioncom a source wwwyorkregioncom s movie listings 0 local news find that special something in the classifieds read your favourite column then email it to a friend be interactive with your community newspaper site