Survival of the Independent Pharmacy

By Mike Switzer

Published May 17, 2019 at 5:22 AM EDT

With the proliferation of big drug store chains over the past several decades, you just don’t see too many independent pharmacies anymore. But they do still exist and our next guest’s company is an example of one of these survivors.

Mike Switzer interviews Dr. Janet Thames, a pharmacist and owner of Blythewood Pharmacy in Blythewood, SC.

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

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