Interview Laura Pierucci – Agde swimming pool pharmacy (Mediprix)

Laura, can you briefly introduce yourself, who are you? what is your professional background?

I am a doctor of pharmacy; I studied pharmacy in the south, alongside my studies, I worked at Sephora for 6 years. After my diploma and my thesis, I left for Paris where I worked in various pharmacies, with more or less kind people. Then, I managed a pharmacy still in Paris and that's where I met Julie.

Today you are the owner of the Pharmacie de la Piscine in Agde, in Hérault. Can you tell us the story of this return to the South of France?

Paris was nice but my old association was going very badly and had no respect for the young established pharmacists; hence the return to my roots in my native region because I am originally from Sète . When I arrived, I took over the Piscine sur Agde pharmacy which serves 500 customers/day but mainly for medicines!

You are part of MEDIPRIX, can you explain to us in a few words the overall philosophy of the group?

Mediprix are committed pharmacists. There is very good understanding between the pharmacists... no one tries to pull the sheet on their side! Whether small, medium or large pharmacies, everyone works together and helps each other.

There are also no ego problems with the leaders of the group, which is very important and very appreciable. Then, I really liked the graphic charter and the philosophy as well.

I also knew a lot of people who were already part of the group, because you should know that MEDIPRIX is very established in the south but also extends widely, more and more, throughout the French territory, and today we are more of 150 pharmacies.

How do you view the profession of pharmacist today, its evolution and its missions? What is for you, in 2021, the essence of your profession? I imagine that the lines have moved with the situation we have been experiencing for over a year…

Completely ! The lines have moved and in the right direction! That is to say that the pharmacist still returns to the center of his profession . Thanks (unfortunately) to the pandemic, the State has put us back at the center of the health journey, where we are finally considered real health workers, real medical professionals.

We have been given a lot of new functions and new responsibilities which certainly take time, but which are very interesting! And they are especially necessary because, ultimately, the pharmacy and territorial network means that today, everyone has access to a pharmacy.

Yes, so ultimately, you are an essential link in the health chain!?

Yes completely, but not everyone sees it or saw it like that! Many of us still remain, even if it is changing and so much the better, grocers and traders! Few people know exactly what the profession of pharmacist really is and the studies behind it, for example.

How do you perceive the arrival of naturalness and clean beauty in pharmacies? What is your view on this segment which is growing more and more? What is your opinion on the place that clean beauty has in the drugstore?

This is very good because it totally corresponds to the essence of the pharmacist's profession . Why was Clean Beauty and everything that appeals to naturalness in supermarkets, when there is zero training for staff and not in pharmacies, when we have the medical guarantee and the health guarantee in this area?

It is still today also in perfumeries where they no longer employ people with a BEP or an aesthetic CAP! When I worked at Sephora myself, I was certainly a pharmacy student, but I had no training.

Whereas in pharmacies, apart from a few large pharmacies which only have facilitators on the shelves paid by the brands and laboratories, in the majority of cases we hire qualified staff, whether BP preparers, beauticians and pharmacists. .

I think you have a special story with Exertier and Julie… can you tell us about your meeting with the brand and with Julie?

Yes, I met Julie when I was in charge of a pharmacy in Paris . I was her first client , she came back to see me twice! And at first, I admit that I didn't want to reference it because the brand wasn't known!

On the other hand, I really connected with Julie , her personality and her story. The fact that it was made in France , and even more so made in Savoie in the heart of the mountains... all that appealed to me.

And as I had been given my chance several times in my career, I felt that I in turn had to give Julie, her brand and her project a chance.
I remember very well, at the end I said: “ ok let’s go, let’s do it! ”

It was really at the very beginning and I was very happy to work with her because there was real follow-up ; she didn't really know the world of pharmacy and despite everything, she supported us thoroughly, she had found great facilitators who came to lead and train the teams at the point of sale.

So you are our customer 001!

Yes and I'm delighted because I really like Julie; she has a lot of energy and she put enormous energy into creating her brand , she believed in it and she was right! She managed her project from A to Z ! She launched into a niche in pharmacy that didn't exist at all at the time, because it must have been 6 years ago now, right!?

Yes quite ! And we were the first in Clean beauty to be distributed in pharmacies!

Yes, it was still quite a gamble! A hell of a bet because she was the precursor , being on something particular all the same, which was the Savoie Orchid , therefore, quite targeted and not necessarily very well known.

She knew how to place it very well. Everything is very well studied , whether it is the packaging, the containers, the image of the brand and above all, there is this real follow-up from the pharmacist which is essential for us!

From the moment we place an order until it arrives on the shelves, there is a regular visit from the team, with very regular training, WhatsApp groups set up with the sales teams to be in permanent contact with them so there you go, I’m delighted!

When I arrived in Agde, it’s true that I waited a bit; I had to see what it was like... After 2 years of installation , I saw that things were working, that my team was stable. Above all, I have people in this team who are very connected to drugstores and who have really built customer loyalty!

So, I contacted Julie again so that we could re-establish Exertier and things are going very well since, for a pharmacy that basically doesn't do a lot of parapharmacy, I sell around 40 products per month .

You have been distributing Exertier since its beginnings, what do you think of the evolution of the brand and the products?

The brand is evolving very well since at the time, when I started listing it, there were 3 products I think. The packaging was not at all the same, the brand is growing, it is becoming more and more extensive, social networks are bringing people to know a little more even if in the south, it is true that it is a a little more complicated but yes, very nice development!

What do you think of the brand's philosophy and the message of self-confidence that Julie wants to send to all women, through what she calls “French aging” and “French glow”?

I find it very good! The problem is that as it is Franglais , it is true that depending on the region, it is not very well perceived or at least not as it should be and the message perhaps gets across a little less. GOOD. We have to get back to the consumer level… but it will come, it will come!

Your vision of “aging well”, as a woman?

It is important ! My vision is to try to have an impeccable lifestyle ; which is complicated when you work a lot or even without working a lot in fact! A healthy lifestyle for me is the key but hard to maintain in the long term!

What does your bathroom look like? Is there any Exertier in your cupboards? (Or was there any?)

Yes the eye area! I used the Sisleÿa eye contour for a very long time and I found the effects of Sisleÿa at a lower price, with more naturalness in the Eye Treatment from the Miracle du Miel d'Exertier range!

If you had to take only one Exertier product on the weekend, which one would you choose?

The Eye Treatment !

Exertier and Laura Pierucci is a story that goes on then?

Quite !!!

Thanks Laura!