Business View Caribbean | February 2021

70 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN FEBRUARY 2021 A lot has changed since Jamaica’s Fontana Pharmacy celebrated the grand opening of its Waterloo flagship store in late 2019. “What a year it’s been for sure,” says Anne Chang, Fontana Pharmacy Director. Soon after their “sneak peek”, complete with influencers and a ribbon cutting with the Prime Minister of Jamaica, the world was thrown into chaos from the COVID-19 pandemic. “Once COVID hit, honestly, we have been very lucky because we are considered an essential service. But we have definitely been impacted by a number of things,” Chang admits. “First of all, we, as a business are heavily dependent on tourism and a number of the hotels were shut down – most of them just reopened in September. The entire Jamaican economy is reliant on tourism, and we have been under a curfew since April. That fluctuates, so we have had to be extremely flexible in terms of our response because at one point we had to close at 5:30 pm and normally we close at 10.” But Jamaica’s leading pharmacy chain was ready to adapt and make any changes necessary to keep their operation a success. According to Chang, “We have a lot of connections to North AT A GLANCE FONTANA PHARMACY WHAT: Jamaica’s leading pharmacy chain WHERE: Locations in Kingston, Montego Bay, Mandeville, Ocho Rios and Savanna La Mar WEBSITE: www.fontanapharmacy.com acy ADAPTINGTO MEET CUSTOMER NEEDS