New Folks at Peoples
Austin's Peoples Pharmacy sold to new independent owner after 46 years
Peoples Pharmacy has a new independent owner, but the team remains the same.
A bastion of independent ownership in Austin health is changing hands. Peoples Pharmacy, which founder Bill Swail opened locally in 1980, is being sold to Kimberli Wiley, who owns CPRx Pharmacy in Austin, a press release announces. Wiley is also bringing in Victory Medical Center as a collaborator.
Even though Peoples Pharmacy has these new ties, it is still an independent business. The leadership team will stay with the company as Wiley joins as the new CEO. The current Peoples CEO, Stephen Erickson, will step down but stay on as a consultant for the transition. He notes in the release that his time in the role since 2021 was a career highlight, and that the "customer loyalty and appreciation and high regard for Peoples is unparalleled."
CPRx Pharmacy is a locally owned, independent pharmacy that's not connected to Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, the publicly traded company with the ticker symbol CPRX, a spokesperson confirms. And although Victory was involved in financing the purchase, it does not own any stake in Peoples Pharmacy. Another Austin company, Thomas Allen of Practice Transitions Group (PTG), advised on the transaction.
Peoples' new relationship with Victory will lead to more services at the pharmacy and revenue for both businesses. The spokesperson says there is no "intent to operate [the businesses] under one umbrella."
Customers at Peoples Pharmacy — which currently maintains four locations — will still have access to all the products and services they're used to. The only differences will be additions to the current lineup. These include GLP-1s, peptides, and nurse practitioners who will operate directly in each store.
There are many reasons Austinites might choose Peoples Pharmacy over a larger company, and some are just about feel. The stores are stuffed with natural supplements, snacks (including local baked goods), and other drug store products like mineral sunscreen, and staff are happy to give recommendations when they see customers on the sales floor. Since Peoples is a compounding pharmacy, it can also customize medications for each customer, keeping it agile despite its small size.
“I love the holistic approach that Peoples takes regarding wellness, both from the prescription and compounded medication side, paired with Peoples’ pharmaceutical-grade supplements and vitamins," said Wiley in the release. "The collaboration with Victory Medical is a natural fit, bringing together complementary services and a shared commitment supporting the all-around health and wellness of our patients and customers."
Both Wiley and Victory founder Dr. Billy Franklin paid homage to Swail, with Wiley committing to continuing his legacy and Franklin welcoming existing Peoples customers with faith in the longtime mission.
“Bill Swail was a pioneer in holistic health in Austin over 40 years ago. He hired people who had a strong belief in the power of the human body, and he built a company that was based on educating its customers to make the best health-related decisions for themselves," Franklin said. He later added, “While we believe that many of our patients are already customers of Peoples, we welcome the opportunity to cross-pollinate across the Peoples and Victory Medical platforms."
