 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
| |
| There's no doubt that traditional Western medicine has saved millions of lives and improved the quality of countless others. But traditional Western medicine has its limitations, too. Its approach to "fixing" health problems as though your body was a car that needed to go into the shop may work in the short term, but it doesn't really emphasize overall health and long term well being. |
| |
 |
| |
| Abdul Qaiyum is a Chicago pharmacist who became so frustrated with the standard approach to medicine, that he considered leaving his profession and becoming a lawyer instead. After coming to Chicago from Pakistan and earning a degree at UIC's pharmacy school, he had gone to work for a large chain drugstore where he became dissatisfied with the business. Then, in 1972, based on a friend's recommendation, he walked into Merz Apothecary to inquire about buying it. The Merz family had run a traditional German pharmacy since Peter Merz founded it in 1875. When Ralph Merz, the grandson of the original owner was ready to retire, he planned to close its doors because he had no heirs to take it over. By the time Abdul came home that day, he had already decided that he would buy Merz Apothecary and keep its traditions alive. Despite the fact that his peers thought the idea was crazy, he saw possibilities in the store, which reminded him of the approach to medicine he remembered as a child growing up in Pakistan. |
| |
| Geared toward its primarily German clientele, the apothecary had always taken a European approach to healing that recommended various herbs and tonics to cure common ailments. As soon as Abdul bought the store, he began to study German so that he could communicate with his new customers. He worked diligently to improve the store and reverse the decline it had seen in business. Within a year, Abdul had increased sales 130% over what the apothecary had earned before he owned it. |
| |
 The original Merz Apothecary was located on Lincoln Avenue near Diversey in what was once a thriving German neighborhood. By the time Abdul had purchased the store in the 1970s, the area was becoming rough and plagued with crime. After running the apothecary at its original location for 10 years, Abdul was ready for a change. Customers and friends began to encourage him to move the store to Lincoln Square, a neighborhood where the apothecary could sit side by side with other German businesses. But Abdul wasn't content to simply move the business as it was. He bought a building on Lincoln that was an old furniture store, gutted it, then brought in a European architect to recreate the atmosphere of an old world pharmacy. When it was time to move everything over, Abdul realized that his current inventory only filled a fraction of the new space. So he went to the Chicago Gift Show to search for other appropriate items to stock and made his first purchase of Caswell-Massey items, a line of grooming products that has been around since George Washington used them in the 1700s. "This was our first expansion into unique personal care products," says Anthony Qaiyum, Abdul's son and part owner of the apothecary. "They lined each item up one deep and spread them throughout the new store to fill it up." |
| |
| What began by chance turned out to be an extremely successful decision. Abdul found that he had a knack for choosing health and beauty items that became wildly popular with his customers. Today, he's known within his industry as a fantastic buyer who rarely makes a bad selection. As Abdul continued to expand the store, he focused his attentions on herbal and homeopathic remedies, natural and specialty bath and body products, imported brands from Europe and beyond, and traditional pharmaceutical items, available as a service to customers who sometimes use traditional Western medicines. "He chooses products with an emphasis on uniqueness, good design and great packaging—the kind of stuff you can't find anywhere else" says Anthony of his father's eye for buying. Frequent trips to Europe and to natural product expos ensure that Merz always brings in what's fresh and new to its shelves, often from small, boutique suppliers that sell to few other places. They also take requests from customers looking for something specific. "If it fits within our program, we'll be glad to get a few samples and try it out," says Anthony. |
| |
| Some of the most popular brands that Merz stocks today include: the full Nivea line imported from Germany; I Coloniali, an Italian maker of bath products and scents; L'Aromarine, a French perfumer that makes a widely-acclaimed vanilla scent, among others; the Good Home Co., a line of personal care and home products first developed in the founder's kitchen in New York City; and of course the Caswell-Massey range that started it all. While the products at Merz come from all over the world, so do its customers. Drawing from the diversity of the Lincoln Square neighborhood, the store serves many German, Bosnian, Croatian and Romanian customers, in addition to countless others charmed by its old world approach. While our choices become more limited by ever-expanding chain drug and discount stores, more people are growing dissatisfied with mainstream brands. Anthony told a story about a man who came in to Merz to purchase some laundry detergent from the Good Home Co. "He said to me, 'I never cared about the scent of laundry detergent before, but I love this stuff,'" recalls Anthony. "He told me that he'd rather spend a few extra dollars now to have a good product with a scent he actually likes. He said, 'It's the simple things in life that matter'." |
| |
 While Merz Apothecary was growing, so was Abdul's family. His wife Rita, who started out her career as a nurse, and his three sons began to help out at the store. As children, his sons spent time exploring the store, studying the names of and smelling all the containers of herbs. Anthony worked there on Saturdays, holidays and through the summer from the time he was in junior high. He got to know both the products and the Merz staff, which became like his second family. Using natural and homeopathic remedies became a way of life at home for the Qaiyum family, too. "I watched my parents—a pharmacist and a nurse—go from being completely traditional in their health care approach to non-traditional," says Anthony. He still treats any health problems using an herbal and homeopathic approach today, only using pharmaceuticals when absolutely necessary. "When I was growing up," recalls Anthony, "and all the other kids in my class were taking Tylenol, I had peppermint oil for my headaches." |
| |
| Now Anthony is involved with the business as a part owner. He manages the store's comprehensive website, Smallflower.com, as well as the store's marketing and accounting. When big e-commerce websites like Amazon were just starting to appear in 1998, Anthony had the idea to launch a website dedicated to selling the same natural products as Merz Apothecary online. Smallflower.com went live in the fall of 1999 as a separate company and began to interest investors. Anthony decided, however, that it would be best to combine the website business with its physical inspiration. By the summer of 2000, Smallflower.com became a part of Merz Apothecary and Anthony officially joined the staff. |
| |
| What is it about Merz Apothecary that makes it so appealing? Few other stores can claim that people take special bus trips from other states just to shop there. It's a combination of Abdul's selection of products, its atmosphere and its employees. Many people also find a natural approach to healing to be more pleasant and effective. To keep people in top condition, Merz carries items such as traditional Swedish Bitters from Naturwaren, an herbal tonic that helps flush the system of toxins. They import dried herbs of all kinds in bulk from around the world in shipments ranging from 20 to 200 pounds. Employees make remedies from these herbs that are mixed according to age-old formulas and packaged on site. Many of these formulas come from the original books dating back to the 1800s that Peter Merz used to run his pharmacy, including one for a special cough syrup still sold today. In addition to its comprehensive herbal medicines, Merz Apothecary is one of the largest stockists and suppliers of homeopathic remedies in the country. |
| |
 And when it comes to using herbal and homeopathic products, the Merz employees all offer expert advice in a variety of languages. Nearly all of the employees speak at least one other language besides English. Abdul speaks German, English, Urdu and he knows a little Romanian, too. "My dad picks up languages really fast," says Anthony. The employees must like working at Merz as much as people like shopping there, since the average person stays for at least four years—an almost unheard-of statistic for a retail business. Inga has been there for nine years and Mike, the pharmacist and part owner who manages the front of the store has worked there for 15 years. Everyone knows the merchandise inside and out and can offer sound advice. According to Anthony, one of the secrets of the apothecary's success is its "blend of products and knowledge from licensed pharmacists who know natural products." People can feel safe asking whether a certain remedy will interact with a pharmaceutical drug they're taking, since the pharmacists have extensive knowledge of both. But don't expect their health advice to be sugarcoated. "They will be honest with you about how effective a product will be, and will tell you that you really need to lose weight or change your diet more than anything else," says Anthony. Most of all, people like the comprehensive approach to wellness that Merz promotes. Those who are frustrated with the often-inflexible solutions that traditional Western medicine offers can try other approaches that may be more effective for their lifestyle and personal needs. |
| |
| So it seems that Abdul Qaiyum made the right decision when he trusted his instincts to buy Merz Apothecary back in 1972. "I feel really lucky that this business is in my family and I feel really proud of my dad," says Anthony. "My dad is the American dream. He came here with nothing—no money, no family. He's a self-made man. He did something that everyone thought was crazy and became really successful." |
| |
| Merz Apothecary is a one of a kind business that you must see if you are in the Lincoln Square neighborhood. It's a fully licensed pharmacy offering traditional, herbal and homeopathic treatments. And it has one of the most encyclopedic selections of body care products including many European and imported brands. Today, it's a long way from the first days when Abdul struggled to fill the space. Now you could spend hours looking at the more than 15,000 items from about 300 different manufacturers that they carry. There are even plans in the works to expand with a downtown location in 2003. And you can always have the Merz experience anytime when you visit Smallflower.com to see what new merchandise Abdul and his employees have brought together from the ends of the earth for you to try. |
| |
Merz Apothecary
4716 N. Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625
773.989.0900
www.smallflower.com
Hours:
Monday through Saturday 9am-6pm
Closed Sunday
|
| |
|
| |
| Read more profiles in the Member of the Month Archives |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
