News2026/06/01
Sun Store Renens: First pharmacy in Western Switzerland to introduce the new concept
With the redesigned Sun Store pharmacy in Renens (VD), the first pharmacy in Western Switzerland is opening with a completely new concept. It places a strong focus on personalised advice, healthcare services and the overall customer experience. The aim is to further improve people’s access to low-threshold primary care services.
Access to primary medical care is becoming increasingly challenging in Switzerland. Pharmacies can play an important role by acting as an easily accessible first point of contact for health concerns. With services such as Beratung plus, Galenica already provides a range of easily accessible services – from advice on acute issues to preventive health checks such as the CardioTest®.
Advice at the heart of the concept: private, visible and close to everyday needs
The new pharmacy concept places an even stronger emphasis on these healthcare services and the advisory expertise of pharmacists and pharmacy specialists. The redesigned Sun Store pharmacy combines personalised advice, store design and digital support in new ways. In addition to express and self-checkout tills for quick purchases, it features private and semi-private consultation zones that enable discreet conversations and make the quality of advice visible. Acute health concerns (such as skin or digestive problems) can be discussed there, diagnostic tests can be carried out, and vaccinations can be offered. This allows the pharmacy to complement existing care services in a meaningful way.
Pilot projects with strong potential
With the pharmacy in Renens, Galenica is testing the enhanced pharmacy concept for the first time in Western Switzerland and at Sun Store. Since October 2025, Galenica has already been gaining experience with the new concept in the Amavita pharmacy at the Glatt shopping centre.
Ulrike Franck, managing pharmacist at the Glattzentrum, reports positive results after six months: “The feedback from our customers clearly shows that they particularly appreciate the semi-private consultation zones. They offer significantly more discretion than the traditional counter we used to have.”
In addition to the high level of acceptance among customers, it also delivers clear benefits for employees. Digital support – for example through digital price labels and the medication robot, which stores and prepares medicines automatically – provides noticeable relief in day-to-day pharmacy work and creates more time for personal advice.
Since the start of the pilot project at the Glattzentrum, more than 1’000 vaccinations have already been carried out, averaging 5 vaccinations per day. This underlines the growing importance of the pharmacy as an easily accessible entry point to primary care.
Further Informations
The new pharmacy concept connects consultation, spatial design, and digital support in a new way. It is an important step in strengthening pharmacies as the first point of contact for health-related matters. Further information can be found in our annual report.
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