Draft:Rowlands Pharmacy

L. Rowland & Company (Retail) Limited, trading as Rowlands Pharmacy is a British pharmacy chain owned by Phoenix Pharmahandel. The company is based in the Whitehouse Industrial Estate in Preston Brook, Runcorn.

History
The company was purchased by the Germany-based Phoenix Pharmahandel in 1998.

It was reported in 2013 that the company's sales fell from £513.9 million in 2012 to £492.7 million and pre-tax profit increased from £775,000 to £8.5 million. The company said it was due to reduced drug reimbursement and dispensing fee prices.

In 2018 it was reported the company had made a loss of £12.7 million to 31 January 2018, down from a profit of £4.5 million to 31 January 2017. This was after some locations were hit hard by government-imposed funding cuts.

In November 2023, it was reported that the company had lost £271 million in the last financial year, while they made a turnover of £405 million.

Operations
As of 2020 they operated 527 pharmacies, but by 2024 that number had went down to 363, as the result of the company's downsizing and closures of many locations.

Branding
In 2009, for the company's 200th anniversary, new branding was introduced, designed by Guerilla Communications Ltd, based in Newcastle upon Tyne. In 2020, a full brand makeover happened. The colours blue and white were used this time.

Mascot
Rowland the Owl was the mascot of the company, he was registered with the Intellectual Property Office in 2004, but was not formally introduced until around 2006. He was fully retired in 2020 as part of the company's rebranding. Additionally, in 2024, the trademarks for him expired.