Proxim (also known by its corporate name Groupe PharmEssor) is a Canadian group of pharmacists located in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

and to a lesser extent in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and the

Maritimes provinces The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of Ca ...

. The average Proxim drug store is , similar to the typical size of a Brunet or Unipharm location. All Proxim stores are owned by independent pharmacists that comply with Proxim's business rules and practices. Proxim's private brand is called "Atoma" and the company also has its

loyalty card program A loyalty program is a marketing strategy designed to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use the services of a business associated with the program. Today, such programs cover most types of commerce, each having varying features an ...

. There are close to 270 drug stores in Eastern Canada that carry the Proxim name.

History

In August 2004, two companies - Groupe Essaim and Gestion Santé Services Obonsoins Inc—regrouped to form Groupe PharmEssor. The three pharmacy chains affected by this merger - Essaim, Obonsoins and Santé Services—were initially kept separate and intact by PharmEssor. However, in February 2006, PharmEssor consolidated all of its operations under a single banner, Proxim, hence eliminating the previous banners. The name "Proxim" was inspired from the word “proximity” to describe the group's great accessibility to

pharmaceutical care Pharmaceutical care is the direct, responsible provision of medication-related care for the purpose of achieving definite outcomes that improve a patient’s quality of life. Definition Hepler and Linda Strand's definition is the most well-known ...

s. One year after the creation of Proxim, the Proximed banner was created in February 2007. Thus, an estimate of 31 selected locations operate today under the name Proximed. On July 1, 2008, McKesson Canada acquired Proxim. In September 2017, McKesson Canada completed its acquisition of

Uniprix Uniprix is a pharmacy chain founded in 1977 and based in Saint-Leonard, Montreal, Quebec. It operates under four brands: Uniprix, Unipharm, Clinique Santé and Uniclinique (inside clinics). Combining its four brands, Uniprix is the second-lar ...

which would be headed by the same president who oversees the Proxim chain. Proxim and Uniprix have since remained separate chains of McKesson, much the same way that competitors Jean Coutu and

Brunet Brunet (male) or brunette (female) refers to a person with brown hair. Brunet may also refer to: * Brunet (surname) * Brunet (pharmacy), a chain located in Quebec, Canada * Brunet, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Brunet () is a commune in the Alpes-d ...

both live on within the ownership of

Metro Inc. Metro Inc. is a Canadian food retailer operating in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. The company is based in Montreal, Quebec with head office at 11011 Boulevard Maurice-Duplessis. Metro is the third largest grocer in Canada, after Loblaw ...

References

Notes

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.groupeproxim.ca Companies based in Boucherville Canadian pharmacy brands