I remember taking walks earlier this year in March and April, pulling my 2 and 4-year-old kids behind me in a wagon. These were the early days of the pandemic during the initial lockdown. The walks were quiet. The roads seemed empty – well almost empty… The exception was: USPS, FedEx, UPS, and the now ubiquitous gray Amazon vans. Everyone who didn’t want to mask up and shop in-person was turning to the internet. For those who were unable to go out, or didn’t want to take the risk, internet shopping was invaluable.
e-Commerce at Oswald’s
According to research by IBM this past September, the pandemic has sped up consumers shifting to e-commerce by five years! While many of us wish we’d be rid of this virus and magically transported to the year 2025, that’s quite a rapid shift in consumer behavior. Tech Crunch’s coverage of the IBM study said “In the first quarter of 2020, department store sales and those from other ‘non-essential’ retailers declined by 25%. This grew to a 75% decline in the second quarter. The report indicates that department stores are expected to decline by over 60% for the full year. Meanwhile, e-commerce is projected to grow by nearly 20% in 2020.” Not a good sign for many traditional brick and mortar businesses. Especially those without a strong web presence.
Luckily, with the help of my brother Wil, who is a little more tech-minded than myself, we kept up with the changes in consumer habits. In March, Wil and I worked with our retail managers Alecia and Kathleen to get our most popular in-store items (PPE, sanitizer, puzzles, and standard drugstore over the counter items) up on the website. As none of our older customers (wisely!) wanted to venture out and visit our medical equipment department, we turned that team into our “personal shop and delivery team”.
For those customers that wanted the full online shopping experience, we had it up and running with over 500 items by early April! For those who wanted some more ‘traditional’ customer service, without visiting the store, we set up a special phone line for orders over the phone. We had our medical equipment team members running around the store, picking out greeting cards and favorite candy bars for local Naperville delivery, or curbside pickup. It was a whole new way to work!
145 Years and Counting
Since April, as we’ve learned more about the virus and the world has seemed to open up a little more, things have gotten back to what many call a ‘new normal’ – though as of writing this (10/29/2020) with Illinois positivity rates going up, I worry we may be in store for another lockdown of sorts with cold weather coming. Let’s hope that’s not the case, or if so, not for long. All the changes we’ve made in 2020 are nothing new to my family’s 145-year-old pharmacy. For any business, to span three centuries you have to be able to adapt to the changing environment!
For our upcoming 145th anniversary celebration I was talking with Naper Settlement’s Exhibits Team Leader Dina Kalman Spoerl (more details to come!) about the generational changes in the pharmacy. Each generation of my family made some dramatic changes that kept our pharmacy afloat through both rough waters and easier times.
My great great great Grandfather Wickel, well firstly, let’s credit him with kicking off this incredible family legacy. Also, attending pharmacy school in the 1890s, he took a general store he purchased over a decade previous, and turned it into a pharmacy – which we remain to this very day! Bonus fact: my grandparents (Oswald’s 4th generation) still live in the house Wickel built in the 1890s!
Oswald’s History 101
My great-great Grandpa Louis Oswald, outside of giving the pharmacy its current name, made changes necessary to survive the pandemic of 1918, World War I, the great depression, and World War II. He was responsible for bringing the soda fountain to Naperville! The pharmacy became a community center as local taverns were no longer an option for socializing.
My great Grandpa Harold Kester made the hard choice of removing the soda fountain his father-in-law had put in, and expanded the store size twice to increase Oswald’s offerings. West of Chicago we became a cosmetics destination under his leadership. Believe it or not, at our old location downtown we had over 25% of the 5,000 square foot pharmacy dedicated to just cosmetics! Grandpa Kester (we called him Pampy) also opened Paperback Paradise above the bookshop. Many of you now know it as Anderson’s Bookshop, run by my two Uncles and Aunt.
My Grandfather Robert Anderson dealt with the rise in chain drug stores and computerized the pharmacy to increase efficiency. He sold the pharmacy to my dad and his siblings in 1991, along with the bookshop. My dad took over the pharmacy, and his three siblings went into the book business. Taking over the pharmacy, he continued to shift away from cosmetics and more into gifts and toys. Bill moved the pharmacy to Naperville Plaza in 2004 and became sole proprietor in 2012. In 2015 he expanded the store another 5,000 square feet to open Chicago land’s premier medical equipment showroom.
Learn more about Oswald’s history on our About Us page–with historical pictures!
Oswald’s in 2020
As you can see, we’ve changed quite a lot over the years! This year has been no exception. From new offerings like expanded free prescription delivery 7 days a week to becoming a laboratory to begin COVID-19 testing. We also hope to be on the front lines of vaccine administration when it arrives. Our partnerships with medical supply vendors we established over the past 5 years came in handy when it came to all things PPE (personal protective equipment) and disinfectants. We were able to continually supply our customers with the products they have needed through this crazy year.
So, no matter what the rest of this year has in store, know my family’s business will be there for you. Whether it’s delivering a much-needed prescription or a puzzle and game to raise your family’s spirits, we’ll have what you need. Thank you for your continued support. ℞
