Primary Authority: Chemist Direct In this feature l big business l public protection l collaboration Direct to success An effective, close partnership with trading standards has enabled online company Chemist Direct to blossom taking compliance and consumer services with it. Toan Nguyen outlines its journey C hemist Direct was founded in December 2007 by Krishna and Mitesh Soma, in an office at the bottom of their garden. Now in 2016, it is one of Europes largest online chemists, a multi-million pound company operating from its head office in Oldbury, West Midlands. Sandwell Trading Standards has been there with the company on its journey from giving initial advice in 2008 to setting up its formal Primary Authority relationship, which is ongoing and remains strong tothis day. Consumer protection and trading standards are massive areas of law, and Chemist Direct doesnt have in-house advice like many other large companies so it tends to come to us. The company has just consulted us about a marketing campaign for baby milk. We had a meeting and, as a result, a few changes were made. It means the business can be sure that its campaign is consumer-friendly and should avoid complaints. The journey Chemist Direct was first referred to Sandwell Trading Standards in 2008, in relation to a potential breach of the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations. Trading standards officers (TSOs) gave advice successfully to prevent a breach of the regulations taking place. 2009 2011 2015 The success of Chemist Direct caught the attention of multi-billionaire Niklas Zennstrm, co-founder of Skype, who subsequently invested heavily in the company Stuart Rowe, who had been managing director of Play.com, became the companys chief executive Mark Livingstone joined Chemist Direct as chief executive, after roles with LoveFilm, Lego Interactive and Graze.com The firms expansion in 2009, and its subsequent growth, led to a significant increase in the number of customer service queries. The company requested a meeting with the council and it became clear that it was a victim of its own success because of the speed of its expansion. Trading standards was able to provide support to Chemist Direct, and help it interpret and implement the relevant regulations. After the meeting, a formal Home Authority now Primary Authority relationship was formed between Sandwell Trading Standards and Chemist Direct. It was agreed that all complaints referred by trading standards to the company would have a five-day turnover, and that additional staff would be recruited in its customer service department. In return, the council would offer advice on subjects such as good trading practices and remedial action for complaints. Shortly after creating the formal relationship, trading standards and Chemist Direct worked together on the companys terms and conditions, which had been drawn up by a solicitor. After trading standards looked at it, however, a few areas were highlighted or improvement and the necessary amendments made. A similar process was gone through for some of the companys marketing claims. Sandwell Trading Standards also supplied training to Chemist Direct on a variety of topics including consumer rights to help it trade with its customers in the correct manner. We have worked closely with Sandwell Trading Standards as we have grown our business. They have been very helpful and knowledgeable about relevant laws and provided a great deal of support with training. Our direct relationship with them has helped ensure our services are compliant and as consumer friendly as possible. We look forward to our continued close working relationship Mitesh Soma, founder of Chemist Direct Mutual advantage The Primary Authority relationship has been positive from day one. Although the company was a little hesitant to get trading standards involved at the very start, it quickly realised the advantages. Knowing how to comply with the law is beneficial and cheaper for a company. There is another benefit for the online company: is not well known to some people, and potential customers sometimes can want reassurance that it is a reliable business. Chemist Direct states on its website that it works with Sandwell Trading Standards, so consumers sometimes ring us looking for that reassurance. Overall, the formal relationship has been advantageous to both parties. The company has benefited from up-to-date advice on matters of law, good practices and the diligence systems with staff training. From a trading standards perspective, offering advice and guidance can help prevent an infringement and maintain a high standard of public protection at minimum cost. It means trading standards doesnt get lots of complaints that then require resources and investigation, while Chemist Direct knows it is compliant and keeping its customers happy. Primary Authority is about enforcing the law in a spirit of consultation rather than confrontation and my advice to other officers is to be open and honest in partnerships. I wanted to thank you again for all your support over the last few weeks. We would not have been able to launch this major product innovation without it. In particular you have: G Taken the time to educate me a novice to the healthcare world G Kept a great balance of pragmatism and requirements setting, while making the guidance very clear and actionable G Made yourselves available and always came very well prepared I have limited experience working with governmental bodies, but you have set the bar very high for others and have been a true business partner. Maya Moufarek, chief marketing ocer, Chemist Direct Credits ToanNguyen is a senior trading standards officer at Sandwell Council. Images: Steve Cukrov/ Shutterstock To share this page, in the toolbar click on You might also like Motoring Ahead June 2016