Like hundreds of independent pharmacists across the province, Gavrilidis finds himself caught in the crossfire of Ontario's drug war -- the battle for market supremacy being waged between Shoppers Drug Mart and upstart Rexall.

"They're chasing each other and nipping at each other's heels, taking away from guys like me," said Gavrilidis. "Everybody wants a piece of the pie and the pie is getting smaller."

Like Burger King and McDonald's at the height of the burger wars, the two drugstore chains are rapidly expanding across the province, acquiring independent outlets and opening new stores in each other's shadows. In Goderich earlier this month, Rexall and Shoppers both opened stores in the span of a week.

"Rexall is out to get Shoppers' market share and that's the bottom line," said retired University of Windsor business professor Alfie Morgan. "It's a competitive battle between two giants."

Rexall entered the Windsor market just over a year ago and now has six stores, including one at Howard Avenue and Cabana Road which celebrates its grand opening this weekend. Independently owned pharmacies like I.D.A. and Guardian are also part of the Rexall family.

Shoppers will open two new stores in November -- one in the Roundhouse Centre at E.C. Row and Howard and another on Huron Church Road, adjacent to a Rexall. It also recently opened two Simply Pharmacy locations as the result of local acquisitions.

While "competition is always good," Morgan said the drug war could hurt independent pharmacists, particularly those like Gavrilidis, who aren't connected to medical clinics.

Fewer independents

There are about 1,300 independent pharmacies in Ontario, but their ranks grow thinner each year. About 20 per cent more closed in 2007 than closed in 2006 and about 14 per cent more sold out to a chain in 2007 than in 2006, said Ben Shenouda of the Independent Pharmacists Association.

The association has launched a public relations campaign against provincial legislation it claims benefits the larger chains at the expense of the independents.

A pharmacist for two decades, Gavrilidis opened his small, independent shop -- Pharma Health -- about a year ago in Yorktown Plaza on Grand Marais Road near Dominion Boulevard. It is located in the shadow of a giant Shoppers.

It resembles a doctor's office more than a modern-day drugstore, featuring pill bottles on wooden shelves and a cosy waiting room outfitted with an electronic fireplace and flat-screen TV.

Gavrilidis has a small office where he meets with each of his clients, offering them the privacy and personal attention they might not find at larger pharmacies.

"They know your name here and I appreciate that. You don't feel like just another number," said Sharon Tousignant this week, while inquiring about pain relief medication.

"We like the intimacy and privacy. It really feels like it used to feel years ago."

Unlike the national chains, which rely heavily on the front-shop goods like groceries, electronic gear and cosmetics, independent pharmacists make their money the old-fashioned way - by filling prescriptions.

Legislative changes reducing the profit margins on those prescriptions is making that money harder to come by, threatening the viability of independents across the province.

The chains can withstand the hit because of volume and their front-shop sales.

"They don't just depend on their prescriptions," said Gavrilidis. "I depend on my prescriptions."

Blister packs

In August, for example, the government started paying the dispensing fee for blister packs -- packages of pills ideal for seniors with multiple medications -- only twice per month instead of weekly, effectively cutting that revenue stream in half.

Gavrilidis said excessive government regulation and the intense competition from the expanding chains created a difficult environment for independent pharmacists like himself, who act as front-line health care providers in an under-serviced system.

He wants the province to provide more dispensing authority to pharmacists, which would free up the time physicians spend filling out common prescriptions.

"There should be more pharmacists doing what I do but there's no incentive to do that," said Gavrilidis. "There is a need for small, independent pharmacies."

He urged consumers to lose their "big-box mentality" and seek out smaller, independent, community shops.

"People remember fondly the good old days," he said.

"You don't think it exists anymore but it does. You just have to look for it."