Reasons to avoid Wood Fixtures in Pharmacy Stores

Reasons to avoid Wood Fixtures in Pharmacy Stores

Pharmacy and Medical stores are now competing with local stores and online pharmacies. Pharmacy store owners with insight into business are looking for ways to increase sales by making the shopping experience more inviting and customer-friendly. Wooden fixtures are often mistakenly believed to incur less cost, and seem more favourable because of their warm aesthetic appeal. While wood is a natural choice, there are many reasons why it is not the best option for a pharmacy stores. 

Disadvantages and hazards of using wood fixtures in Pharmacy/ Medical stores

Wooden fixtures for pharmacy stores are not the best choice for a number of reasons and should be avoided in-store.

1. High maintenance and repair cost – Wood fixtures are high-maintenance. The surface becomes dull with exposure to lights and heavy traffic, which tarnish the inviting aesthetic appeal. Wood fixtures with laminates are prone to chipping. Repair to damaged parts creates a dull appearance resulting in high cost of repair as well as replacement of damaged fixtures.  

2. Susceptibility to water damage – Irrespective of coatings or covering with laminates, wood is highly susceptible to damage from water as well as moisture. This can lead to rot, eventually weakening the structure of the shelves. Wooden fixtures require high maintenance due to change in the weather cycle from varying temperature and humidity levels. Water damage can harm medicines and many other healthcare products in the pharmacy.

3. Low durability and load-bearing capacity – Wood is not durable enough to withstand constant use in pharmacy stores, which means that over time wood panels will break or warp. In a short period of time shelves made from wood can bend, as it has a low load-bearing capacity. Low durability and poor load-bearing create a safety hazard for customers who could be injured by chipped laminates, weakened pieces on the floor or a collapsed shelving unit.

4. Health and fire hazards – Wood is porous, so it can harbour dirt, fungus, and bacteria, which could potentially create a harmful environment for your employees and customers. Wood fixtures are also highly susceptible to fire when exposed to heat. 

5. Difficulty of changing layout or moving – The pharmacy sector is changing rapidly; therefore, to drive optimum in-store experience, changes to shelf height may be required, along with modification of certain aspects of the layout. Often, wooden fixtures are permanently fixed or made to a specific size, which makes them difficult to modify. So, either the pharmacy is forced to adjust the products within the same layout or spend more money to make certain changes. 

6. Lower lifespan and high replacement cost – Wood fixtures are not durable as customers tend to touch them all day, resulting in wear-and-tear. The average lifespan of wood fixtures is 3-5 years, while metal fixtures last 10-20 times as long. This may seem at first glance to present an inconsequential cost, but it will result in constant replacement of fixtures over time, raising the costs considerably.

7. Lack of environmental friendliness – A large number of trees are cut down to make wood fixtures. Wood requires energy to make it into finished products and is processed using harmful chemicals which end up in the environment. In fact, wood is one of the most resource-intensive materials on earth – so its use in pharmacy shops is more likely to harm than to help the planet.

8. High wastage – Wood fixtures also pose an increased risk of shrinkage due to their porous nature. This requires more raw materials during production. Wood fixtures are extremely hard to recycle, thus creating a high volume of wastage going into the environment.

Advantages of using metal fixtures in Pharmacy stores

Given the flexibility of easily made modifications using metal fixtures instead of wood, a pharmacy store can look fresh and attractive for years. To be a leader in fixtures for Pharmacies, remaining at the forefront of innovations in retail healthcare, it is necessary to create solutions that provide the best in-store experience, consisting of durable and aesthetically beautiful solutions for a modern pharmacy store, while being sustainable and environmentally friendly.
Here are the main reasons for using metal fixtures in pharmacy stores:

1. High durability – Metal fixtures provide highest durability compared to any other material and can easily withstand heavy loads, extensive movement, and frequent handling from customers picking up products to check them.

2. High load-bearing capacity – The design and quality material of the metal fixtures provide a high load-bearing capacity for each shelf, without bending even under varying amounts of load. Every product design goes through a thermal heat-map optimization which gives the fixtures the highest load-bearing quality and eliminates the need for constant repairs, eventually reducing additional investment.

3. Maintenance-freedom – Metal fixtures require minimal to no maintenance. It is easy to keep metal surfaces clean with a dry or wet cloth. There is no requirement for chemicals or any coatings to maintain the fresh look, as metal does not chip and the colour does not become dull. Furnmet’s power-coated fixtures are rust-proof and maintenance-free. 

4. Long life-span – With high durability and lasting aesthetic appeal, metal fixtures offer a long life-span of 15-20 years or even more, without any impact on the appearance of the fixtures. The pharmacy looks fresh for years, thus providing the customers with the best in-store experience. 

5. Easy-to-make modifications – Given the design of metal fixtures, it is easy to modify the height of the shelf to add/change layouts, to display accessories and merchandise, or to enhance customer experience without incurring extra cost for modifications. 

6. Absence of health hazards – Metal fixtures deter mould or bacteria growth from water or moisture. Powder-coated metal fixtures are water and mould resistant, freeing the customer from worry over possible health or sanitation hazards. 

7. Environmental friendliness – Materials used in metal fixtures are created from raw materials that don’t harm the environment. The process of manufacturing metal fixtures consumes a lot less energy than the process for wooden fixtures. 

8. Reusability and Zero waste– Metal fixtures are easy to dismantle and move from one place to another if there is a change of location for one or more stores. Metal fixtures are 100% reusable and recyclable, creating zero waste and benefit for the environment.

9. Beautiful aesthetics with a wooden look – With innovations in design and finishing, metal fixtures offer a variety of options for creating warm, inviting and upscale aesthetics. Furnmet has created innovative metal fixtures with wood finishes that provide the same look as wooden fixtures but with the durability and longevity of metal. 

Furnmet’s W-Range creates a wood finish in metal fixtures

With innovations in retail solutions, Furnmet has created metal fixtures with a wood finish that provide the same warmth and character as wood in certain sections of pharmacy stores with no need to worry about health hazards, high maintenance, or repair or replacement costs. 

Furnmet’s W-range of fixtures come in a variety of wood finish to match the design and character of a pharmacy store. With India’s largest and most advanced manufacturing facility, and innovative R&D and retail industry experts, Furnmet provides modern, functional and durable fixtures for pharmacy-only and hybrid pharmacy-mart stores.