Marie and Kim Wilkinson have owned and operated their corner business in Queenstown Mall for 32 years, making them arguably the resort's longest-serving retailers.
Mr Wilkinson, who is 60 next month, said he and Mrs Wilkinson (58) decided last October it was time to ease off, despite still enjoying their work.
''It's time for us both really to take a bit of a deep breath and look at other challenges.''
He is sad that none of their three children wanted to run the pharmacy, ''but that's the way it is''.
The new owners are two local couples - pharmacist Glenn Mitchell and his wife Tiffany, co-owners of Queenstown's Remarkables Park pharmacy, and pharmacist Bronwen Judkins, who has worked for the Wilkinsons for 16 years, and her husband Tim.
The sale, effective next Thursday, ends the Wilkinson family's ownership which began in 1920, when Mr Wilkinson's grandfather, Gordon, bought the former Hotop's Dispensary.
The business, which opened in 1867, was renamed Wilkinsons Pharmacy.
After Gordon Wilkinson died in 1950, Mr Wilkinson's father, Stan, owned the business for 34 years.
He employed managers while running it from his pharmacy in Geraldine, South Canterbury, before Mr and Mrs Wilkinson bought the business in 1984.
Mr Mitchell also used to work for the Wilkinsons, and co-owned his Remarkables Park pharmacy with them till they sold out last November.
''We're a breeding ground,'' Mr Wilkinson said.
For the next three months, he and Mrs Wilkinson will help out the new owners, who are retaining the Wilkinsons Pharmacy name.
The Wilkinsons estimate they have employed 250 staff over the years, including two mother-daughter combinations.
''We've had amazing staff over the years; it's been like a family,'' Mrs Wilkinson said.
-By Philip Chandler
