The Hindu Business Line : Medicine Shoppe looking beyond Mumbai

Hyderabad, Oct. 18 The Medicine Shoppe, a branded retail pharmacy chain of Dublin-based Cardinal Health, is looking beyond Mumbai and is planning to launch operations in Pune and Hyderabad.

“Albeit I do not wish to give any time-frame, Pune and Hyderabad are our priority locations after Mumbai to start ‘Sehat’ model of retail pharmacy stores targeted at the urban poor,” Mr Viraj Gandhi, Managing Director and CEO, Medicine Shoppe, told Business Line here.

The target was to set up over 500 pharmacies-cum-clinics over the next three to five years. “Out of this, about 100 could be in Mumbai while the rest of them will come up in other cities,” he added.

The focus on Sehat would not mean neglect of tapping urban potential. “That will go on any way,” he explained. The firm is in the process of involving health workers and self-help groups in creating awareness about its low-cost stores in urban slums.

“Here, the customers are largely illiterate and word-of-mouth publicity is vital for success,” he said. ‘Sehat’ is a pharmacy-cum-clinic for low-income urban groups which dwell in slum areas in major cities. Apart from pharmacy, it would also have an M.B.B.S. doctor for consultation on a nominal charge of Rs 20 and a pathological laboratory for diagnostic tests. “If a patient prefers to buy the prescribed medicines in ‘Sehat’ pharmacy itself, we will pay-back the consultation fee,” he explained. The response to the pilot stores in Mumbai was encouraging, he said. On an average, 24 patients from slums visit ‘Sehat’. “This model is unique and totally different from other 14 countries in which Medicine Shoppe has its operations. There are more than 100 million urban poor who earns less than Rs 200 a day. We see business potential in reaching to these sections of population,” he pointed out.

However, the expansion is not an easy task. “The main problem is to find a legally-acceptable location to set up the stores due to ownership issues in most slums. Finding medical professionals to work in these areas is also an issue. But we are confident of success,” Mr Gandhi said.

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