Australia, July 7 / PRNewswire-Asianet /-for the past 20 years, David Vo has run a pharmacy in the Orange rural community of Rose Bay North, Sydney. He recently invested in a pharmacy in Clovelly Beach, the only pharmacy in the city he bought three months ago.
According to the Sydney Morning Frontier, Vo still believes that small independent pharmacies also have room for development, which allows operators to focus more on patients and health advice than just on income.
He said: "We're not just the cashier, we care about our customers. People think we're family, talk to us, and we have more time to be with them."
The highly protected pharmacy industry has changed dramatically over the past 20 years, Vo said. He said: "in addition to the government financial constraints, Chemist Warehouse's business model also caught us by surprise." We are always more concerned that Woolies will be involved in the pharmacy industry, but it is Chemist Warehouse. that has changed the situation. "
This week, Australian retail drugstore giant Chemistory Warehouse abandoned supplier Sigma Healthcare, and submitted a A $1 billion-a-year contract to rival EBOS Group. The change in contracts has led Sigma to rely heavily on a separate pharmacy network, which is being spoiled by large companies, including Ramsay Health Care, the country's largest private hospital operator.
The news forced Sigma to report a profit downgrade and lost about A $322 million in equity markets on Monday. EBOS shares rose 7 percent to about S $ one hundred and ninety six million nine hundred and ninety nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine (A $181 million).
For years, the drugstore association, which represents the interests of independent drugstores, has battled the government against deregulation of the industry.
Last year, the Productivity Commissioner, Stephen King, studied the regulation and remuneration of retail and wholesale pharmacies and supported deregulation of the trade, including pharmacy ownership and location rules. But Health Secretary Greg Hunt accepted only a fraction of his 45 recommendations.
A spokesman for Hunt said government's commitment to pharmacies was "indestructible," and continued to support location rules and increase investment in projects and services provided by the pharmacy department.
In Western Australia and Tata, a pharmacist can own up to four pharmacies. Kunzhou, New and Victoria for 5, South Australia for 6.
Both Chemist Warehouse and My Chemist are chain pharmacies owned by My Chemist Retail Group, a combination of batch-driven, low-margin, one-stop health and beauty businesses. Its shelves are full of cheap perfume, vitamins and cosmetics, while the pharmacy sits behind the store. The group has nearly 400 outlets, as well as online operations and ePharmacy products.
Chemist Warehouse is arguably the most powerful retail drugstore chain because it has managed to expand its 7 percent share of the country's more than 5700 drugstore networks to 25 percent of the market by revenue.
(photo source: Australian Financial Review)
Vo said he was lucky when he sold Rose Bay North's pharmacy because Chemist Warehouse opened it six months later. "if Chemist Warehouse moves next door, your business will halve overnight," he said.
One drugstore owner, who declined to be named for fear of retaliation, said the independent pharmacies were being hit by big businesses and the internet.
"it's drugstore corporatization and we can't compete," she said. Government has to step in and set the rent at 8% of turnover, or we'll all go bankrupt. Chemist Warehouse doesn't take time to communicate with patients. Why should I pay the pharmacist A $2? "