A client buys medicine at a Long Chau pharmacy. (Photo: VNA)Officialdata showed that three leading pharmaceutical retailers in Vietnam own1,962 drugstores by 16 May: 1,088 belong to Pharmacity, 581 to Long Chauand 293 to An Khang.
Pharmacityaims to reach over 5,000 drugstores by 2025, Long Chau hasset a target of 800 by year-end, and An Khang is striving toraise its number of pharmacies to around 400 by late June.
Expansioncan be observed in other pharmaceutical retailers, including Phano Pharmacy, Nhathuoc 7 and Nha thuoc Muoi, which also want a bigger share of the pie.
Thefast growth of pharmacy chains has put off many pharmacistswho planned to open their own private drugstores. They are concerned thattheir drugstores can no longer provide a niche in such a highlycompetitive market.
“Themarket is so competitive that it has shattered my dream of having my owndrugstore,” said a disheartened pharmacist.
However,not all pharmacists are pessimistic, as some have found a way to hold groundamid mounting competition.
Onepharmacy owner revealed that private drugstores who know their advantages couldcarve out a niche in the market.
“Localprivate drugstores have considerable advantages in terms of business premises.Additionally, their owners are always available for clientconsulting, adding flexibility to their services," said the owner.
He stressed thatconsulting held the key to client loyalty. Pharmacists good at consulting couldeasily lure clients away from pharmaceutical chains and turn them into theirown loyal clients.
Healso underlined older people as an essential client segment that privatedrugstores should focus on.
Thesepeople are less likely to change their consumption habits, so they areindifferent to big names and innovative technologies that the big nameshave been offering.
"Theydon't care about applications and brand names. They care about pharmacists whopatiently listen to them complaining about their insomnia and backpain," said the owner.
NguyenBach Diep, Chairwoman of the FPT Retail, shared the view.
Shesaid pharmaceutical retailers were opening new pharmacies at a fast pace.However, room for growth was ample for all market actors as big namesstill held a tiny market share.
"Thereis ample room for growth for all market actors. While Vietnam has around 57,000pharmacies, big names like Pharmacity, Long Chau and An Khang own less than3,000, a tiny portion", Diep said.
Anotherpharmacist stressed that pharmaceutical chains to private drugstoreswere like supermarkets to traditional markets.
Theexpansion of supermarkets would undoubtedly lead to the decline of traditionalmarkets. However, traditional markets would not disappear in the short term,given Vietnamese people's current income levels and consumption habits.
"Likewise,private drugstores are unlikely to lose ground in theshort-term," said the pharmacist.
Somepharmacists are moving their drugstores online to seek profits invirtual markets amid shrinking revenues from brick-and-mortar businesses.
TheWorld Bank forecast that people aged 65 and above in Vietnan would reachapproximately 20 percent of the population by 2050.
Thatmeans the demand for healthcare and pharmaceutical products will risesteadily in the coming years, providing a fresh impetus for thefast-growing industry./.
VNA
