Mr. Deepanshu Madan: “Pharmacity was once ‘lost’, but we are back and ready to serve our customers!”
Pharmacity used to be the leading pharmacy chain in the market, but it seems like it has lost its position in recent years. What is the reason, Sir?
As you know, Pharmacity has gone through a tough transition period in the past 18 months. We acknowledge the shortcomings of the services that Pharmacity has been providing, from having a non-competitive pricing compared to the market to failing to ensure an adequate supply of products at our stores to meet the demand of consumers.
Frankly speaking, we are disappointed in our own performance, especially when we know that, with our resources, we could have done much better. That is why, in order to change this situation, we have been relentlessly working in the past 4 months to source the products that consumers need and come up with a new customer-centric strategy. Since the beginning of the year, the Pharmacity team has been working in-store across the country to see the current reality and spend time talking to our customers to better understand their needs. We are very proud of the changes that are taking place at Pharmacity. This is the result of hard work and dedication from our team. I am confident that the pharmacy chain is on the right track to regain its position in the hearts of our customers.
Could you please provide more details about the mistakes that Pharmacity has made?
The pharmacy chain has had difficulties in ensuring that the right type and quantity of medicines are available at its stores. Besides, our pricing strategy was rather out of touch with the market.
However, the situation has been improved by focusing on bringing the appropriate medicines to our stores, with the policy of having sufficient supply of prescription drugs. In this comeback, consumers will see a major change in the availability of products at Pharmacity stores – a full range of medicines and drugs, especially prescription drugs, built upon the advice of leading medical experts and doctors from major hospitals. At the same time, we do not stop training our professional pharmacists in important knowledge to provide effective counseling services to customers with suitable options.
Before, many customers thought of Pharmacity as a “convenient pharmacy”, yet lacking prescription drugs. We want to change this perception and aim to become the provider of medicines for all patient groups, and will continue to expand our medicine portfolio into new-generation drugs in the coming months.
A typical example of such a transformation is the medicine portfolio for cardiovascular, blood pressure, blood fat, liver, and diabetes, which has been expanded. We know that the rate of Vietnamese people suffering from diabetes and cardiovascular diseases is increasing in all population groups, regardless of age and income. That’s why we’ve reviewed and adjusted the portfolio and prices of medicines for each disease group. Patients will see a positive support in providing more options for treating diseases at Pharmacity – a variety of types with different price ranges suitable to individual needs and financial capabilities. For example, Pharmacity currently has diabetes treatment options from only 1,000 VND per day.
We are a pharmacy that provides medicines and healthcare services for every Vietnamese family. We build this culture at Pharmacity so that every member can understand and live with that spirit.
However, many people still believe that the prices at Pharmacity are more expensive than those at other pharmacies. What do you think about this?
The fact is that we have not been effective in adjusting the selling prices across our chain in line with the market, leading to prices at Pharmacity often being higher than at other pharmacies. This should have been avoided. In the field of community healthcare, it is extremely important to price medicines reasonably to the people. Moreover, as a pharmacy, our mission is to make healthcare services accessible and convenient for everyone. That is why we have adjusted our pricing policy and changed our operating mindset. Currently, Pharmacity provides a variety of products at different price points to continue serving the diverse needs of our customers.
Over the past 04 months, we have significantly reduced the prices of our products, specifically for over 1,000 types of medicines. The medicine prices at Pharmacity are now more competitive than thousands of other local pharmacies. We believe that by leveraging the advantages of our chain scale to negotiate the best prices, Pharmacity is offering new competitive prices that few other pharmacies can match. We are committed to this strategy to ensure that we bring our customers quality products at competitive prices.
The practice of discounting in the retail sector in general has become fiercer than ever. How can the Pharmacity pharmacy chain maintain its competitiveness, sir?
Unlike many retailers in the market, Pharmacity does not prioritize competing on a lowest-price model. Instead, we focus on fulfilling our mission of providing genuine, high-quality products at reasonable prices, ensuring the best benefits for customers. If we do not believe that a product is good for our customers or has not been proven effective, we will not sell it in our chain. Instead, Pharmacity will leverage its resources to educate and raise awareness about better healthcare choices for the public.
This is evidenced by Pharmacity’s closed pharmacy design. This pharmacy model allows medicines to be stored at the right temperature in accordance with GPP standards, ensuring the quality of medicines and other products at an optimal level. This is part of the modern pharmaceutical retailing model approach that Pharmacity has been pioneering for many years in Vietnam. We believe that ensuring product quality is more important than constantly discounting.
Even in pharmacies that we are testing in an open model, we have installed a system of modern air curtains and use temperature monitoring devices to ensure that medicines are stored in the best conditions. Pharmacity always puts product quality and compliance with the law first, and this is also our competitive advantage.
Customers can rest assured with every choice of purchasing healthcare products at Pharmacity
Could you please share with us more about the shareholders’ views on the company’s situation?
The shareholders’ view is straightforward: Pharmacity is the right platform and business model to serve all Vietnamese people. We have a unique service ecosystem, combining all healthcare products in a drugstore model – from medicines, vitamins/ minerals/ functional foods, and beauty care products. The shareholders are fully supporting us and we are gradually creating a sustainable business. Together, we are committed to developing and winning. We all have strong expectations for Pharmacity’s growth. But above all, we are excited to make a difference to Pharmacity customers today.
It can take a long time to regain the trust of customers. How have you and your team planned to “persuade” them to come back to your pharmacy?
We have, are, and will be implementing many initiatives to regain the trust of our customers and convince them to give us a second chance. In the coming weeks, you will hear more from Pharmacity about what we have done, are doing, and will do at our pharmacies to serve our customers even better. I am really looking forward to sharing more of this information so that everyone can see how we have changed for the better for a healthier Vietnamese community.
