Organised pharmacy retail on the rise in the Philippines

Manila, Central Luzon and Bicol have been the key target regions for new pharmacies.

The Philippines is seeing an aggressive growth amongst organised pharmacy retail chains, which has been acquiring independent pharmacies and regional chains as it helps them to save the costs that they would incur from building a pharmacy store from scratch, according to a report from Ken Research.

The market has a high number of unorganized pharmacy stores, the report noted. Many chains have also been adopting a franchise model for store expansion.

Manila, Central Luzon, and Bicol Region have been key target regions for opening new pharmacies.

“As the market is becoming concentrated day by day, the companies are focusing on opening stores in different provinces and less developed regions of the country especially in the Visayas Islands,” the report stated.

The country’s pharmacy retail market is tipped to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3% during 2019-2025.

“Increasing demand for maintenance medicines and increased health awareness due to the COVID outbreak will continue to push the growth in the market. The market demand will increase for generic medicines due to the low prices,” the report added.