Netmeds to open 10 stores in Chennai

Chennai, April 17: Online pharmacy Netmeds Marketplace Ltd will open 10 physical pharmacy outlets here by July 2017 in order to reach out to medicine buyers faster, said a top company official.

"We will be opening 10 outlets under the franchisee model. Our investment will be around Rs 15-20 lakh per outlet in technology and other aspects," CEO and Founder of Netmeds Pradeep Dadha told IANS.

According to him, it will be a pilot project and based on the response, expansion would be considered.

The decision to have an offline channel is not because of any declining trend in online sales or due to declining prices of life saving drugs, Dadha added.

"Our franchisees will pay a minimum guarantee fee and also variable fee based on the volume of business done," he said.

Queried about the impact on the revenue with the central government fixing the retail sale prices of life saving drugs, he said that the revenue has gone down.

"But the discount percentage on sale of drugs to customers depends on the margins that we get," Dadha added.

According to him, there will not be any difference in the sale price of drugs at the physical stores as compared to online sales.

"But some of the offers available for online purchasers will not be available for offline customers," Dadha said.

Last year, Netmeds closed a funding of $50 million from healthcare-focused investment firm OrbiMed and others.