How is Medicine One Planning to Become Smart Pharmacy Retail Chain

The pharmaceutical market in India is more than 1.5 lakh crore which is highly disorganized and fragmented. There are very few organized players in the retail space which collectively hold not more than 15 percent of the market. There is immense scope in the organized retail pharmacy space but with omnichannel play. Seeing the potential that this market holds, Medicine One has been launched. In the foreseen future, the healthcare space is going to get consolidated and only the companies that provide top-notch service will survive.

The pharmaceutical market is divided into acute and chronic. Online pharmacies in India are majorly focused on the chronic market and ignoring the acute market. Both fairly hold 50-50 percent share. Medicine One is focused on serving the patients with chronic as well as acute diseases, following the omnichannel model and providing medicines within 3 hours.

Distribution Model

A pure online pharmacy space is a heavy cash-burning model. Medicine One is servicing all the pin codes of Mumbai through its offline space.

“Currently, we have 9 stores and we are aiming to reach the target of about 40 stores by end of the year,” Karan Doshi, Founder of Medicine One said.

The brand also launched its digital pharmacy space further and would come out in 2-3 months' time with a more refined digital model.

“Our offline stores will help us gain new customers as well as act as dark stores for online orders going ahead, with reduced delivery time,” he added.

The brand eyes to open new stores in every pin code of Mumbai and Thane as part of its immediate expansion plans and then step foot in every prime location in India making a nationwide presence over the next few years.

What’s on Offer?

The brand’s hybrid store model has around 17,000 SKUs and its stores also provide quality diagnostic services. Its vision is to make Medicine One a truly one-stop approach for patients seeking quality.

Going forward, the company plans to add a range of advanced therapeutic services, like Disease Management & Wellness, with an aim to make this a smart community clinic that will provide diagnostic tests and free virtual doctor consultations in the near future.

Future Plans

Medicine One endeavors to become India’s leading “Smart Pharmacy Retail Chain” offering an integrated pharma retail experience by adopting an Omnichannel Model, seamlessly blending online and conventional retail along with revaluing consumer benefits by giving them the power of choice and offering the best price and better convenience of Smart Pharmacy.

Medicine one sales clocked 15 crores in 3 quarters in the first year of operations and acquired a reach of 1 lakh plus customers, providing a seamless link between India’s 3,000 drug companies and approx. 10,500 pharma manufacturing units and their consumers. Medicine One expects to play a leading role in the growing Indian pharma market, to reach $120-130 billion by 2030.

“Last financial year, we did around Rs 20 crore in sales. We are aiming to grow by 5x times this financial year. We are profitable both operationally and financially despite offering the same market-level discounts. As you can see, we are profitable without sacrificing pricing or customer service. That, I believe, is the key to keeping ahead of the competition and organically increasing,” Doshi stated.

Medicine One is keen on streamlining the customer experience further by unifying interactions across channels with the help of a Unique Customer Code. With each store catering to a specific pin code, Medicine One will facilitate the centralization of prescription and billing data and enable faster deliveries and hassle-free returns. Data centralization can enable the company to offer rewards to loyal customers and an 18–20 percent discount on each medicine with a three-hour delivery time, Medicine One can be a viable alternative for patients who depend on standard online pharmacies.

“Going ahead, we also want to reduce the human interaction with patients in both; online and offline spaces,” he concluded.