South African pharmacy chain Dis-Chem Pharmacies has announced plans to expand its network by opening twenty new retail stores.
The new stores will be opened in 2019. Eight of them will be convenience stores of 100-400m2 and two will be small local outlets in residential areas operating under The Local Choice (TLC) banner. Chief Financial Officer Rui Morais says Dis-Chem is in talks with a further seven independent pharmacies to form a minority partnership under the TLC banner.
As well as the new stores in South Africa, Dis-Chem also plans to open its first store in Botswana. It has already expanded into Namibia, with a single store in Walvis Bay.
Dis-Chem was founded in 1978. It currently has 73 stores in South Africa and intends to reach 200 stores by 2023. As well as pharmacy items, it stocks a range of beauty products, health food and sport supplements.
Its main competitor is South African-based Clicks Group, which currently operates 646 stores across southern Africa, 26 of which have been opened since September 2017. The majority are under the Clicks banner but it includes 44 Netcare and 36 Medicross stores. Dis-Chem also competes with the medicine sections of Shoprite and Pick n Pay supermarkets.
Last week, Dis-Chem reported an increase of 13.7% in full-year adjusted earnings. Group turnover increased from US$1.38b to US$1.56b.
