Bullish over pharma retailing network, MedPlus, serving over 25,000 customers with 300 outlets across Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune, will be providing an exit route for its investors through an IPO. The company will be going public during June 2009 with an approximate size of Rs 200 crore. The funds would be used for expanding its network to 2,000-odd pharmacy outlets with a pan-India presence over a period of time.
Talking about the company?s new plan, Madhukar Gangadi, CEO, said that the company is launching integrated health centres (IHC) in the country. These centres would combine a family clinic, diagnostic lab and pharmacy. Initially, the company would set up 10 centres in Hyderabad and launch the same in Bangalore, Chennai and Pune.
According to Gangadi, with rising urban population and growing demand for quality healthcare, pharma retailing goes beyond the conventional ways of merely dispensing medicines and would offer more inclusive services coupled with ambience and convenience to the customers.
The full service integrated MedPlus clinics would have pharmacies, diagnostics labs and consultation services. Besides, IHCs will be partnering with companies such as Novartis, Roche, Johnson & Johnson. etc for conducting educational programmes such as diabetes and osteoporosis prevention. Further, the company will be launching an exclusive tieup with Bajaj Allianz Insurance to bring customers upto 20% savings on medicines and lab services.
According to its expansion plan, the company would be opening outlets in Gujarat, Kerala, Rajasthan and West Bengal in the next two months with the total strength touching close to 1,000 outlets in 2009.
It would also be enhancing its distribution bandwidth and its warehouse systems. Stressing more on the franchisee model rather than company-owned outlets, Gangadi said that these labs would work on hub and spoke processing model and would be processing over 95% of tests ordered by the clinicians.
