Pharmacies proliferate as Taiwan’s population demographics trend older
Pharmacies proliferate as Taiwan’s population demographics trend older
2024-09-16
Taiwan’s pharmacy business just keeps growing. On some busy street corners, you might be in sight of half a dozen pharmacies. That’s partly because of the growing power of chain pharmacies, which in some cases are listing on the stock market. But there are still lots of more traditional mom-and-pop pharmacies up and down the country. The market can sustain ever more stores, as Taiwan’s population demographics trend older and older.
Baby products, maternity products, kids’ medicines… A shelf packed with health foods of all kinds, care from head to toe, from cradle to grave. It’s all in one store. And pharmacies are popping up everywhere as social demographics shift.
Wu Jen-yu
FTV reporter
Next year, Taiwan will become a “super-aged society.” More and more pharmacies are opening, banking on the “older adult market.”
Member of public
It’s near home and you don’t have to pay for a doctor’s appointment, you can just buy your medicines. It’s more convenient. I buy sore throat medicine and adhesive bandages.
Member of public
It’s very convenient for us now. It’s very expensive for old people like us to get a bus to the big hospital and have to queue up there.
As more stores open, competition heats up. Chain pharmacies are creating their own retail opportunities, and vying to get into capital markets. In 2016, the Great Tree chain was the first pharmacy to be listed on the stock exchange, and it was followed this March by Norbel and Your Chance.
Huang Wen-ching
Analyst
For a company, getting listed, or having shareholders or one shareholder with a strong capital structure… I think in the future, it will create a stronger and more complete supply chain, in terms of your future retail deployment and the results of your running operations.
This analyst suggests that as chain pharmacies proliferate, the market for smaller, traditional community-based pharmacies will shrink. Private pharmacy owners will have to adapt their business models and increase local services. They may also be pharmacies, but their revenue streams are very different from the big chains.
Shen Tsai-ying
Pharmacist
Prescriptions are about 30-40% of business at community-based pharmacies, especially individual single stores like this one. Health products and medications are probably another 30-40%. At some chain pharmacies, they may also offer assistive devices, and their medical equipment and assistive devices might be 20-30% of their business.
Many big corporations are getting into the pharmacy business, with the thought of Taiwan’s aging population in mind. The pharmaceutical retail business shows no signs of slowing down.
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連鎖藥局搶銀髮族市場! 民生社區"藥局比超商多"
2024-09-16
明年台灣即將邁入超高齡社會，連鎖、私人藥局都想搶食銀髮族市場，像是在台北民生社區，500公尺左右的範圍，就有8家藥局，竟然比知名連鎖超商還要多，為了競爭、連鎖藥局爭相進入資本市場，靠著公開發行要把規模做大、搶攻市佔率。
嬰兒用品、婦幼保健食品，貨架上玲瑯滿目的保健食品，從頭到腳都有兼顧到，且服務範圍又廣，零歲到百歲的東西，一間店通通搞定，看準社會型態轉變，藥局是一家一家開。
[[民視記者 吳任瑜]]
“明年台灣即將進入超高齡社會，藥局越開越多間，要搶銀髮族市場。”
[[民眾]]
“因為在家附近，就不用花掛號費那些，就可以買個藥比較方便，喉嚨痛的藥或ok 繃。”
[[民眾]]
“很方便啊，現在真是給我們很方便，像我們這個老人啊，你要坐一趟車到大醫院，再排隊在那，那很花錢。”
藥局越來越多間，競爭也越來越激烈，連鎖藥局為了打造自己的通路，爭相進入資本市場，大樹藥局率先在2016年掛牌上櫃，而諾貝兒與佑全藥局在今年三月掛牌上櫃。
[[分析師 黃文清]]
“上市櫃的公司，或者是你的股東背景裡面，有一個資本結構很強的大股東，我想這個其實都是未來你在整個通路的布建上面，在經營的這個成績的過程當中，建立一個更強的一個完整的供應鏈。”
分析師表示，連鎖藥局越開越多，壓縮到傳統社區型的藥局的市場，私人藥局業者更改營運模式，加強在地服務，但同樣是藥局，營收占比大不相同。
[[藥師 沈采穎]]
“在社區型，然後像類似像單點的這種，大概就是說像處方的話，大概就是三到四成，然後保健品跟一些大概只是用藥，大概也是三到四成。有一些連鎖他們可能也有做一些輔具，他們醫材的比例跟輔具，可能就會到達兩到三成。”
看好銀髮商機，各大企業紛紛跨足連鎖藥局，要讓通路威力持續擴大。
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