Healthguard on expansion mode; hopes to soon realise dreams of making own drugs
Now that the buyback agreement for locally produced pharmaceuticals by the government is to kick in by this year, those who are keen to manufacture their own drugs like Sunshine Holdings PLC can see a lot of sunshine ahead.
A Board of Investment (BOI) official told the Business Times that these agreements are being finalised and that firms that want to manufacture their own pharmaceuticals will be able to do so by year-end. “There are some eight firms – mostly locals who are interested,” he said. The National Medicinal Drug Regulatory Authority Bill introduced guidelines to encourage local manufacturers to start their plants but are yet to announce the nitty-gritty on this proposal.
Sunshine’s healthcare arm, Healthguard which is a wellness and beauty retailer is gearing up for the future, with significant investments into expanding its physical and online retail presence and enhancing the skills of its staff to meet the standards of international healthcare retailers. It also wants to expand in the healthcare sector and manufacture medicine, an official told the Business Times.
Healthguard expects to more than double its outlet network – consisting of standalone ‘Full Service’ stores and ‘Express stores (located within leading supermarkets) – from 24 at present to 50 by the 2018 financial year. From the beginning of 2015, eight new full service and express outlets have been opened, a media release said.
“The online store of the company which was launched in December 2015 is fast gaining traction and substantial online purchase behaviour is already being witnessed,” Sunshine Healthcare Managing Director Shyam Sathasivam said, expressing optimism on the prospects of the newly-launched online store, and revealing plans to broaden the product mix and offering of the store. With the unveiling of the online store and island-wide delivery service, Healthguard expects to extend its footprint nation-wide.
Healthguard will soon open a dedicated training centre at Colombo 3 – the ‘Healthguard Excellence Centre’ – which seeks to significantly enhance the competencies of its staff, particularly pharmacists and customer service staff serving at Company outlets, according to a company release.
“Training will be delivered by in-house and external trainers such as product specialists or representatives from service training organisations. Training will be in line with organisation requirements or ‘output-focused’, utilising findings from ‘mystery shopper surveys’, etc to identify areas requiring improvement.”
In an early indication of the success of these initiatives and in the strategic shift in its product portfolio, Healthguard outlets have witnessed rapid growth in over-the-counter sales volumes. Significant growth has been witnessed particularly in the beauty products segment. In the first nine months of the current financial year (9MFY16) Health guard witnessed 22per cent revenue growth on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. In the 2015 Financial Year (FY 15), overall revenue growth of Healthguard was 15 per cent YoY.