South African retail pharmacy chain opens its 600th pharmacy

Feb 24, 2021

Clicks, the leading South African pharmacy chain, has opened its 600th in-store pharmacy. The group, which has 757 Clicks stores (not all have an in-store pharmacy) has a network across South Africa and is also in Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana and Lesotho. The company opened its first pharmacy in 2004 and is aiming to have a network of 900 pharmacies.

Over the period August 2019-August 2020, Clicks opened 43 new stores (and closed one store). Of those 43 stores, 41 were pharmacies.

Earlier this year, Clicks reported that retail health and beauty sales, including its Clicks, The Body Shop, GNC and Claire’s stores, increased 8% in the 21 weeks to 24 January. Its United Pharmaceutical Distributors’s (UPD) distribution brand increased turnover by 10.6% in the same period. Total managed turnover, which combines UPD’s wholesale turnover and turnover managed on behalf of bulk distribution clients, increased 18.1%. Clicks’ online sales saw growth of 173% over the previous year, as COVID-19 encouraged consumers to stay at home and look for delivery.

Clicks is currently the largest employer of pharmacists in the private sector in South Africa. The company claims that 51% of South Africans currently live within 5km of a Clicks store, and within six kilometres of a Clicks pharmacy. It also claims that one in four medicines currently sold in South Africa are from a Clicks pharmacy. As with its main competitor, Dischem, Clicks is also focusing heavily on health and wellness, a key trend in South Africa supported by a wider recognition from consumers of the lifestyle gains from better nutrition, preventive medicine and behavioural change.

Recent service innovations include a digital platform that allows customers to submit scripts, view their medication history and order active script repeats from their phone via the Clicks app. Clicks offers free delivery of chronic medication to customers In December 2020 it launched Clicks Virtual Doctor, which offers consultations via video call to doctors based at Clicks Clinics for R300 ($20.4).

The one downbeat note? Earlier in February, Clicks announced the impending closure of its music and video retail brand, Musica. It blamed digital disruption and COVID-19. All Musica stores will have closed by the end of May 2021. Clicks has already closed 19 Musica stores in 2021 while another 59 are currently trading.

 

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