新型連鎖藥妝事業如何改變本土醫藥零售系統

洪芷郁　陳麗珠　簡芝玉

How Does the Drugstore Franchises Change the Local Medicine Retail System?

Introduction

A rapid growth of drugstore franchises has dealt a serious blow at the business of traditional pharmacies as well as renewing the idea of consumerism in Taiwan. People used to buy medicine from the pharmacies for treatment of occasional illnesses, but nowadays, they prefer health care products and medical cosmetics for beauty treatment. Having both health and beauty has become the ideal way of life for everyone in the present world. The marketing strategies of drugstore franchises happen to match this new trend so they have enormous potential in the market.

The marketing strategies of traditional pharmacies and drugstore franchises are fundamentally different. The main products in the traditional pharmacies are patent medicines and health foods. All those products are kept in the medicine cupboards and the pharmacist will be the consultant, and consumers are not their own masters; they are at the mercy of the pharmacist. Yet at the same time, the relationship between the pharmacist and the consumers is as close as friends and neighbors.

Drugstore franchises have their own goals to achieve. The products with tag prices are arranged on the shelves openly. Fair price cosmetics are the best selling products. Multiple products and professional pharmacists or consultants are the strategies to attract consumers.

The New Consumerism Brought by Neo-Drugstore Franchises

The rapid growth of neo-drugstore franchises has brought a new idea of consumerism. The idea is a combination of medicine and cosmetics which trains the consumers to live beautifully and healthily. In this process, consumers save a lot of money while becoming their own masters.

Comparison between New and Old Pharmacies

Place

Most of the traditional pharmacies are located in the center of communities. Their main consumers are the local residents of the communities. But most of the neo-drugstores are located in the crowded places, especially the shopping areas. To deal with vast business, a POS system has been created to register the consuming habit of the consumers and modify the strategies of marketing at the right time. This POS system is the way to spread their business. Traditional pharmacies lack this kind of modern management system.

Product

The traditional pharmacies emphasize preventive medicine and curative effect products. The consultant of beauty and health and multiple products in the neo-drugstore have now fulfilled consumers’ new needs. The products are preventive medicine and curative effect products, health food, diet food, and cosmetics.

Price

The market prices are rather low in the traditional pharmacies because the pharmacists get their products from the manufacturers directly. The prices of products are much higher in neo-drugstore because those prices also include profits for local medicine agencies, transferring system cost, cost of retailing, etc.

Promotion

Advertising is fully used by neo-drugstores to attract consumers. This is because they have enough capital and are also under great competition in the same trade. Advertising is not important to traditional pharmacies because the consumers are their neighbors.

The Way of Reaction against New Trend

First, the traditional pharmacies try to maintain good and solid relationships with their consumers. Second, The products are arranged on the shelves openly gradually. Third, pharmacists are starting to act as beauty consultants.

Conclusion

In today’s world, consumers have different ideas about their own bodies, thinking that health is closely related to beauty. People can be really gorgeous with good health, and the well-conditioned bodies enhance their confidence in themselves. In this day of individualism, people are also in the habit of choosing their own cosmetics; they want to be their own masters. They feel powerful when choosing products; at the same time, they have to take full responsibility for the consequences, too. Consumers also long for release from pressure at work or in life, and they tend to purchase particular and special products such as bath equipments and essential oils to comfort themselves.

The neo-drugstore franchise is deemed to be a growing trend in society. The traditional pharmacy faces the challenge to join the franchise or adjust their products—increasing make-up or dye. Services are becoming more important—the pharmacist can not always stand behind the counter and fetch merchandise for all consumers. As for the neo-drugstore franchise, it has to cooperate with different businesses for the benefit of the future. Boots is the best example. Not only various products are provided for the consumers in the neo-franchise drugstore, but also a new concept of life: using particular products can distinguish one from the others and express one’s taste. The neo-drugstore franchises play the above roles—the health and beauty provider and the educator of a new concept of life. We wonder how many more functions it will be able to fulfill in the future.