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AIOCD president comes down heavily on discount sale of medicines by co-operative sector pharmacies
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Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai
May 16 , 2023
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Coming down heavily on the discount sale of medicines by co-operative sector pharmacies in the country, All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD)’s national president Jagannath Shinde has warned that such discount sale of medicine will spoil the conventional system of safe and affordable distribution of quality medicines to the patients by the conventional retailers across the country.
Inaugurating the 50th golden jubilee celebration of the All Kerala Chemists and Druggists Association (AKCDA) at Thiruvananthapuram, Shinde said the cooperative pharmacies are not focusing on quality medicines because quality medicines cannot be supplied on cheaper rates. Medicines supplied at cheaper rates or less than those of the MRPs are not quality medicines. People do not understand this fact properly, so they prefer to buy from discount pharmacies which are creating unhealthy competition in the market. If this situation continues to exist, the retail chemists cannot last long and the trade sector will collapse.
“AIOCD and its affiliated state associations have been serving the society for decades by supplying genuine medicines to the people at affordable prices as well as maintaining the availability of medicines throughout the country. This established system of the distribution channel is getting disrupted with the emergence of discount pharmacies and the chain shops in the cooperative sector”, he told the members of the AKCDA.
Pointing to the dangers of the discount pharmacies, the national pharma trade leader said the retail chemist shops need to be wary of this increasing phenomenon of negotiated rates on medicines, which cannot be applied on the business of ordinary chemists who are dealing in the supply of quality and safe medicines. He said, in all the states and in the Union territories, the major challenge faced by the chemists is the increasing number of cooperative pharmacies. Some pharmacies are offering huge discounts, but nobody is testing the quality of the products they are selling, he alleged.
In order to overcome the myriad challenges, he told the traders of his association to think of providing some value added services to the consumers and try to retain their permanent customers by all means. According to him, another major challenge is the emergence of online pharmacies. To counter this threat, the retail chemists/pharmacists should educate his customers about the use and importance of medicines.
As a solution to the burning issues like discount sales by cooperative pharmacies and online sales by e-pharmacies, Shinde said the retail chemists in Kerala should consolidate their business by changing the structure of business and providing some value added services to the customers. He advised them to form registered societies for business at the local level and expand the business domain. He reminded them that it is too difficult for the individual retailer to continue for long unless he changes the structure of the business. Promotion of brands will also help the retailers to survive the situation due to threat from the cooperative sector.
AN Mohan, president of the AKCDA, while delivering the presidential speech said the retailers in Kerala are struggling a lot and unless some measures are taken by the authorities to restrain the discount pharmacies, it will be difficult for the 12,000 retail chemists in the state to survive. According to him, several medical shops are on the verge of closure.
LR Jayaraj, general secretary of the AKCDA welcomed the audience and V Anvar, the treasurer, proposed the vote of thanks. AIOCD general secretary Rajiv Singhal, organizing secretary, Sandeep Nangia, West Bengal CDA president Roy Chowdhury and PCI president Dr. Montu Kumar Patel spoke on the occasion.
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