Long Chau pharmacy chain prioritizes profitability, not expansion: chairwoman

It doubled the number of outlets to 400 by the end of last year and has reached 546 now, Nguyen Bach Diep, its chairwoman, said at the annual general meeting of FPT Retail, of which too she is chairwoman, on Friday.

Another 300 are set to be opened this year, she revealed.

Meanwhile, its competitor Pharmacity plans to have 5,000 stores within the next few years.

Diep said: “We are prioritizing expansion since there are opportunities still, but we will stop when we have enough. We won’t burn cash to expand at any cost”.

The company has not started franchising since this could lead to a lowering of quality, service and consistency, she said.

Diep estimated there were over 57,000 drugstores in the country, with the chains accounting for around 3,000.

FPT Long Chau recorded revenues of nearly VND4 trillion (US$174.66 million) last year, up three times from 2020, and a marginal profit.

Its average revenues per outlet of VND1.5 billion a month is highest in the market, Diep said, adding that in some good locations they could exceed VND10 billion.

Long Chau targets profits of VND50-100 billion this year, but the figure could be higher in upcoming years since the cost of opening a new outlet is coming down.

FPT Retail, which also sells electronic goods, targets a 30-percent rise in profits to VND720 billion this year.