The battle for dominance in the pharmacy chain sector is reigniting! Following U-ARK Technology's acquisition of a 47.5% stake in Spring Pharmacy earlier this year, Qisda has recently announced its intention to acquire an additional 13.95% stake in Norbel at NT$175 per share, making it the controlling shareholder with over 40% ownership. Meanwhile, the quietly expanding ShareHope Medicine, in addition to acquiring YES Health, has partnered with the Pharmacists Association to form the "Good Neighbor Alliance," uniting over 900 community pharmacies to challenge the established players, triggering a major shakeup in the pharmacy distribution landscape.
In addition, major drugstore chains such as Watsons, Cosmed, and Yelp are aggressively expanding, intensifying the fierce competition among pharmacy chains.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has ended and pharmacies have seen a decline in profits due to the lack of pandemic-related sales, many businesses continue to expand their operations against the trend.
As of the end of July, Watsons leads the market with 559 stores, followed by Cosmed with 459 stores, and Great Tree Pharmacy with 369 stores. MedFirst Healthcare Services, a leading professional pharmacy chain known for its medical supplies, has 313 stores, 49 of which are pharmacies. Meanwhile, Wholecome Pharmacy operates 212 stores. Notably, Watsons, Cosmed, Great Tree Pharmacy, and Wholecome have all continued to expand.
Norbel (also known as Ding Ding Pharmacy), which Qisda now controls, currently operates 95 stores, ranking ninth in the market. However, Qisda has announced plans to invest NT$573 million in P&Q Pharmacy and Wholecome Pharmacy through Norbel, bringing the total number of stores to 117. This move will push Norbel past Yelp and YES Health, securing the seventh position and making it one of the top five professional pharmacy chains and medical supply providers.
To accelerate its expansion and strengthen its control, Qisda, after acquiring 26.72% of Norbel's shares for approximately NT$1.8 billion last year, recently announced plans to acquire an additional 13.95% of shares at NT$175 per share. This will push Qisda's ownership above 40%, allowing it to consolidate Norbel's operations into its financial statements. Through this investment, Qisda aims to complement resources with Norbel and jointly expand their footprint in the medical retail sector.
Additionally, ShareHope, which acquired YES Health for NT$170 million in May 2018 from Zuellig Pharma, has steadily grown its presence, now operating approximately 106 YES Health stores, ranking eighth in the market. Although it is not yet one of the top three professional pharmacy and medical supply chains, ShareHope's recent shift toward partnering with community pharmacies hints at significant future growth potential.
Reports indicate that ShareHope has collaborated with the Pharmacists Association to form the "Good Neighbor Alliance," with over 900 pharmacies already joining the alliance. Including YES Health, the alliance now exceeds 1,000 stores. In line with the "distribution is king" trend, the alliance will leverage joint purchasing and private-label products to compete with major pharmacy chains. At the ShareHope investor conference on October 9, CEO Fred H. Yang will personally explain the company's strategic layout and business plans.
Resource (mandarin): 連鎖藥局卡位戰再起！佳世達加碼收購諾貝兒、盛弘組「好鄰居聯盟」應戰
