MedPlus

MedPlus Health Services Pvt. Ltd.
Private
Industry Pharmacy Retail Stores
Founded Hyderabad, 2006
Founder Dr. Madhukar Gangadi
Headquarters Hyderabad, India
Number of locations
 1311
Area served
 India
Number of employees
 10,000[1]
Subsidiaries MedPlusMart.com
MedPlusLab.com
MedPlusLens.com
MedPlusIndia.com
Website http://www.medplusindia.com

MedPlus (MedPlus Health Services Private Limited) is an Indian pharmacy retailer headquartered in Hyderabad, India.[2][3]

Overview

MedPlus is the second largest pharmacy chain in India. It operates 1311 stores out of which 1225 are company owned, 29 are franchisee owned and 57 are hospital based pharmacies spread across 12 states and about 150 towns and cities in India.[1]

MedPlus sells prescription and OTC medicines, FMCG products, vitamins and other nutrition supplements, and opticals.[4] It also offers clinical laboratory services and physician consultation services in Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Bengaluru, India. The company owns and runs ePharmacy - MedPlusMart.com[5] and an online clinical lab[6] service - MedPlusLab.com.[7] MedPlus employs more than 10,000 employees on its rolls.[1]

MedPlus Store

History

MedPlus was founded in 2006 by Dr. Madhukar Gangadi, a Wharton and Kurnool Medical College alumnus and the company's first store was launched at Tilak Nagar, Hyderabad [8] in February 2006. Initially operating under the Aushadhi brand name, it was rebranded as MedPlus after the opening of the first 48 stores.

The company opened pharmacies in the western states of Gujarat and Rajasthan in 2007, but had to shut down and exit operations due to recurring losses. It relaunched stores in Ahmedabad, Gujarat in 2014.

Interiors of a MedPlus Store

MedPlus started selling private label products in 2010 under brand names EatRite for Food products, and Avelia and Urbania for personal care products. It also introduced a loyalty programme to provide additional value for customers which goes by the name FlexiRewards.[9]

Operating Structure and Subsidiaries

The Company provides Omni-channel access to its customers for its services via online, mobile, voice and physical retail fronts through a combination of its stores and the ePharmacy[10] store MedPlusMart.com[11]

It also offers home based clinical lab services through the portal MedPlusLab.com and prescription and non prescription glasses and other optical products through its optical business subsidiary by MedPlusLens.com.

Criticisms

The AIOCD (All India organization of Chemists & Druggists) called for a nationwide strike on October 14, 2015 against online sale of drugs and criticized ePharmacies[12] like MedPlusMart.com as illegal and a threat to the interests of around 8.5 lakhs chemists [13] around India. MedPlus defended its online sales policy[14] as being in compliance with the current drug act and as a valuable service to its customers.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "MedPlus to raise up to $70 mn, launches online lab services". Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  2. ↑ "Hyderabad's online pharma chains help take meds to the marooned - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  3. ↑ Ltd, Researchmoz Global Pvt. "India Pharma Retail Market 2015 - Market is projected to exhibit a CAGR of over 14.22% globally during 2015–2020F: ResearchMoz". GlobeNewswire News Room. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  4. ↑ ReportBuyer. "India Pharma Retail Market: Trends, Opportunities and Forecasts (2015-2020F) (By Segment - Standalone & Chained, By Region, Customer Survey, Market Entry Strategy, Value Chain, Private Label Brands, Margins and Revenue Contribution)". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  5. ↑ "Soon you will be able to buy medicines online!". Business Insider. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  6. ↑ "MedPlus launches online clinical lab service". The Hindu. 2015-12-10. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  7. ↑ "MedPluslab.com to make lab testing convenient and affordable". www.pharmabiz.com. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  8. ↑ "MedPlus launches India's first pharmacy e-tailer service in Hyderabad". www.pharmabiz.com. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  9. ↑ Sridhar, G Naga. "Pharmacies lure customers with discounts, freebies". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  10. ↑ "MedPlus Launches 'Click, Pick and Save' Facility". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  11. ↑ "A Taste of Their Own Medicine". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  12. ↑ "End of e-pharmacy days? - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  13. ↑ "Online pharma portal runs into resistance from store chemists - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  14. ↑ "Some form of online pharma presence inevitable: MedPlus". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
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