Can you believe it? There are more than 600,000 pharmacies in China, far more than the number of bubble tea shops on the streets, and the number is more than 100,000.
A Chongqing brother caused heated discussions on the Internet for photographing the pharmacy at the entrance of the community, it turned out that there were 10 pharmacies gathered at the entrance of a community, and he proudly declared: "Have you ever seen a street of pharmacies?" "Such a sight is indeed rare.
As a result, the comment area exploded, and some netizens said: "7 pharmacies have opened 500 meters near my home"; Someone immediately stood up pk: "6 within 200 meters, have you seen it?" Some netizens ridiculed: "500 meters 7, you are a township, right?" "But there are more than that.
The surge in the number of pharmacies is truly staggering. According to statistics, the total number of pharmacies in China in 2012 was 4240,000, and by 2023, that number has climbed to 6430,000, a surge of 220,000 in just 11 years.
According to common sense, the increase in the number of pharmacies means the intensification of market competition, which should lead to the decline of drugs. However, the reality is quite the opposite, and pharmaceuticals** are on the rise.
Recently, a netizen in Shanghai shared his daughter's experience of buying medicine for a cold, spending as much as 800 yuan, which quickly resonated with the majority of netizens. Many people complained in the comment area: "We have to pay more than 200 yuan for runny nose and medicine, and more than 300 yuan for cough, and I haven't been well after taking it for more than half a month!" ”
Another person said: "The first stream spent more than 3,000 yuan to buy medicine!" These voices all reveal the dissatisfaction and helplessness of the drug ***.
Looking back on the past, paracetamol only cost a few cents, but now it has risen to more than a dozen or dozens of yuan, which is staggering. Similarly, the days of the six-in-one vitamin of the past, three yuan and 100 tablets, no longer exist, replaced by a product of only 30 tablets for a few hundred yuan, the ingredients have not changed, but the amount has been greatly reduced, and a large amount of maltodextrin is adulterated.
You may find it hard to believe, but opening a pharmacy is not a lucrative business. Looking at the data of relevant listed companies, we found that although the average gross profit margin of the four major chain pharmacies - Yifeng Pharmacy, Dashenlin, Laobaimin and Yixintang is close to 40%, the net profit margin is only 5%.
Even these listed companies that have achieved large-scale operation and outstanding management efficiency are not very profitable.
Most small pharmacies run by individuals may have even more dismal profit margins. According to industry insiders, a pharmacy located in a prefecture-level city, although its annual turnover is as high as 3 million, its actual profit is only 150,000, which is not even as good as the annual salary of a self-editor.
So why is the number of pharmacies still increasing? The reason for this is the high transfer value of the pharmacy itself.
To trace the origins of this phenomenon, we can go back to 2008. At that time, "Neptune" successfully went public in the United States, and after returning to China, it spent 30 million yuan to acquire 68 pharmacies, with an average purchase price of nearly 500,000 yuan each.
Such profits** make more and more people choose to enter the pharmacy industry, hoping to get a piece of the pie.
It may sound prosaic now, but in 2008, housing prices in Beijing's Third Ring Road were only 12,000 yuan. It was since then that major capitals have begun to enter the pharmaceutical retail industry.
In July 2014, Yixintang was successfully listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and subsequently acquired pharmacies in Hainan and Shanxi**. In just one year, the number of Yixintang stores reached 3,490, and today it has grown to 9,206 ten years later.
This development process not only shows the vigorous vitality of the pharmaceutical retail industry, but also reveals the outstanding performance of Yixintang in the market competition.
In 2015, Yifeng Pharmacy and People's Pharmacy were listed one after another, which intensified the boom in pharmacy acquisitions. In this wave of staking competition, the acquisition of pharmacies** has skyrocketed, even as high as seven figures - a single store** is as high as 1 million, as if it is a windfall.
However, opening a pharmacy itself is inherently profitable, so why should these companies compete to acquire them? The answer lies in market capture. For capital, mastering the market means having pricing power, which is the key to maximizing profits.
So, why are drugs so expensive now? The driving force behind this is capital. The acquisition of a large number of pharmacies, with a cost of up to 1 million each, naturally needs to be achieved through drug sales.
What's more, as a rigid demand, no matter how high the drug is, consumers have to buy it. As a result, capital has taken advantage of this market characteristic to push up the drug** to achieve its own profit target.
So after seeing this, cheap medicine pharmacies simply stopped selling it. For example, the anti-allergic "dexamethasone", which was five sticks a piece in 2016, rose to 142 yuan in the first two years; The heart shot "Cedilan", 11 yuan a piece in 2015, rose to 89 yuan a piece in the first two years.
Now the pharmaceutical capital that is still in the growth period is already so rampant, so once these giants "become a trend" and carve up the market, how terrible will it be?
Looking at the United States, in 2021, the United States will spend $407 billion on drugs, with an average of $1,200 per capita, equivalent to 8,500 yuan, ranking first in the world.
Why is it so expensive? Because the United States did not control it, let the capital run and stake the land, and the patients just need to exist for a long time, but the first alliance between enterprises has been formed, monopolizing the market and increasing prices year by year.
And what about pharmacies? The purchase price is high, and in order to make a profit, the cost can only be transferred to the consumer.
However, we don't have to worry too much, because the State Administration for Market Regulation has already highlighted the new regulations, which include malicious price gouging, collusion, etc., a total of 11 categories.
Moreover, it has also restricted the use of commonly used drugs and life-saving drugs, and has also fined a large number of illegal enterprises. is to warn these capitals who want to make medicines, to be honest, don't even think about the life-saving drugs of the people.
With the gradual improvement of supervision, the savage growth of pharmacies and "sky-high drugs" will surely become history!
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