The country’s newest and fastest-growing chain of generics pharmacies is ready for even more growth
The ongoing pandemic and its effects on the world economy today, makes the current economic environment definitely not the best time to pursue growth—even in industries that are best positioned to take advantage of the challenges posed by a worldwide health crisis. However, true to its “can do” attitude, ValueMed Generics Pharmacy, seemingly continues to buck the trend and is now expecting to double its current number of franchisees by year’s end.
How was it able to do so? Well, it seems that the people behind the chain are at pains to even explain how successful it has become in such a short time.
“To be honest and with all modesty,” says ValueMed Director, Nino Bautista, “we really didn’t expect to grow this much and this fast as the pandemic continues to pose a health risk to everyone. So it was really surprising that we’ve exceeded a hundred franchisees—with more applying to date.”
He noted that initial trends that would inevitably concentrate the pharmacy’s growth to the National Capital Region (with its huge customer base) has already been breached with franchisees already in various stages of operation and construction from as far north as La Union and as far South as Davao del Sur.
And it’s not because of the insecurity posed by the health risk alone that seemingly fuels its expansion. “We seem to have touched a nerve with the public who are more discerning when it comes to the cost and the effectiveness of the medicines that we carry in all ValueMed stores,” Bautista claims.
As its name implies, the base of all ValueMed stores rests on the availability of generic medicines that it offers to the public. “People are more cost conscious nowadays,” says ValueMed Co-Director John Redentor Gatus, who is tasked with the unenviable responsibility of achieving price points for generic medicines that would make them even more budget-friendly,” but with enough pluck and tenacity we were able to achieve this.”
With its franchisees exceeding more than a hundred operating branches—with more on the way, it became necessary to address all franchisees in an event that would signal to the economy that Valuemed is more than ready to achieve even greater expectations.
Held last April 22, the Virtual Summit easily brought together ValueMed’s franchisees and an elite group of the best of the best from the Phililppine Pharmacists’ Association (PPHA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and even successful health entrepreneurs, who were more than willing to share their experiences and knowledge to all ValueMed franchisees and their guests.
These include Oscar Ocampo (Chairman, Traininng and Development at the Philippine Pharmacist Association—Quezon City); Luisa Libunao de Sagun, Regional Director of the Food and Drug Administratio IV-A, Richard Pineda of the Phillippine Pharmacists Association, Alvin Cobangbang of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and HealthFix Co-Founder Jodi Sta. Maria.
“The mix of guest speakers shows not only the close relationships that ValueMed has forged, but also the various goals that ValueMed wants to pursue and accomplish,” says Mr. Bautista. “These include forging stronger partnerships with the FDA and the community pharmacy through the Philippine Pharmacists Association (PPha), strengthening the pharmacy as a healthcare unit that people can trust and rely on, helping the community obtain generic products at affordable prices and especially through closer links with TESDA, helping educate and intensify the training of Pharmacists and Pharmacy Assistants.”
ValueMed is also looking towards the future, as it is looking into Immunizing Pharmacies in response to the still ongoing pandemic by making pharmacies more responsive in providing immunization to the public; and more training to Pharmacists in terms of vaccinations.
What also proved to be a Virtual Summit crowd-pleaser was the select group of Valuemed franchisees who were delightfully honest and revealing in their experiences with Valuemed. All were simply pleased with how their branches have evolved, with their branches becoming a focus of their respective communities as evident in their healthy sales, while strengthening their commitment to their communities.
The Virtual Summit ended with an enticing teaser of plans for ValueMed franchisees, with the announcement that monthly promotions will push through to make the ValueMed customer even more enthusiastic to visit a ValueMed branch. “At present, we have our so-called Holiday Goals, starting with the ‘Trip to Boracay’ promotion this May,” shares Mr. Bautista. “We will also strengthen in-store activations, introduce call and delivery services and hold more mobile clinics that can help Filipinos receive diagnostic services for as low as Php 300!.”
Now that’s truly value for service through ValueMed!