Drugstore shortage in rural areas only

The number of drugstores in Romania has increased by approximately 1,000 in the last three years to almost 5,500 at the end of last year, according to ZF’s calculations based on the data of the National Statistics Institute and the National Health Insurance Office.
The main domestic networks (Sensiblu, Catena, Help Net, City Pharma, Dona and Centrofarm) all witnessed a significant increase in the number of stores. However, the six most important operators account for only 15% of the market, with the rest being divided among independent drugstores and small local networks.
Under the circumstances, can we say there is a shortage of drugstores on the domestic market?
“If we look at the situation in other European countries we can find both countries with one drugstore for every 1,000 people, such as Spain and Germany and countries with one drugstore for every 10,000 people like Denmark and Sweden. In Romania, we probably have one drugstore for every 4,000 people. This density varies from one drugstore for less than 3,000 people in Bucharest to one drugstore for more than 4,500 people in small towns and rural areas,” stated Dorin Catana, general manager of the Centrofarm network, which in total comprises 33 drugstores.
Therefore the issue on the domestic market is not the number of drugstores, but rather the type of services they provide.
“At the moment there is no shortage of drugstores in Romania. They exist in all areas where there are medical practices where family or specialist doctors can work, clinics or hospitals and wherever there is demand for pharmaceutical services. We don’t believe there are any areas in Romania that do not have at least one drugstore operating,” said Razvan Nidelea, national sales manager of the Dona drugstores.
The capital and major cities have the highest number of drugstores, with the number of new stores opening every year remaining constant.
At the moment there are more independent drugstores than those part of a network, so that the quality of services is below standard in many cases. “Needs may be sufficiency provided for in terms of the number of drugstores. However, there is still the need for development in terms of quality. For instance small drugstores that do not have the financial strength often can’t afford to have a varied supply of items, large stocks or arrange their locations accordingly,” Dorin Catana adds.
The main areas lacking in drugstores remain small towns and rural areas, something that might change soon as the main networks are expected to make investments in those parts of the country.
“The areas where the lack of drugstores is apparent are the rural areas, yet they will certainly be covered within the next few years as the infrastructure develops. This is also the case with medical practices,” the Centrofarm official explained.

Pharmaceutical retail
There are more than 5,000 drugstores in Romania
The main networks own about 600 drugstores
Drugstore profits are capped by legislative regulations, sales structure and volumes purchased
There is one drugstore for every 3,000 people in Bucharest and one for every over 4,500 people in small towns and rural areas