Fortis lines up Rs 800 cr for 1000 retail stores

The company will set up 200 stores by 2008.

Fortis HealthWorld is planning to invest Rs 800 crore over the next five years to set up around 1,000 retail health stores across 400 cities in the country. The company, a closely held firm, has been promoted by the members of the Singh family that owns the country's largest pharmaceutical company Ranbaxy and hospital chain Fortis.

The company is to roll out at least 200 stores by 2008, Shivinder Mohan Singh, CEO and managing director, Fortis Healthcare said.

The Fortis move is in line with an emerging trend among big corporate names to move towards retail drug trade. While international drug retail chains such as Medicine Shoppe has already made inroads into Indian metros. Health groups, Fortis and corporates, Reliance are all in the process of making their presence in the business segment.

Conventional drug retailers, under the banner of All India Chemists and Druggists Association, are also in the process of imbibing the corporate culture and launching the state level brands to withstand the threat posed by the new players.

Fortis HealthWorld is to begin with retail outlets in Delhi. The company will also set up its outlet in the satellite areas of Delhi like Gurgaon and Noida. "The initial stores in the chain should be ready within two months," Ashish Kirpal Pandit, CEO, Fortis HealthWorld said.

The idea is to gauge the response to its new-age drug retail outlets and then expand it to other cities. "We have a team of around 150 employees in the place. This would touch to 7,000 by 2012," Pandit added.

Fortis stores are to offer prescription and OTC drugs, health supplements, health foods, alternative medicines and home and personal care products. It will also have a telemedicine facility and a pathology centre attached to it. The centre will function as an e-link to other healthcare businesses of Fortis "� Fortis Hospital chains and pathology labs under 'SRL Ranbaxy' brand.

Value added services such as prescription reminder service, loyalty programmes, OPD appointments, round-the-clock operations, free home delivery will be the key highlights of the store, Pandit said.