Health is wealth

 Forget kapda aur makaan. After food and groceries, Indians are said to be spending the maximum amount on health care and beauty.

 According to health care industry estimates, the total private expenditure on health is increasing by 27 per cent per annum.

 Little surprise then that people are entering the organised health care retailing segment to tap the Rs 30,000 crore combined health and beauty retail market.

 Of this, the retail pharmacy segment is Rs 16,000 crore. A host of new players are setting up health stores even as the existing companies expand their network.

 In the last six months, Delhi has seen a couple of health retail brands open shop. While CRS Health was opened by the Rs 150 crore Sak Group, Global Influence, a pharma export company set up 98.4.

 Among the existing retail chains hoping to enter new markets are Health n Glow, Mumbai-based The Medicine Shoppe and Dialforhelp run by Cadila Healthcare Ltd.

 Even Ahmedabad-based Planet Health, owned by the Rs 100 crore Sagar Drugs &Pharmacy, was launched last December and hopes to open 200 franchisee stores.

 The USP of these new-look, feel-good ambience stores goes beyond selling genuine prescription medicines in a market where 30 per cent of thedrugs are spurious.

 The idea is to sell the concept of total health