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Instead of an aggressive approach through a series of buyouts, Zahabiya is busy expanding the existing eight hospitals spread over Maharashtra and Gujarat. In an exclusive interaction with Business Standard, she shared the strategy of building hospitals in Tier-II cities with the same facilities as in the metros.
“We entered Nagpur about eight-10 years ago, at a time when big hospital groups had rarely penetrated into cities other than metros. During the last 10 years, we have strengthened our presence in cities like Nagpur, Rajkot, Surat, Nashik and Bhavnagar. Currently, we own about 200 beds across two hospitals in Nagpur,” she said. “Even now, we see patients are rushing to metros for better treatment. We are in the process of filling those gaps and make available in Tier-II cities the best facilities.”
The 30-year-old Zahabiya, founder chairman Habil Khorakiwala’s only daughter and the youngest of her three siblings (eldest brother Huzaifa Khorakiwala is the executive director on the Wockhardt board and chief executive of Wockhardt Foundation and Murtaza Khorakiwala is the MD of Wockhardt Ltd), was appointed executive director of Wockhardt Hospitals in 2010 and promoted as MD later.
A professional deep-sea diver licence-holder from the Maldives, Zahabiya believes her business instinct was influenced by late grandfather, Fakhruddin Khorakiwala, ex-Sheriff of Mumbai and a pioneer of departmental stores in Mumbai with Akbarally’s.
“The major challenge is to bring experienced hands into the hospitals in tier II cities. However, we have seen senior doctors who are second ranking doctors in hospitals in metro are willing to join in tier 2 city hospitals as we are providing the best platform for them. A lot of Indian origin doctors who are in foreign countries are ready to come back in backdrop of facilities in Indian healthcare space now. “
It was in August 2009, Wockhardt Hospitals had agreed to sell 10 of 17 hospitals to Fortis Healthcare Ltd for about Rs 900 crore. The deal involved eight hospitals in Bangalore, Mumbai and Kolkata, which together generated annual revenue of around Rs 300 crore, and two hospitals in Bangalore and Kolkata which were under construction.
Currently, Wockhardt Hospitals have a strength of more than 1000 beds across Rajkot (200), Nagpur Heart Hospital (50), Nagpur Tertiary Care (140), Nashik (200), Surat (110), Bhavnagar (100), Vashi (50) and Goa (160).
In 2010, under her leadership, Wockhardt opened its new 160-bed hospital in Goa, setting up exclusive aesthetics and plastic surgery centre – Wockhardt Institute of Aesthetics in Goa. At present, she is focused on new hospitals coming up in Delhi and 350-bedded super-speciality hospital housed in a 21-storeyed building in South Mumbai at a cost of Rs 350 crore.
"In tier 2 cities, where the healthcare space is highly fragmented, we set our own benchmark and not expecting any competition. We have seen the patients in tier 2 cities can afford the treatment." Surat, where Wockhardt runs 110-bed hospitals, has the highest Per capita income in India.
Medical tourism plays a key role in generating revenue for Wockhardt Hospitals. "We have seen admission of international patients in tier 2 city hospitals. "
Zahabiya is not concerned over the recently passed Land acquisition bill, which makes land acquisitions a costlier process. “Land acquisition bill will not affect our business. Our hospitals are set up in developed areas, in city centers where commercial rates apply and where land is privately owned or owned by the government."
With a vision to establish state-of-the-art medical facilities, Wockhardt Hospitals has been in a strategic alliance with Partners Medical International in Boston, USA for over a decade now. This exclusive association gives Wockhardt Hospitals access to a network of Harvard-affiliated hospitals around the world.
