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Welcia eyes mainland drug sales by 2016
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JAPAN’S leading drug store chain Welcia Holdings Co plans to tap the Chinese mainland’s pharmaceutical market by 2016 to expand beyond cosmetics and daily necessities in the world’s second-largest economy, the company told Shanghai Daily yesterday.
Welcia does not sell nonprescription drugs on the mainland as it does in Japan because of selling restrictions from the State Food and Drug Administration. But the company said it decided to tap the market because of the tremendous growth potential.
“Bringing in Japanese drug store business into China has always been part of our plan,” spokesman Hino Kazunori said.
He added that the company plans to apply to Chinese regulatory bodies by this summer for permission.
Welcia, a subsidy of Japan’s biggest retailer Aeon, aims to grow mainland sales to 2 billion yen (US$16.9 million) and quadruple its shops to 20 in three years.
The company currently has five shops under the “Sakura Kobo” brand in Shanghai and Suzhou through its Shanghai-based joint venture Lianhua Meiriling Co whose other partners are Lianhua Supermarket Co and Shanghai Meiribuy Commercial Co, according to its website.
Welcia plans to increase its 39 percent stake in the joint venture to 96.4 percent by the end of April by purchasing the stake from Lianhua Supermarket, Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported yesterday.
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