Many potential investors are interested in: what does it take to open a pharmacy? Is it profitable? Firstly, the overall favor of the pharmaceutical market is important. Judging by the data of macroeconomics, a review of its dynamics in Russia testifies to the growing demand of the population. For example, the drug market in January of this year compared to January last year grew by 4.6% and amounted to 352.5 million packages of drugs. The market for medicines is structured and stabilized: the share of imported drugs in price terms is 75%, and of Russian manufacture - 25%. At the same time, imported pharmaceutical goods, on average, cost 4.57 times more expensive than Russian counterparts.
This year, Russian manufacturers will have to comply with the requirements for the production of GMP medicines, which will be beyond the reach of obsolete industries. Therefore, there may be some shift in sales towards imports.
Organizational form
This article is an attempt to reasonably answer the question: is it easy for an entrepreneur to open a pharmacy? The business plan governing such investments is listed below.
To begin with, when opening any business, its specificity should be taken into account. What are the features of "pharmacy" entrepreneurial activity? Let's start with a typical organizational form for a private business. If the founder does not have a medical education, we are talking about opening an LLC, if there is one, then an individual entrepreneur.
The business itself — the “pure” trade in medicines, that is, without government regulation — is highly profitable. However, on the other hand, if the state in it “releases the reins”, then it will quickly turn into a primitive family business, unacceptably lowering the level of specialization and professionalism. At the same time, the risks of drug fraud will increase significantly for the population.
Rent is a stumbling block
Since this article explores how to open a pharmacy from scratch, we start “on the forehead”, with the main price barrier, unattainable for most comers. March 4, 2003 by order of the Ministry of Health No. 80, the Russian industry standard for the OST pharmacy business 91500.05.0007-2003 deliberately set a high threshold for entrepreneurs to enter the pharmacy business.
The mechanism of high rent is used - the minimum pharmacy area is 75 m2. State regulation is also carried out in this area through licensing of the retail trade in medicines and obtaining a pharmacy passport.
Wishing to open "Pharmacy business" We strongly recommend entrusting control over the process of obtaining a license to a specialized organization. In this case, you will receive the desired one and a half to two months. If you try to “crank up the process” yourself, you may lose six months.
Documentary formalities for starting a business
The documents for opening a pharmacy are defined by the Regulation of the Russian Federation on licensing No. 489 dated February 4, 2003: a special application, state registration, EDRPOU code, documents for premises, constituent documents, tax registration, professional certificates of chiefs, pharmacists and pharmacists. You have a chain of mandatory formalities from the Moscow and federal licensing commissions, fire service, SES.
We also recall that the decision to open a pharmacy is approved by local authorities (Federal Law No. 86-FZ of 06.22.1998 "On Medicines").
What structure of pharmacy do you choose?
Before deciding what you need to open a pharmacy, you should decide: what, in fact, the structure will open. It will focus on the classification of these institutions. Some pharmacies are “purely” engaged in the sale of medicines, while others themselves produce some medicines. Used for sale retail space pharmacies are classified as follows: pharmacy stores, pharmacies, pharmacy kiosks, pharmacy points.
The most profitable are the latter (minimum rent). However, they are opened only as part of the pharmacy network with the main outlet - a pharmacy. Also, if you go into details, pharmacies and pharmacy points differ in the list of drugs and related services that are allowed for sale.
Therefore, an entrepreneur trying to open a pharmacy from scratch often opens up a whole network, which additionally includes pharmacy outlets. Some entrepreneurs prefer a non-standard strategy: the pharmacy itself opens on the outskirts (saving on rent), and drugstores in the center.
Choice of premises
The standard approach prefers the location of the pharmacy in a crowded place - in the center or in the most densely populated "sleeping areas". Often an entrepreneur, having bought a room, decides: redevelopment is what it takes to open a pharmacy (do not forget: the minimum pharmacy area is 75 m2).
With such a footage, experience shows that it is rational to distribute the main and auxiliary premises of a pharmaceutical trading enterprise as follows: a trading floor, a place for storing and unpacking goods - 60 m2, administrative building - 13 m2, bathroom - 2 m2.
Continuing to discuss where to open a pharmacy, we formulate some basic requirements for its premises. These, of course, are centralized electricity and water supply, sewage and ventilation.
The floors, walls, and ceilings of this commercial pharmaceutical institution must be covered with material that permits sanitation. The floor should be covered with insulated linoleum.
The general parameters of a pharmacy are universal at the same time for an entrepreneur who decides how to open a pharmacy in a village.
Pharmacy Equipment
The list of obligatory expenses of the entrepreneur includes equipment with fire and burglar alarms ($ 2–2.5 thousand).
Furniture is usually located along the walls, and there is a maximum of free space, there should be no "dead zones". Pharmacy cabinets and bedside tables must be resistant to disinfection. Alternatively, they can be made of glass. Their approximate cost for a pharmacy is 5–8 thousand $, and for a pharmacy point - 2-3 thousand $.
At least one pharmaceutical refrigerator must be purchased (price - 35 thousand rubles).
An important component of business organization is the purchase of computer equipment, cash management equipment, automation of accounting, Internet connection.
Staff
The minimum volume of pharmacy personnel includes 3 employees: a pharmacist-manager (specialist with higher pharmaceutical education); the headmaster - a pharmacist who acts as a cashier, and a nurse-cleaner. Recruiting, of course, is simpler for entrepreneurs deciding how to open a pharmacy in the city, because there is a larger labor market. In a village, an entrepreneur often has to invite pharmacists living in a neighboring village to work.
Drug supply
According to statistics, the average “standard” assortment of a pharmacy consists of 5-10 thousand items of medicines. For this, the pharmacy management concludes from 10 to 50 contracts with suppliers. At the same time, we recommend minimizing the price of prepayment (although it is, at first glance, more profitable). From the point of view of financial flows, payment with deferred payment is much more justified.
The market for drugs is competitive
However, in a narrower sense, an investor in the market will have to take into account the high competition of sellers in the drug market and make obvious efforts to find “his” niche in it.
To attract the buyer, many tricks are used. For example, discount cards that gently “tie” it with economic feasibility to a particular pharmacy or network of pharmacies.
With the growing assortment of related products, the role of consulting services is growing. Through counseling, experience shows that sales are up 15%. Moreover, in 17% of cases, the buyer does not choose the requested product itself, but its replacement.
Features of the pharmacy business in the countryside
Particularly relevant is the question of how to open a pharmacy in the village. An entrepreneur should initially take into account the peculiarities of the local drug market, the density of the local population and its composition, and the distance to the nearest villages. Usually, a pharmacy is opened in the largest village (its standard parameters are 75 m2), and in smaller ones - drugstores or drugstores. They are usually located either near the bazaar, or near the village council. Cost savings when opening a pharmacy business in the village are due to the minimum rent.
Business plan pricing options
As you might imagine, the most correct answer to the question: “What is needed to open a pharmacy?” Is extremely concise and consists of only one word: “Money”. And in fact, in order to open a "minimalist" pharmacy, it is necessary to make an initial investment of about $ 50 thousand. Investments in opening a pharmacy are $ 10-13 thousand. If the pharmacy is bigger, then they will grow 5-6 times.
Opening this business, it should be noted that the state by administrative measures initially reduced its profitability, based on a retail margin of up to 40% and the absence of value added tax on sales. Configure yourself to have to work first - about six months - until the pharmaceutical business reaches break-even points.
Pharmacy payback is achievable only after 2 years from the beginning of its work. By the way, the average income of a Moscow pharmacy is $ 16 thousand per month. If it is not achieved, then the entrepreneur should reformat his pharmaceutical business in some way. And when a pharmacy, on the contrary, works steadily and systematically, after 2-3 months it earns enough funds to invest in a pharmacy kiosk.
The main cost item is rent. In Moscow, for sleeping areas, it is up to $ 200 per square meter, in the center - $ 600-900. Impressive, isn't it?
At the same time, the salary fund for pharmacy personnel is about 250 thousand rubles.
Features of opening a veterinary pharmacy
Another question that is urgent both for villages with developed livestock breeding, and for densely populated cities with their many "pets": how to open a veterinary pharmacy? For this, an individual entrepreneur who decided to open such a business should have not only a pharmaceutical education, but also practical experience of 3 years. There are two types of veterinary pharmacies: those that sell drugs, and those that also produce them.
In the first case, the area of the pharmacy should not be less than 30 m2, in the second - will exceed 46 m2. For a veterinary pharmacy, the minimum area is 15 m2and for a kiosk - 6 m2. Furniture and equipment of a veterinary pharmacy are similar to those discussed above. The return on investment in a business is six months faster than for a regular pharmacy.
Online Medicine Sales
How to open an online pharmacy? She doesn’t need a trading floor, only the warehouse for storing medicines is important. Of course, a state license for the sale of pharmaceuticals is required.
The "heart" of online commerce, its tool is a specialized site. Writing his script, registering a domain, purchasing a hosting - all this at economical prices can be bought for $ 2-2.5 thousand.And next year this purchase will have to be updated.
Typically, entrepreneurs involved in this business increase their competitiveness by skillfully using the discount system and increasing the efficiency of delivery. A veterinary online pharmacy is created and works on the same principles as its offline prototype. Significant savings are achieved if the supplier’s wholesale warehouse is located close to it and it is possible to organize a cheap supply of medicines to customers.
In addition to the purchase of goods, an online pharmacy has the following monthly expenses: payment of accounting services - $ 200, rent of a mini-room for an office (you can - on the outskirts) - $ 300, Internet usage fee - $ 200, advertising in Yandex - subsystems (“Direct”, “Market”) and in “Ambler-purchases” - $ 50-100 each, support and website optimization - $ 200, purchase of office supplies - $ 200. Thus, the monthly cost of an online pharmacy will be $ 1,500.
It should be noted separately the need for costs to increase traffic to the pharmacy website.
Conclusion
The consideration in this article of the business planning of the pharmacy business gives reason to make some generalizations. When an entrepreneur is admitted to it, a specific state discriminatory system operates (through a system of admissions and licensing). Thus, attempts to develop a pharmacy business under the rules of speculative capital are suppressed. This can not be allowed, because we are talking about human health.
In addition, the pharmacy area standard established by the state actually limits the profitability of a business by imposing high rents on a pharmacy area of at least 75 m2 (for a veterinary pharmacy, the area may be 30 m2).
After opening a pharmacy business, most often you will have to work for another six months before breaking even. With established work, the return on costs will come in about two years, and after another six months of steady work, sufficient profit will accumulate so that a pharmacy can be opened at the pharmacy.