Top ten drugstore chains post over 800m euros in turnover

The biggest drugstore chains on the Romanian market operate almost 1,200 drugstores, i.e. 20% of the overall 5,500 - 6,000 drugstores in Romania, according to a ZF analysis based on companies' data.
The number has not varied significantly over the course of 2009 in the context where the majority of players have adopted a conservation strategy, with relocations being favoured over closures or openings of new stores.
Therefore, after several years of aggressive expansion when drugstore chains were fighting banks and casinos over streetfront locations, with drugstore chains being more prudent last year and waiting for the flow of money from the national health insurance house (their main source of revenue) to be regulated.
As far as turnovers are concerned, the top ten chains posted over 800 million euros in turnover last year, 20% more than in 2008, according to ZF calculations. With the exception of Centrofarm, all the other nine drugstore chains have drug distributors behind them, which can give financial support to the chains, if needed.