Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    Business
    Home / Business / Technology

    Healthcare gets online checkup to boost sales

    By MENG FANBIN | China Daily | Updated: 2017-08-16 08:10
    Share
    Share - WeChat

    A retail store owned by online drug-selling company Dingdang Medicine Express (Beijing) Technology Co Ltd. The company promises to deliver orders within 28 minutes. A JING / FOR CHINA DAILY

    Internet drug stores look set to expand as medical reforms open up $6.8b market

    There used to be a time when prescription drugs were only available in hospitals and healthcare centers in China.

    If you were ill, you had to physically see a doctor before you could pick up your tablets or medicine.

    But those days appear to be nearly over as medical reforms open up the market for online companies.

    "China's medical policies concerning online pharmaceutical stores are being relaxed step by step," said Fu Guang, president of Baheal Pharmaceutical Group, which focuses on healthcare investment.

    Statistics from the 2017 China Medical Market Development Blue Book showed the online drug selling market is expected to expand rapidly.

    By the end of this year, the business-to-consumer sector for China's pharmaceutical industry is predicted to reach 45.77 billion yuan ($6.83 billion), an increase of 70.9 percent compared with 2016, the book reported.

    "Indeed, this policy of opening up the market will be the main growth engine for the industry," Fu said.

    Medical reform has gathered pace in the past few years as the healthcare sector has evolved and become more sophisticated.

    China's aging population is expected to reach 250 million in 2017, while patients with chronic illnesses will also increase significantly.

    "This in turn will stimulate the development of the healthcare market, especially online drug stores," said Wang Licheng, the chief executive officer of Dingdang Medicine Express, a well known online-to-offline platform.

    He stressed that internet pharmacies had improved considerablely during the past few years, with new technology playing a key role in improving logistics and customer experience.

    But Wang felt that the online sector still needed to mature if it was to attract new customers and expand market share.

    "The simple business-to-consumer model of selling drugs on the internet cannot survive anymore," he said.

    "Online drug stores must combine with offline outlets because of the nature of the industry," Wang added.

    Part of the problem is delivery time. Long-distance transport chains are totally impractical as the majority of patients, or customers, usually need their prescriptions urgently.

    Data revealed there were 450,000 drug stores in China with a sales volume of 350 billion yuan last year.

    Online pharmacies accounted for just 3 percent or 4 percent of that sales volume, which is tiny.

    Still, the trend appears to be moving toward partnerships, and mergers and acquisitions, as many of the established bricks-and-mortar brands are losing money.

    Vipshop Holdings Ltd, the world's leading online discount retailer and a popular e-commerce site here, last month announced plans to buy drug store chain Guangzhou Haoxin Pharmaceutical Co Ltd.

    In the past few weeks, A.S. Watson Group, the largest health and beauty retailer in Asia and Europe, was reported to be poised to enter the online pharmaceutical business.

    The Hong Kong-based company is looking for new areas to expand its business after experiencing leadership changes and a decline in traditional sales.

    Investment is also pouring into the online healthcare sector after the government's policy reforms.

    Back in May, Guangdong Jianke Pharmaceutical Co Ltd received $50 million in funding after receiving $100 million from Crescent Point Group last year.

    "We will focus on the layout of internet medical systems and continue to explore smart health service after this round of financing," said Xie Fangmin, chief executive officer of Jianke.

    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    CLOSE
     
    久久久久无码专区亚洲av| 在线天堂中文新版www| 韩日美无码精品无码| 中文一国产一无码一日韩| 国产精品无码无片在线观看| 精品人妻无码区二区三区| 狠狠躁天天躁无码中文字幕| 免费A级毛片无码无遮挡| 少妇人妻无码专区视频| 国产台湾无码AV片在线观看| 中文字幕成人免费视频| 亚洲AV中文无码乱人伦下载 | 18禁网站免费无遮挡无码中文| 精品成在人线AV无码免费看| 亚洲中文久久精品无码| 无码夫の前で人妻を侵犯| 中文字幕一二三区| 亚洲欧美日韩一区高清中文字幕 | 中文字幕人成高清视频| 蜜臀AV无码国产精品色午夜麻豆| 久久久久亚洲精品无码蜜桃| 亚洲Av综合色区无码专区桃色 | 人妻无码视频一区二区三区| 国产成人无码一区二区在线观看| 制服中文字幕一区二区| 日韩乱码人妻无码中文视频| 亚洲国产中文字幕在线观看| 一区二区中文字幕| 久久久中文字幕日本| 最近中文字幕完整免费视频ww| 亚洲欧美日韩中文字幕在线不卡| 久久亚洲精精品中文字幕| 中文字幕一区二区三区在线观看| 婷婷中文娱乐网开心| 亚洲国产中文字幕在线观看 | 日韩精品人妻系列无码专区| 午夜亚洲AV日韩AV无码大全| 无码国内精品久久人妻| 国产精品视频一区二区三区无码| 成人无码免费一区二区三区| 无码人妻少妇久久中文字幕 |