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Many businesses across the country have faced challenges and massive changes since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, and pharmacies were no exception. Like most retail outlets, pharmacies saw a decline in traffic at physical locations and were forced to undergo a drastic change in operations.
Demand for personal protective equipment (PPE), health supplements and sanitisers surged, causing shortages, but sales of prescription medicines were noticeably lower as fears infection led people to avoid non-emergency doctor’s visits.
“Our business model relied on people visiting the pharmacies. With the onset of the pandemic, people became reluctant or unable to go out,” Jobilal M. Vavachan, CEO of Aster Retail, Aster DM Healthcare, told Zawya.
Jobilal M. Vavachan, CEO of Aster Retail, Aster DM Healthcare
“While we have seen an increased demand for nutritional supplements, especially those related to supporting immunity, we have seen a decrease in prescriptions,” Vavachan continued. “With movement restrictions, social distancing and the use of personal protective equipment, there has been a reduction in the number of acute conditions.”
Pharmacies were also forced to accelerate their digitalisation strategies, as demand for home delivery surged.
OUTLOOK
With the COVID-19 vaccine rollout underway, the situation may improve next year, and some people may be tempted back into brick-and-mortar stores, but many of the changes seen throughout the pandemic will most likely remain.
“The world has gone through a major change, some positive, some negative. The use of technology in business has seen the biggest impact; this is here to stay, and we will see further improvements and enhancements in the future which will add efficiency, reduce operational costs and improve the customer experience,” said Vavachan.
“With the vaccine becoming available now and as the vaccination programme across the globe starts to roll out, some of the negative impacts will start to [return to normal], especially in the travel and tourism industry. Recovery will happen, and we will reach a new norm. The world has gone through a huge learning curve, a new experience for many, and it will make us resilient for the future and help in strengthening our business,” he added.
Overall, the outlook is positive for the pharmacy business next year. “With the [vaccine rollout], there will be a major change in the mindset of people. The confidence of the general public will improve and result in more movement of people within and between geographies,” Vavachan noted.
EARLY RESPONSES
In the beginning of the pandemic, businesses like Aster learned that a swift response is key to sustain a business. The decline in customer confidence, coupled with government-mandated precautionary rules, prompted the pharmacy chain to put safety measures in place across its stores. As the pandemic caused people to stay at home, it became necessary to change strategies and shift the focus to online sales.
“One of the actions we took was to [ensure] the safety of the people who work on the frontline, ensuring that our teams were educated to take care of their personal safety and those of our customers, providing PPE to protect them, installing communication in all our outlets to maintain social distancing, wearing masks and [promoting the] use of hand sanitiser,” said Vavachan.
“Fortunately, the leadership of the UAE acted quickly to bring in measures to contain the situation and educate the general public. This has helped in containing the spread of the infection and the impact on the economy compared to some other countries,” he added.
Home delivery services also had to be expanded as customers avoided physical stores. As the unprecedented high demand for PPE led to shortages in the market, the procurement personnel “really got into action” to find much-needed supplies and refill pharmacy shelves, Vavachan said.
DIGITALISATION
The company also had to invest in digitalisation to improve processes and, more importantly, meet the huge volume of demand for remote services. The company’s online platform had to be streamlined and its home delivery had to be improved as well.
“These services were already available within our business. Strengthening the infrastructure through technology to deal with new volume of business was key to us. This not only bought in efficiencies but also improved the customer experience and our reach,” said Vavachan.
“We have not only enhanced customer experience in the prescription filling, fulfilling health and wellness requirements, we also invested heavily in the customer experience through online support and servicing by a team of pharmacies. Our call centre is very popular, and we do get a large number of enquiries by phone or WhatsApp every day. The same goes for our online portal. We have changed our customer communication strategy, too, which is now more digital-centric, introducing new remote services to customers, including buying prescription medicines online,” he added.
OUTLOOK FOR ASTER HEALTHCARE
Despite the challenges, the company has not shelved its expansion plans. “We have expansion plans for the UAE; we have identified some key communities and shopping malls where we would like to expand to. In addition, we are exploring some other models of growth, including franchising,” Vavachan said.
He also cited the success of Aster’s e-commerce portal, which has developed into the leading e-pharmacy platform in the UAE. “In the new, post-pandemic world, business development and growth are also being redefined. We are readjusting and recalibrating ourselves to remain successful while creating value for our customers.”
(Reporting by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Daniel Luiz)
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