LifeKen, a leading organized pharmacy chain, which is an initiative of Lifetime Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., has chalked out a massive expansion plan across south India with an investment of Rs 40 crore. The Bangalore-based company already has already 25 outlets operational in Bangalore at an investment of Rs 10 crore.

The year-old company is now gearing up to establish 200 stores within a year and go in for a 700 store base within a period of three years. Recently, three stores in Chennai were opened. The company is now looking at Hyderabad Mysore, Mangalore, Coimbatore and Madurai in its next phase of expansion after which entry into Kochi and Kozhikode will be made. "We intend to be present in 8-10 cities in the next five years and will bring on external funding at the 200 store level," stated MC Kini, CEO, Lifetime Healthcare at a press conclave.

Current Indian pharma market size is estimated to be Rs 32,000 crore with a growth rate of 8-10 percent. The Indian retail sector is valued at Rs 4,500 crore. This is the newest vertical to emerge. While India has around 5 million retailers, the chemists form 15 percent of this chunk. There are around 7,50,000 chemists in the country and 1,000 are in the organized pharmacy sector. In Karnataka, the total number of chemists is estimated to be around 4,500 and the organized retailers form 100.

According to the company release, the unique features of LifeKen is that there is free door delivery, en-cashable points on purchase and qualified pharmacists manning counters apart from other features like modern technology platforms, health camps and wellness programmes. Right now, the outlets operate for 16 hours from 7 am to 11pm all through the week with two shifts. All night services will be introduced also. The area of the stores spans between 400 to 600 sq. ft.

The business model is either ownership or franchisee and existing chemists and druggist could also opt for outlets of LifeKen, stated A Suryanarayanan, COO, promoter and director, Lifetime Healthcare.

According to the Pranabh Mody, promoter and chairman, Lifetime Healthcare entry of foreign pharmacy outlets in the wake of the 100 percent FDI in the retail sector would be at a later stage and was not in the immediate future. However, LifeKen will be still able to perform as quality service and range of stock keeping units (SKUs) will be the key differentiators.

Right now in Bangalore the pharmacy chain outlets in the private sector are Apollo, LifeKen, Pill & Powder, Trust Pharmacy, Manipal Pharmacy and Subiksha.