MedPlus - Story of India's Second Largest Omni Channel Pharmacy

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There are millions of businesses in the world but not all of them carry equal importance. Some may be for entertainment, some for food, essentials, knowledge development, etc., but a basic requirement for running all the above businesses is our health. A place/business that helps us in taking good care of our health next to hospitals are the pharmacies. Carrying such importance, this industry has always seen growth. Now, by combining technology and healthcare needs, the pharmaceutical industry is enhancing itself to provide better and quick healthcare assistance to people.

MedPlus is one such pharmacy retailer offering multiple health services. They provide services like path labs, optical stores and physician consultation services, in addition to selling prescription medicines. MedPlus was established in 2006 by Madhukar Gangadi. Here, in this article, is the formation and growth of MedPlus along with its funding history, business and revenue models.

MedPlus - Company Highlights

MedPlus - Latest News
MedPlus - About
MedPlus - Industry
MedPlus - Founders and Team
MedPlus - Mission and Vision
MedPlus - Business and Revenue Model
MedPlus - Challenges Faced
MedPlus - Funding and Investors
MedPlus - Growth
MedPlus - Competitors
MedPlus - Future Plans
MedPlus - FAQs

MedPlus - Latest News

December 23, 2021 - Shares of MedPlus were listed on BSE and NSE on 23rd December. They were made available at a premium of 31 per cent. But the price ended at a gain of more than 40%, which is considered a big jump for MedPlus’s debut trade.

December 13, 2021 - The IPO subscription of MedPlus Healthcare Services opened on December 13. Though aggressive pricing has been followed by the company for its IPO, investors showed ample interest in the bidding. Almost 70% of the issue was subscribed on Day 1.

MedPlus - About

MedPlus is an omnichannel pharmacy retailer offering healthcare services in India. The company sells medicines on prescriptions, FMCG products, nutritional supplements and many more. MedPlus also offers optical solutions and other medical consultation services in the country. It is based in Hyderabad and is the 2nd largest pharmacy chain in India, next to Apollo Pharmacy.

MedPlus, during its initial stages, operated under the name ‘Aushadi’. It was renamed ‘MedPlus’ after expanding its operation to over 48 retail stores. MedPlus Mart is the e-pharmacy store through which the company sells medicines online.

MedPlus - Industry

MedPlus belongs to the Pharmaceutical Industry. The pharmaceutical industry involves dealing with research, development, marketing and sales of medicines and drugs. They aim at preventing, protecting and curing the illness. The industry also deals with medical equipment and generic medications.

India’s pharma industry is huge. It is the largest supplier of generic medicines and ranks 3rd by overall production in the world. India meets the vaccine demand of the world by 50%, the generic medicine demand of the US by 40% and the UK by 25%.

MedPlus - Founders and Team

MedPlus was founded by Madhukar Gangadi in 2006 in Hyderabad. He has also served as the Chief Executive Officer of the company since its inception. Gangadi has an MBA degree from the Wharton School. He also earned a bachelor's degree in medicine and surgery from the Sri Venkateshwara University. He used his experience in both healthcare and entrepreneurship to start MedPlus. The other core team members of MedPlus are:

• Bhaskar Reddy Cherukupalli - COO (Retail stores)
• Surendranath Mantena - COO (MedPlus Mart)

MedPlus - Mission and Vision

MedPlus runs with a mission to turn itself as the customer’s first choice when it comes to medicines and healthcare. The company wants to understand the customer’s needs and exceed their expectations as much as possible. MedPlus has the vision to bring about a revolution in the healthcare industry in India.

MedPlus - Business and Revenue Model

MedPlus is an omnichannel platform that provides services through both retail stores and online platforms. The company increased its retail stores through franchises. MedPlus first chooses an area and studies its market, demographic needs and supply chain. Then it starts expanding its retail stores in and around the area by proper planning and implementation of strategies. Later, the company uses this growth and supply chain to expand its operations further.

MedPlus also operates its pharmacy business online through MedPlus Mart. This service was started in 2015 and was expanded across the country. MedPlus claims to be the first to start an omnichannel pharmacy in India. The company also entered the path labs and optical businesses in 2020. The revenue of MedPlus flows from the sale of medicines and other healthcare services offered by the company directly or through their franchisees across the country.

MedPlus - Challenges Faced

MedPlus faced severe challenges and criticisms at the time of establishing their online platform MedPlus Mart. The All India Organization of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) organized a nationwide strike against the company for starting e-pharmacies. They criticized that the chemists around the country will be severely affected by this MedPlus’s initiative. Then MedPlus made their sales policy explicit and clarified that they are complying with every aspect of the Drug Act.

MedPlus - Funding and Investors

MedPlus managed to raise a sum of $317.7 million through 7 rounds of funding. A total of 6 investors have invested in the company so far. Here is the company’s list of fundings:

MedPlus - Growth

Starting its operations in 2006, MedPlus has seen enormous growth in about one and half decades. Today, the company has widened its business to over 2100 pharmacies across 7 Indian states. It also adapted to the technological advancements and established an online platform in 2015 to ease and widen its sales to customers. MedPlus has now issued its IPO thus aiming to enlarge its operations to every corner of the country in the future.

MedPlus also had consistent revenue growth over the years. The company’s CAGR growth is expected to grow 25% between the financial year 2020 and 2025. The market share of this omnichannel entity is 22% as of 2021. Similarly, the company reported an increase in revenue and profit for 2021, which was severely affected in 2020 due to the pandemic. At the end of the third quarter of 2021, MedPlus had revenue of ₹1890.9 crores and a profit of ₹66.36 crores.

MedPlus - Competitors

MedPlus has earned quite a good competition all through its operation span of over 16 years. Few of them, like Apollo, are omnichannel competitors. In fact, Apollo stands to be the largest pharmacy retail chain in India. In addition to it, few other companies, which show promising growth and worthy competition to MedPlus, have emerged. Here are some of them:

• PharmEasy
• Netmeds
• 1mg
• Apollo Pharmacies
• MedLife

MedPlus - Future Plans

MedPlus launched its Initial Public Offering in the name of MedPlus Health Services by mid-December 2021. The company is expected to be valued high in the near future. It is also planning for potential financial growth in the long term. MedPlus has decided to use the proceeds from IPO for meeting the future working capital requirements of the company. The majority of the funds are expected to be used for developing Optival Health Solutions. MedPlus is strategically planning every step to bridge the gap with the competitor ahead. The CEO Madhukar Gangadi confidently said that the MedPlus will overtake Apollo within the next two and half years.

MedPlus - FAQs

What is MedPlus?

MedPlus is an omnichannel pharmacy retailer offering healthcare services in India.

Who is the founder of MedPlus?

Madhukar Gangadi founded MedPlus in 2006. He is the CEO of the company.

Who are the top competitors of MedPlus?

Some of the top competitors of MedPlus are:

• PharmEasy
• Apollo pharmacies
• Netmeds
• 1mg
• MedLife

How many retail stores does MedPlus have in India?

MedPlus has over 2100 stores in the country as of March 31, 2021.