SURGING online sales seen during COVID-19-related restrictions are likely to "come back a bit" but "won't go back to pre-COVID" levels, Chemist Warehouse co-founder, Jack Gance, believes.
Speaking to The Australian, Gance said the discount giant had seen significant growth in its online sales since the pandemic hit in Mar.
Gance estimated that online purchases accounted for close to 9% of Chemist Warehouse's total turnover for the last seven months.
However, he noted that, "people think that online sales are very profitable, and they can be, but it can be a difficult market because the margins are pretty slim".
"You have to provide it, because otherwise, if you don't, someone will eat your lunch," he said.
"You have to be there."
Gance said Chemist Warehouse's established online structure had allowed it to meet the current demand, through its facility in Preston, Victoria, which operates using 'pick to voice' system to fill orders.
"Luckily, we had that warehouse system in place, and we were able to double our turnover without a lot of extra labour," he said.
"The system we have at the moment is not the most automated.
"We still have a way to go.
"But if we did fully automate, we would need to spend about $40m-$50m, which would make it much more efficient."
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