API enjoys steady growth
January 24, 2013
2012 was a big year for Australian
Pharmaceutucal Industries, with
the company’s CEO, Stephen
Roche, confirming that it’s Soul
Pattinson, Pharmacist Advice and
Club Premium membership grew to
690 stores across Australia.
The comment comes as part of
Roche’s address at the API’s Annual
General Meeting this week, where
he also revealed that Priceline
continued to outperform the sector.
“And with the launch of our
online business and a return to
significant growth in our bricks and
mortar store network, it is clear
that Priceline Pharmacy is the
future growth engine of our
business,” he said.
“Given that Priceline Pharmacy is
a franchise business, it is crucial
that we deliver for our franchisees,
our pharmacists,” he added.
Meanwhile, looking toward the
future, Roche reiterated the
company’s committment to focus
on the health and beauty market,
and in particular its focus on women.
“The Australian Bureau of
Statistics data shows very clearly
that pharmaceutical, cosmetics and
toiletries have far outperformed
other retail sectors over the last
five years,” he said.
“Even though we’re no longer
seeing the double digit growth we
enjoyed before the impact of the
GFC, we’re nonetheless
experiencing growth that remains
healthier than other retail sectors,”
he added.
Interestingly, Roche also added
that key demographic trends are
also working in the company’s
favour, with older consumers
having more disposable income
than those from previous
generations and their life
expectancy is also greater.
“Hence their increased spend on
health-related products,
particularly on prescription
medicines, where we see 70% of
scripts are for our population over
60 years of age,” he said.
“And not only do women care
more about how they look, they’re
typically much more careful than
men about their physical health, so
they live longer.
“Our ageing population has
resulted in approximately $10
billion being spent by those over
the age of 65, even though they
only account for 13% of the
population,” he added.
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