New Clicks pharmacies coming to South Africa
Clicks was granted 27 new pharmacy licences and opened 11 new pharmacies in November and December, with plans to accelerate its expansion programme in the months ahead.
In a trading update released to shareholders on Tuesday, 21 January, Clicks announced a significant bump in sales for the first 20 weeks of its 2025 financial year.
For the 20 weeks to 12 January 2025, Clicks’ turnover increased by 8.1% to R18.2 billion. The company’s retail sales – which includes Clicks, The Body Shop and Sorbet corporate stores – increased by 8.7%.
Sales in comparable stores increased by 5.9%, with selling price inflation averaging 3.5% and volume growth of 2.4%.
CEO Bertina Engelbrecht said this growth was driven by strong front shop health and pharmacy, higher sales of private label products and increased promotional sales, which were supported by a record Black Friday.
This translated into market share gains across all product categories in the first quarter of the financial year.
However, the retailer also reported slower growth in non-promotional sales and softer performances in Christmas gifting, paperware and home and electrical products relative to the prior period.
Clicks also provided an update on its expansion plans for this year. The retailer’s medium-term goal is to have 1,200 stores in South Africa.
Therefore, in 2025, Clicks previously said it plans to open 40 to 50 new stores and 40 to 50 pharmacies.
Clicks has a planned capital investment of R1.03 for the 2025 financial year. This includes R578 million for new stores and pharmacies and the refurbishment of 70 to 80 stores.
However, the retailer’s expansion plans hit a roadblock in 2024 that threatened to derail its goal.
In the 2024 financial year, Clicks increased its store base to 936 with the opening of a net 51 stores and the pharmacy network to 720 following the opening of a net 9 new pharmacies.
The retailer explained that its pharmacy openings were below the targeted range due to the Unicorn licensing matter.
Unicorn Pharmaceuticals is a manufacturing company in which Clicks had a beneficial interest.
In 2016, the Independent Community Pharmacy Association (ICPA) accused Clicks of violating the Pharmacy Act and regulations that prohibit manufacturers from having a direct or indirect beneficial interest in a retail pharmacy.
This is to ensure pharmacists do not have a vested interest in the medicines they dispense or recommend.
These concerns led to investigations by regulatory bodies and increased scrutiny of the licensing agreements between Clicks and the Unicorn suppliers.
Following a Constitutional Court loss against the ICPA in 2024, Clicks offloaded its entire shareholding in Unicorn Pharmaceuticals.
Therefore, the matter was successfully resolved with the Department of Health late in Clicks’ financial year, and after the year-end, pharmacy licences were issued again, which is positive for Clicks’ expansion programme.
On Tuesday, 21 January, Clicks announced that the Health Department has granted it 27 new licences since August 2024.
The retailer also opened 11 new pharmacies in November and December and announced plans to accelerate its expansion programme in the months ahead.
Clicks’ interim results for the six months through February 2025 are expected to be released in April 2025.
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