Dubai: Ahmad Tabari, Group CEO at Al Ittihad Drug Store, has an interesting take on why pharmacies are proliferating across the UAE.
Apart from the natural demand-supply dynamics, Tabari says: “Pharmacy operators do have this advantage because of the massive 150-day credit period in making their payments due for distributors on stocks delivered. So, pharmacies get the payments upfront from the consumer or within 30 days or so from the insurer, where the medical cover applies.
“Now, that means the pharmacy operator is sitting on sizeable funds and where the payment obligations to the distributors are still 90 days away. And those interest-free funds can come in handy when they need cash in hand for expansion.”
