Pharmacy
Case Study 1: The Generics Pharmacy
Brief Identification
Year launched: Franchise operations started in 2007.
Key contacts: The Generics Pharmacy, 459 Quezon Ave., Banaue, Quezon City. Tel. 632-732-3333; 632-712-7777
Brief background or history: The mother company (Pacific Insular Co.) that gave birth to The Generics Pharmacy (TGP) franchise started in 1949 as a family enterprise involved in pharmacy importation and distribution. In 1974, the current TGP President, Mr. Benjamin Liuson, took over the helm from his parents. Some doctors urged their patients to use generics, but since the company was just an importer/wholesaler, it couldn’t sell drugs directly to patients.
Fortuitously, in 1989, Congress passed the Generics Drug Law (RA 9502), and with the prices of medical and pharmaceutical products soaring, the company decided to sell generic drugs primarily to government hospitals. (Generic medicines are finished pharmaceutical products having the same active ingredients, same dosage and form, and same strength as the branded drugs.) In 2001, the company opened its first pharmacy to sell generics, a major innovation in the pharmacy business at that time since no drugstore was exclusively selling generics. But generics were still slow-selling because of poor information to patients who would buy more expensive branded drugs instead. Nevertheless, there was a continuous flow of generics clients who were coming from nearby provinces of Bulacan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Laguna and Cavite (Anon, 2011).
In 2007, TGP tapped Francorp, the world leader in franchising, to energize its franchise development and growth, and thus became the first generics retail pharmacy to franchise in the Philippines. TGP opened its first franchise drugstore along Taft Ave., Pasay City and within three-and-a-half years, it has reached over 1,000 outlets all over the country. The Enterpreneur Magazine has named TGP one of the Top Ten Businesses of the Decade.
Brief Identification
Year launched: Franchise operations started in 2007.
Key contacts: The Generics Pharmacy, 459 Quezon Ave., Banaue, Quezon City. Tel. 632-732-3333; 632-712-7777
Brief background or history: The mother company (Pacific Insular Co.) that gave birth to The Generics Pharmacy (TGP) franchise started in 1949 as a family enterprise involved in pharmacy importation and distribution. In 1974, the current TGP President, Mr. Benjamin Liuson, took over the helm from his parents. Some doctors urged their patients to use generics, but since the company was just an importer/wholesaler, it couldn’t sell drugs directly to patients.
Fortuitously, in 1989, Congress passed the Generics Drug Law (RA 9502), and with the prices of medical and pharmaceutical products soaring, the company decided to sell generic drugs primarily to government hospitals. (Generic medicines are finished pharmaceutical products having the same active ingredients, same dosage and form, and same strength as the branded drugs.) In 2001, the company opened its first pharmacy to sell generics, a major innovation in the pharmacy business at that time since no drugstore was exclusively selling generics. But generics were still slow-selling because of poor information to patients who would buy more expensive branded drugs instead. Nevertheless, there was a continuous flow of generics clients who were coming from nearby provinces of Bulacan, Tarlac, Pampanga, Laguna and Cavite (Anon, 2011).
In 2007, TGP tapped Francorp, the world leader in franchising, to energize its franchise development and growth, and thus became the first generics retail pharmacy to franchise in the Philippines. TGP opened its first franchise drugstore along Taft Ave., Pasay City and within three-and-a-half years, it has reached over 1,000 outlets all over the country. The Enterpreneur Magazine has named TGP one of the Top Ten Businesses of the Decade.