To me, Med+ is for medicines similar to DMart is for groceries. However, the following are the potential concerns:
- Currently, there is lack of awareness or distrust or unfamiliarity with generic medicines. People don’t realize that many of the branded ones we buy are generic formulations only. As per our investigations, both generic and so-called branded medicines go through same quality checks on their way to medical shops. Every batch of medicine that goes to medical shops are tested by the govt and/or third party before they hit the stores. So efficacy shall be in permissible limits irrespective of generic or branded formulations. Also, the reputed brands simply outsource their manufacturing. So don’t think that the brands manufacture in their pristine factories. Unbranded generics and branded ones may come from same factory. Once the awareness and trust develops, generic shops would give serious competition to Med+, as the key differentiator then would be the price, and generic shops trump Med+ hands down.
- Many of us assume that Med+ only sells branded medicines. But we should not forget, many branded medicines are generics only. The quirk in generics, and branded generics, is that the MRP is set very high, sometimes comparable with original formulations. Selling price would be 50 to 90% less. You may find exact same Cipla branded generic medicine both in Med+ and generic medical shop. But Med+ would give 20% discount on MRP only, while it can be bought at 50% discount from generic shop (yes, exactly same medicine). So the margin Med+ has for such generics is high. You can verify this in your area. In short, Med+ does not always give you the lowest prices. Customers may discover this anomaly.
- Med+ online delivery is much slower compared to Apollo, for example. Apollo does express delivery, where we get some medicines within 1 or 2 hours. In case of, Med+ it is usually next day delivery (or pick up). But in my experience, Apollo is not reliable, and at times they screw up. Never faced any issue with Med+. However, this may change and Apollo could up their game.
- As the drones become mainstream for deliveries, the costs of eCommerce players like PharmEasy may go down drastically. Speed of deliveries could also increase significantly. We already have quick commerce players in retail, even without drones. This, in my opinion, is a serious threat to the dominance of Med+, Apollo, and even unorganized retailers. We can’t simply ignore ecommerce players since they’re currently loss making. Entry of drones could drastically disrupt the equations.
Med+ may evolve to meet these concerns, but one may not assume smooth sailing.
Disclosure: Not Invested, but interested, so tracking