Retail pharmacy competition is intensifying in South Africa as Dis-Chem and Clicks expand loyalty discounts and compete for prescription volumes. Dis-Chem CEO Rui Morais also sees a longer-term threat from Shoprite, whose Checkers Sixty60 app already has millions of customers accustomed to ordering from their phones. Morais expects Shoprite to add medicine delivery eventually. He says pharmacist sign-off requirements and…
Tag: Dis-Chem
-
Dis-Chem digital platform targets growth
The Dis-Chem digital platform will bring prescription orders and retail purchases together as the group seeks higher spending and further market share gains. Dis-Chem has invested about R240m in rebuilding its digital infrastructure. Its new app aims to connect product searches, prescription submissions, shopping, checkout and fulfilment through one platform. Previously, separate pharmacy and front-shop processes complicated online purchases. CEO…
-
Sixty60 Pharmacy Delivery Threatens Clicks And Dis-Chem
Shoprite Group’s Sixty60 service is changing more than grocery retail. Its speed, convenience and reliability are resetting what shoppers expect online. Now Sixty60 pharmacy delivery could reshape South Africa’s chemist market too. Shoprite has described Sixty60 as a single consumer platform. The goal is one-hour delivery across all its corporate brands. That ambition carries major implications for the pharmacy sector.…
-
Dis-Chem Leadership Succession Ends Saltzman Era
Dis-Chem co-founder Ivan Saltzman has resigned from the pharmacy retailer’s board after 48 years. His departure ends the founding family’s formal representation in the company’s boardroom. The JSE-listed healthcare group said Saltzman stepped down as a non-executive director with effect from 23 July 2026. He retired as an executive director at the end of June. He then briefly served in…
-
South African Retail Pharmacy: Clicks Versus Dis-Chem
The battle for consumer loyalty in the South African retail pharmacy sector has reached a fierce new level. Market leaders Clicks and Dis-Chem are competing intensely for market share. Tough economic conditions are squeezing middle-income households. This has forced both brands to step up their promotional activities. Traditional retailers are also expanding into the health and beauty space, adding to…
-
South Africa Pharmacy Chains Shift Beyond Saturated Suburbs
South Africa’s biggest pharmacy retailers are redesigning how and where they grow. With suburban shopping centres offering fewer new sites, South African pharmacy chains are moving beyond the familiar middle- and upper-income customer base that has fuelled expansion for years. Clicks and Dis-Chem still dominate the dispensary market, but both groups now face a tougher question: where does the next…
-
Dis-Chem Health Hub Drives Integrated Primary Care
Dis-Chem is stepping up its shift from pharmacy-led retail to wider healthcare delivery. The group says it wants to tackle South Africa’s “fragmented” healthcare system. Consumers often face rising costs. They also face long waiting times. Services can feel disconnected. The retailer’s answer is a new Dis-Chem Health Hub model. It brings multiple services into one setting. The pilot format…
-
Dis-Chem CEO Rui Morais Transforms Retail into Healthcare
When Rui Morais stepped into the leadership role at Dis-Chem in mid-2023, he inherited a retail giant. He took on the task of evolving a founder-led business into a scalable healthcare platform. Now, 1,000 days into the job, Morais’s tenure has seen a significant cultural reset. He has implemented an ambitious integrated healthcare strategy focused on affordability. Morais previously served…
-
Dis-Chem Better Rewards Programme Drives Revenue
Dis-Chem says a revamped loyalty strategy is translating into faster growth and market share gains. The retailer reported a 10.1% increase in group revenue in the 24 weeks to mid-February, supported by strong wholesale momentum and an uplift in retail performance linked to its new Better Rewards programme. Group retail revenue rose 9.5% in the period. Wholesale revenue increased 15.7%,…
-
Dis-Chem MyHealth Partnership Defends Retail-Led Cover
Dis-Chem has defended its health insurance partnership with Centriq and Kaelo after a ruling by the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS). The pharmacy retailer says the decision clarifies the process. It argues it is not a warning shot against retail-led healthcare models. The CMS found that changes to the branding and presentation of Centriq’s MyHealth insurance products under the Dis-Chem…
-
Dis-Chem Insurance Branding Non-Compliant says CMS
A regulatory dispute could ensnare thousands of South African health insurance policyholders following a Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) finding that Dis-Chem’s branding breached the Medical Schemes Act. Davizro | iStock/695273346 The CMS ruled that Centriq Insurance Company’s decision to market its MyHealth Core and MyHealth Vital products under the Dis-Chem name amounted to an unauthorised name change. In the…
-
Dis-Chem’s Strategy Towards Healthcare Integration
Dis-Chem CEO Rui Morais has declared that the pharmacy group’s ongoing transformation is no longer just about Dis-Chem’s strategy or market share, but about its people. While rivals in the consolidating South African pharmacy market bet on scale and diversification, Morais, who took the helm in 2023, believes the company’s most considerable success lies in fundamentally reshaping its internal culture.…