“The profit was as expected, which will allow us to continue to invest in the development of the pharmacy chain,” said Alina Marinescu, pharmacist and chief executive officer of Catena.
The company’s development goals for 2017 are to boost the number of pharmacies by at least 6% and the number of employees. Catena was employing 4,000 people at the end of last year.
The investment budget for expansion and remodeling of the current pharmacies is EUR15 million this year. Catena intends to consolidate position on the market through acquisition of licenses and retail spaces, but its officials say the main obstacle this year is the shortage of some products, which other companies are facing, as well.
The owner of the Catena network is entrepreneur Anca Vlad, who also owns pharmaceutical wholesaler Fildas, the fourth leading wholesaler in the country.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)