In 2018, the pharmacy chain extended to 335 active drugstores, of which 27 are operated in franchise system, a business model on which Dona Group has relied ever since 2016.
“DONA Group reported a turnover of RON985 million in 2018, up 11% versus 2017, and a profit of RON6 million. The good results are due to expanding our presence where we identified our patients’ real need”, Farmaciilor Dona CEO Mihaela Ungureanu told ZF.
The company’s profit reached RON6 million in 2018, half the level reported a year before, according to ZF calculations. The number of employees stood at 2,500, some 500 more people compared with 2017.
The pharmaceutical retail reached an annual turnover of RON17 billion and the market is strongly competitive. The largest players on the profile market, Catena, Sensiblu and Dona, have hundreds of units countrywide, but regional players also operate on the local profile market, holding dozens of units.
Over the last year, two international players have entered the market, by acquiring two of the largest drugstore chains, in terms of units and sales – Sensiblu, acquired by Czech Penta Investments, and Help Net, acquired by Germany’s Phoenix.