On 18 November 2016, Dis-Chem Pharmacies Limited (JSE: DCP), a specialist pharmacy and health company, listed in the Food and Drug Retailers sector on the JSE’s Main Board. Dis-Chem is the 14th company to list on the JSE this year.
Dis-Chem is South Africa’s second-biggest retail chain of chemists by number of stores, and specialises in beauty, health and health food, sports supplements and well-being, in addition to pharmaceutical products. It currently has 101 stores in South Africa and two partner stores in Namibia.
READ: Dis-Chem Pharmacies company profile, including Annual Reports & Financial Statements.
Donna Nemer, Director: Capital Markets at the JSE, says the exchange is excited to welcome Dis-Chem Pharmacies. “We are very pleased to welcome this established pharmacy and health company onto the Main Board of the JSE and hope that this listing helps Dis-Chem to further propel it on its growth journey. The Food and Drug Retailers sector remained resilient this year despite strong economic headwinds.”
“Listing will allow us to advance and improve our strategy, and at the same time ensure that we can continue growing market share across our product offerings, as well as building on the tremendous brand positioning that has been established over the last 38 years,” says Ivan Saltzman, Dis-Chem Co-Founder and CEO.
Saltzman says Dis-Chem has more than doubled its store base since 2010 and tripled it since 2008. Dis-Chem plans to open a further eight stores during the six months ending 28 February 2017 and at least 18 stores during the financial year ending 28 February 2018. “At Dis-Chem, we have developed and refined a winning ‘Pharmacy First’ retail business model, which helps to drive customer footfall and a wide product offering coupled with an ethos of excellent service.”
Dis-Chem joins eight companies that are listed in the Food and Drug Retailers sector of the JSE. The Food and Drug Retailers sector has a total market cap of R220.39 billion, which constitutes 2% of the overall JSE market cap of R13.6 trillion.
