Retail Pharmacy Chain Wellness Forever Raises INR 130 Cr, Plans To Add 150 More Stores

Mumbai-based retail pharmacy chain Wellness Forever has raised INR 130 Cr from Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla and UAE-based Allana Group. 

The round saw participation from existing investors which include banker and investor Rajiv Dadlani and venture capitalist Sajid Fazalbhoy. The company is promoted by Gulshan Bakhtiani, Ashraf Biran and Mohan Chavan.

The company plans to use funds for store expansion, strengthening private label brands that are under Amore which focuses on Wellness and Health products and invest more in ecommerce. 

Wellness Forever has an existing online to offline strategy via omni-channel, hyper local delivery which it plans to leverage off ecommerce and tele-commerce which is already growing into a large part of the company’s sales mix, the company said in a statement.

Gulshan Bhaktiani, founder and director said, “We are extremely happy with the support and trust that our investors have shown in us. Moreover, we are grateful to our customers who have shown trust in our services which has helped us in expanding our network. With this round of funding, we plan to strengthen our private labels that have gained popularity over the years. We will continue to add more retail stores and reach out to our customers not just through brick and mortar outlets but also through online channels”.

The lifestyle and pharmacy chain currently has a footprint of 200 stores concentrated in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa, and plans to scale it up to 1,000 stores over the next three years.

The company said it has been profitable since its inception, growing 35% YoY. It employs over 4,000 people, including over 800 pharmacists, and claims that it has more than one million paid customers.

The company expects to clock revenue of over INR 1,000 crore for the current fiscal year and said it is on track to achieve annual sales of around INR 4,000 crore over the next three to four years.

Wellness Forever has expanded its footprint to over 200 stores in Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and it aims to add over 150 more stores in the next year and 1000 retail outlets in the next three years.

Rajiv Dadlani, from the Family Office of the Rajiv Dadlani Group, and lead investor in the Company, said, “We are very impressed with their growth, profitability, capital allocation, vision and ethics. The promoters having a collective experience of over 100 years, of operating profitable pharmacies, along with their management team, have done a splendid job and the Company enjoys amongst the highest operating metrics and productivity, in the entire retail space. Given their impressive track record and company’s vision, we continue to partake as long-term investors, and support them in their amazing journey, and next phase of growth.”