The Success Story of Pharmeasy

Introduction to PharmEasy India

PharmEasy does this by enabling its customer vase to remain connected with a variety of local pharmacy stores. It is currently one of the best healthcare e-commerce platforms and startups within the country. PharmEasy works in conjunction with over 150 different partner vendors and delivers medicines to 710 different cities covering Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Pune, and Jaipur. 

How PharmEasy began

Dharmil Sheth, a co-founder of PharmEasy, with his friend Dhawal Shah — a doctor —birthed the idea to build an online pharmacy with the goal of making healthcare a lot more accessible in India. One of the core aims of the company was to achieve the mission of doorstep delivery of everything related to healthcare. In the year 2014, PharmEasy India came into existence. As of today, the company delivers health care products to nearly 98% of pin codes across the country. 

PharmEasy has successfully met its objectives of making doorstep delivery of healthcare accessible throughout the country. It has been a key player in the recent digitization of India’s healthcare industry. Every step of healthcare today — from scheduling doctor's appointments to the delivery of medicines and reports — has been digitized. A huge chunk of the credit for the unprecedented growth of India’s healthcare e-commerce industry goes to online pharmacies like PharmEasy. 

How it works

PharmEasy operates as an e-commerce platform where individuals can purchase healthcare-related equipment including medicines. The customer must upload their prescription to PharmEasy which will be sent to a drugstore in their vicinity. The company then uses web technology on its mobile app to provide customers with the highest quality health care products at the most budget-friendly rates. 

Some might assume that discounted products imply a reduction in quality, but this is not the case. In fact, the discounts have nothing to do with a compromise in quality. PharmEasy simply proves its customers with the most top-notch products that one can generally find in medical stores and reputed pharmacies. 

Once your medical prescription is sent by PharmEasy to a drugstore in your area, your order is packaged. A delivery agent will then collect your medicines from the drugstore. The delivery agent must adhere to all sorts of guidelines and precautions. The delivery agent will deliver the order to your doorstep which is the address you enter into the PharmEasy India mobile app or website. 

The Rise of PharmEasy

Currently, PharmEasy is not the only e-commerce health platform available. Its top competitors include Myra Medicines, Ranger Health, BrownPacket, and Hello Heart. PharmEasy, however, remains the frontrunner among its competition. Although Ranger Health had its inception in the same year as PharmEasy India and has its headquarters in the U.S, it currently employs fewer individuals and also received lower funding ($10 million) than PharmEasy. 

The reason for PharmEasy’s top performance in its sector is that the company witnessed massive growth since its inception in 2014. Year on Year the company witnesses a fourfold increase in growth which translates into the possibility of it rounding off nearly ₹450 crores in revenue. Founders Dharmil Sheth and Dhaval Shah have played a massive role in PharmEasy’s growth throughout the years. This can be witnessed based on how challenges were identified and overcome. 

Challenges to Overcome

There is no shortcut to becoming a success story. PharmEasy works as a wonderful case study to illustrate this point. What started off as an unknown startup in the online pharmacy space and grew into an established brand, PharmEasy India has conquered various obstacles on its path to success. However, the company did not witness success overnight. Challenges were an inevitable part of PharmEasy’s journey. 

The first of which came in the form of being unable to deliver products without a valid prescription. Customers who simply knew of medicines by their names were not enough to supply the product to them. Many customers were unwilling to upload their prescriptions online onto PharmEasy’s mobile app due to privacy concerns. In addition to this hindrance, tracking the location of PharmEasy’s delivery agents was also difficult. These challenges slowed down customer acquisition at the beginning. This is not the case anymore, though. 

Ever since it overcame its initial challenges, acquiring new users has not been an issue for PharmEasy. In fact, its strong user-retention rate has proven the company’s skill set when it comes to keeping its customers satisfied. The key for PharmEasy’s customer acquisition is dependent upon faith and trust. Capitalizing on the symbiotic relationship between how much the company is offering its customers and how much users benefit from its services has led to PharmEasy’s staggering growth.

PharmEasy Financials

Eventually, the company overcame its initial few challenges and grew tremendously since. In FY2020, PharmEasy nearly doubled its revenue to ₹637 crores. The company’s losses before tax for the same period (FY20) round off to about ₹100.7 crores. To date, the company has received $328.5 million in funding. In fact, in its latest funding round led by Temasek, PharmEasy India raised $220 million with a final valuation of around $700 million. To add to this, PharmEasy is also in talks with SoftBank with the goal of raising an additional $100 million. The company’s net worth today stands at a whopping $700 million. 

PharmEasy IPO Date and Price Band

FAQs

1. Is PharmEasy listed on the stock market?

Currently PharmEasy is not publicly listed, but Investors are eyeing a listing towards the end of this year or early next year.

2. Is PharmEasy issuing IPOs?

PharmEasy’s parent company - API Holdings Ltd - plans to issue an  initial public offering (IPO) for PharmEasy in FY22 to raise up to ₹3,000 to ₹3,700 crores ($1.2 billion).

3. Is PharmEasy IPO worth buying?

According to some sources, the PharmEasy IPO is likely to value the company at around ₹21,800 crore ($3 billion). PharmEasy has also acquired its current lival Medlife. The company has shown profitable financials in the last year. Investors should consider buying into the PharmEasy IPO share price based on their own assessment of the company’s financials and record.

4. Is PharmEasy a listed company?

Currently, Pharmeasy is not a listed company. However, talks of an upcoming IPO are underway and PharmEasy IPO share price and other relevant details will be revealed soon.

5. Is PharmEasy a loss?

No. In FY 2020, PharmEasy’s losses before tax for the same period rounded off to about ₹100.7 crores while its revenue nearly doubled to ₹637 crores.

6. Is PharmEasy profitable?

Yes, PharmEasy is profitable. In its latest funding round led by Temasek, PharmEasy India raised $220 million with a final valuation of around $700 million. The company’s net worth today stands at a whopping $700 million. 

The Takeaway

Healthcare’s digitization in India has seen massive growth in the last ten years, and a chunk of this can be attributed to e-commerce platforms like PharmEasy. What started in 2014 as a shot in the dark has not become one of India’s leading startups that provides its customers with reliable and discounted healthcare. Visit PharmEasy’s website to learn more about the company. 

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