Quanyuantang Accelerates Expansion with 20 New Smart Pharmacies Amid Pandemic

The pandemic pressed the pause button on cities, while Quanyuantang pressed the accelerator on store expansion.

Recently, the pharmaceutical new retail platform Quanyuantang added 20 Quanyuantang Smart Pharmacies in Chengdu and Chongqing, which have officially opened for business. The stores include Quanyuantang Yihuan Road South Section 1 Store, Quanyuantang Dalian North Road Store, Quanyuantang Fengle Street Store, Quanyuantang Linglong Road Store, and Quanyuantang Ciqikou Store.

As the newest addition to Quanyuantang’s grid-based network in Chengdu and Chongqing, these stores cover various communities and business districts across the main urban areas of both cities. The simultaneous opening of 20 outlets will provide 24/7 health support for residents resuming work and production, injecting renewed vitality into the cities’ recovery.

The pandemic has served as a major test for the pharmacy industry. Since the outbreak, Chengdu Quanyuantang Pharmacy Chain Joint Stock Co., Ltd. has maintained 24-hour store operations while accelerating store expansion against the trend, thereby better leveraging the “outpost” role of its smart pharmacies in epidemic prevention and control to provide high-quality health services to the general public.

Taking the Quanyuantang Linglong Road Store in Shiling Subdistrict, Longquanyi District, Chengdu, as an example, after the formal signing on March 2, Quanyuantang accelerated the allocation of personnel, resources, and information. With the support of regulatory authorities at all levels in Chengdu, the company rapidly completed processes including contract signing, store renovation, installation and commissioning, and licensing procedures, thereby opening this new store. This case exemplifies Quanyuantang’s accelerated store expansion during the pandemic.

The sudden outbreak disrupted the daily lives of people across China, yet it significantly altered consumers’ healthcare spending habits and unleashed new demands in pharmaceutical and health consumption. In response to the surge in health-related needs during the pandemic, Quanyuantang’s online-to-offline (O2O) integrated model, built on a solid digital foundation, gradually demonstrated its advantages. The complementary nature of its online and offline channels ensured that customers’ medication needs were met during this special period, while also supporting Quanyuantang’s stable operations. As a result, Quanyuantang experienced a sharp increase in both O2O users and order volume.

Data from iResearch shows that since the outbreak of the pandemic, Quanyuantang’s O2O order volume has increased by more than 150% year-on-year. The Chengdu market has maintained a steady growth trend, while other regional markets have experienced explosive growth. Specifically, O2O order volumes in the Chongqing and South China markets have surged to nearly 10 and 5 times their previous levels, respectively, with the total O2O sales value in the Chongqing market increasing by nearly 20-fold year-on-year.

In addition to partnering with third-party platforms such as Ele.me, Meituan, and JD Daojia to launch the contactless “Safe Medicine Delivery to Your Door” service, Quanyuantang has also initiated “community-based marketing.” This strategy enhances the sales-driven role of in-store health consultants, who recommend health products through various methods including live video streaming, while leveraging mini-programs to guide purchase conversions and meet the healthcare consumption needs of a broad user base.

Chen Zhouhua, CEO of Quanyuantang, stated that while brick-and-mortar businesses were severely impacted during the pandemic, it also presented a prime opportunity for expansion into physical retail, with mall and store rents at their lowest. “This year, Quanyuantang will continue to maintain its ‘pragmatic sprint’ posture, deepening its presence in existing new-retail cities. By optimizing store operational models, upgrading pharmaceutical care services, leveraging data systems, continuously transforming warehousing and supply chains, and refining talent reserve mechanisms, we aim to launch 200 additional smart pharmacies, thereby accelerating store scaling and operational efficiency.”

This year marks the third year of Quanyuantang’s new retail strategy in the pharmaceutical sector. In the wake of the pandemic, consumers’ established lifestyle patterns and consumption concepts have been disrupted and reshaped. Quanyuantang has actively responded to the national advocacy for the innovative “online order, in-store pickup” and “online order, store-based delivery” pharmaceutical distribution models, further embedding the concept of home medication delivery into public consciousness.

Currently, the integrated online-to-offline (O2O) new retail model has become the next major trend in the pharmacy industry. As Quanyuantang’s new retail ecosystem continues to mature and consolidate, the company will intensify its grid-based expansion across Southwest, South, and East China. By tiering stores according to operational models, Quanyuantang will establish benchmark new retail stores, mature new retail stores, and satellite new retail outlets. Leveraging the robust digital resilience of its new retail platform, Quanyuantang aims to deliver end-to-end health cloud services to users, efficiently and promptly meeting their healthcare needs.