Dis-Chem has been the go-to pharmacy for decades in South Africa, but how much do you really know about the pharmaceutical brand?
- Dis-Chem was launched by pharamacists, Ivan and Lynette Saltzman in 1978.
- They opened their first retail pharmacy in Mondeor, introducing the concept of a discount pharmacy with product categories that weren’t previously offered in SA pharmacies.
- Dis-Chem’s second retail pharmacy opened doors at the Randridge Mall in 1984.
- In 1989, Dis-Chem started expanding its offering of non-pharmaceutical products or its ‘front shop’ offerings.
- In 1997, Dis-Chem began selling its own private label line of non-pharmaceutical products.
- In 2003, Dis-Chem launched its Loyalty Benefits Programme.
- In 2004, the first store was opened in Cape Town and national store rollout followed.
- In 2008, Dis-Chem’s partner store concept whereby Dis-Chem acquires a controlling stake in an independent pharmacy and converts it into a Dis-Chem retail store, was conceived. The idea, alongside opening of greenfield stores, accelerated the growth of it’s store footprint.
- In 2013, Dis-Chem acquired a majority stake in CJ Distribution, together with a non-controlling interest in Pharmacy Development Academy and Evening Star, marking its entry into the wholesale business.
- During the same year, its online shopping platform was introduced.
- Dis-Chem won the award for the best pharmacy brand by Readers Digest South Africa.
- In 2014, Dis-Chem’s first retail store was opened in Windhoek, Namibia.
- In 2016, Dis-Chem celebrated its 100th store opening.
- Dis-Chem completed the remaining stake in CJ Distribution and further increased its shareholding stake in Pharmacy Development Academy and Evening Star.
- After the acquisition, Dis-Chem began to combine the operations of CJ Group with Dis-Chem’s pre-existing wholesale business.
- In November 2016, the group listed 27.5% of its listed share capital on JSE. It was the second largest IPO on the exchange.
- Upon listing, Dis-Chem then became the 100% shareholder in nine of its stores which are co-owned by Dis-Chem and independent pharmacists.
- In 2017, celebrated its 40th anniversary.
- In May 2020, Dis-Chem entered the baby retail market after the acquisition of Baby City for R430 million.
- In December 2020, Dis-Chem acquired Pure Pharmacy Holdings to expand its store presence in areas where it’s unrepresented.
- In July 2021, Dis-Chem launched its same-day delivery service called DeliverD.
- In August 2021, the Saltzman family sold a 10% stake in Dis-Chem to Royal Bafokeng Holdings and a consortium of BEE companies.
- In January 2022, Dis-Chem acquired 3 of 5 distribution centres in a bid to reduce rental expenses of R3.7 million.
