MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR:More than 90 percent of the sales by drugstore chains were made in brick-and-mortar stores, as regulations restrict the online sale of medicines

Taipei Times
Date: Apr 18, 2017
By: Lauly Li / Staff reporter

Total revenue of drugstore chain operators is expected to surpass NT$200 billion (US$6.59 billion) for the first time this year, driven by increasing demand for cosmetics, skincare products and health supplements, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.

“Female consumers’ increasing purchases of cosmetics and skincare products is expected to be the main growth driver to raise the revenues to a record high this year,” the ministry’s Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Wang Shu-chuan (王淑娟) said by telephone.

Wang said the ministry expects an increase in the sales of medical equipments, medicines and health supplements this year, as the nation’s aging index exceeded 100 for the first time in February, suggesting that demand for medical goods will increase.

She said drugstore chain operators, such as Watsons (屈臣氏) and Cosmed (康是美), have been opening new outlets nationwide to grab a larger share of the market, which is expected to positively affect their sales performance this year.    [FULL  STORY]