From the moment the first Clicks store opened in 1968 in St George's Mall, Cape Town, it was conceived of as a drug store. “Our heritage has always identified us with pharmacy at our core, but for 36 years we were a drug store without the drugs,” jokes Clicks Group chief operating officer Keith Warburton. Then, in 2003, after persistent lobbying from Clicks, new legislation was passed which allowed corporate ownership of pharmacies and the dispensing of pharmaceuticals. Shortly after this, the Glengariff Clicks pharmacy opened in Sea Point.

Since then, Clicks pharmacies have been popping up all over South Africa. In 2013, Clicks opened 22 new stores to extend its footprint to 442, with 331 in-store pharmacies. At the same time, the Clicks Club Card loyalty programme passed the four-million mark in active members. “In the past financial year, pharmacy brought in R2.9-billion to the company and it now represents approximately 26% of our business – and we’re still in double-digit growth,” comments Warburton. He believes the vision of Clicks Pharmacy is to pursue their steady growth strategy. “In South Africa we have a growing and ageing population as life expectancy improves,” he says. “Private healthcare services have shown reasonable growth over the past six years – the number of private healthcare members has grown by 1.5 million and 15–20% of our population is covered by private health.”

Warburton is confident that as Clicks Pharmacy's footprint expands at a rate of approximately 20 pharmacies a year, their presence in the healthcare industry will be further solidified. “The aspirations of the government's proposed National Health Insurance to provide quality health care for all South Africans will require them to work with private health facilities to some extent,” he adds.

Plans for the future include strengthening the Clicks brand and growing their market share, currently at around 18%, to approximately 30%, with corporate pharmacy share in South Africa reaching in the order of 50-60%, in line with international trends. “We want to be the first name that comes to mind when you think of health or beauty,” says Warburton. “When it comes to healthcare, customer service, accessibility and pricing is key. Clicks drives affordability by providing generic alternatives where possible,” he comments.

A key ingredient to Clicks Pharmacy's success is the quality of its pharmacy staff, which is why the group has invested heavily in their professional development. Every year the Pharmacy Healthcare Academy has 350 to 400 learners enrolled for its pharmacist assistant qualifications. The group also runs an on-going pharmacist intern programme and funds bursaries for about 100 pharmacy students a year. “As more people are challenged to meet the cost of healthcare, the pharmacist plays a bigger role in counselling and assisting with affordable medication,” says Warburton.

With its rapidly expanding national footprint, its superior customer service and its competitive and comprehensive healthcare offering, Clicks Pharmacy is well positioned to continue its stellar growth curve. “We want to be known as your favourite convenient drug store which you can access at work, at home or on holiday at affordable prices,” concludes Warburton.