How to Open A Pharmacy In UAE? 5 Things to Keep In Mind
Assuming that you’re anxious to open your pharmacy, it can be quite problematic if you launch a pharmacy store without preparing a budget and planning the operation management. However, you can start by signing a lease and finish by inaugurating the store in less than 6 months without prior planning or preparation.
Dive into this field with your eyes open, as a pharmacy store is much more than just starting and welcoming customers the very next day. While opening a pharmacy in UAE, you will need a well thought, detailed, and efficient plan which includes techniques of doing business, financial advice, consistent marketing, and legal aspects of the store. However, if you have ever worked as an independent pharmacist, you will have strong fundamentals to run your pharmacy.
01. Go for an expert advice
Look for an attorney who has experience and knowledge about the independent pharmacy store or a retail business. The first step towards opening a small business is getting legal status. You must choose between a limited liability corporation, sole proprietorship, and partnership which will affect the operation and finances of a pharmacy store. The attorney you choose for your business must be an expert in the above-mentioned fields.
Along with an attorney, you will need an insurance broker and an accountant. However, you may look for advice from different fields like human services, technology, and real estate. Once you sign a lease or buy a plot to build a pharmacy, you will need to design it. Further, you will be applying for a state license. As a result, you will need to own a team of expert advisers who will guide you and recommend you at every stage of your building a pharmacy.
02. Develop a business strategy
Opening a store is not a cakewalk rather, it demands efficiency and an effective business strategy to succeed.
- Understand the population – Demographic analysis includes the study of the population, including age, race, level of education, etc. You must understand if the population is large enough to support your pharmacy store.
- Analyze the customer’s needs – Engage with the local customers to understand their needs and requirements.
- Assess the opportunities – The market plays a significant role in the success of any retail store. Therefore, while you are opening a pharmacy store, you must assess the opportunities available in the market.
- Creating the plan – Once you get hold of the following concepts, you can start with planning the steps to operate a pharmacy.
03. Choose the location wisely
The location of your pharmacy store will determine the traffic it drives in. While choosing the location of your pharmacy store, you must consider visibility, size, and access for customers. The customers visiting your pharmacy store must not find it difficult to locate your store.
04. Follow the budget
You must start with building a business plan, financial statements, and working capital that will be required. You will have to take into consideration the cost of building the store, renovation, fixtures, etc. Keep aside an opening inventory financing to fund your initial stock in the store.
05. Test your business before the launch
While you may want to launch your store with a great opening, it is always better to start with a month or two of operations to understand the gaps and inefficiencies of the store. Therefore, when you test your business model beforehand, you can launch it on a bigger scale.
Flyingcolour® helps business setup Dubai from scratch with 360-degree advisory. If you are looking to set your roots in the pharmacy business, FlyingColour will be there to help you at every step. Call us now and get your journey started!
