MedPlus to set up 1,100 franchise stores; ties up with SBI

Pharmacy retailer MedPlus Health Solutions Pvt Ltd will expand its reach in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh through the franchise model.

“We will be reaching out to the interior parts of the twin States and set up 1,100 MedPlus franchise stores. This initiative will create a lot of rural and tier 2&3 town entrepreneurs and generate employment for more than 2,000 people across the two states,’’ Madhukar Gangadi, Founder and CEO, MedPlus said in a release issued here on Thursday.

It also collaborated with State Bank of India which will extend flexible loans to the franchisees. A typical MedPlus franchise store will be around 300-500 sqft and requires a total investment of around Rs. 15-20 lakh.

SBI will extend up to 70 per cent of the total investment as loan with 50 per cent collateral. MedPlus has set up a dedicated team who will help the franchise owners through the process. As a mandate, each franchisee should either be a pharmacist or employ a pharmacist.

Lenskart plans to expand operations through franchise model

Online eyewear retailer Lenskart, which claims to be the largest in the country in terms of daily items shipped, plans to expand by opening 1,000 brick-and mortar shops through the franchise model. These shops, which will also enable delivery, service and return of products ordered online, will enable the company to expand quickly while remaining asset light, CEO Peyush Bansal  said. 

According to Bansal, the eyewear category is highly fragmented and dominated by small neighbourhood stores. The online retailer ships close to 1,20,000 orders a month, which is "too high compared to the competitors", he said.

The Titan Company, which runs eyewear, watch and jewellery outlets, had 1,266 stores at the end of December. Reliance Retail operates India's largest chain, with more than 3,000 stores in 371 cities. Lenskart, based in Faridabad, already operates 150 stores. A majority of its business now comes from its mobile apps and stores, unlike last year when all orders were placed online through desktops, Bansal said. 

The company plans to open another 150 outlets in the coming months and hopes to "reach the 1,000 mark very quickly", said Bansal. Apart from catering to demand from offline customers, the partner network of franchise stores would offer supplementary services for online consumers. 

"The same partner network allows for many things. It services the online orders via home delivery, takes care of the logistics and payments, provides home service," said Bansal. He added that the company won't have to spend on setting up the stores and these shops in turn would help expand business.

Lenskart has about 170 employees on the ground in seven cities who conduct about 1,000 eye exams at home every day. "We hope to expand to 55 to 60 cities in the next six months," added Bansal. 

The firm received funding of about $22 million in a Series-C round led by private equity firm TPG Growth, Hong Kong-based TR Capital and existing investor IDG Ventures earlier this year. Lenskart is already clocking a revenue "run rate" of Rs 300 crore and hopes to reach the Rs 2,500 crore mark in the next four years. Although it is well funded, it could do with more funding to invest in its backend infrastructure and its manufacturing capacity.