Mercury Drug
Mercury Drug is more than just a pharmacy - it is Philippines' trusted and caring health and wellness
partner, providing the widest range of branded and generic medicines, as well as a complete line of
healthcare and personal care products, including medical devices, and basic everyday needs. Through
the years, Mercury Drug has opened store after store all over the Philippines to bring medicines within
easy reach of its customers. Today, it has grown into a vast network of more than 1,100 stores
nationwide with over 14,000 employees, who are continuously trained on product knowledge and
customer service.
Problem
There are no Mecury Drug outlets in SM Stores.
With its exciting merchandise mix, world class interiors, one stop shopping convenience, and service, SM
has become part of the lives of many Filipinos. SM Malls can offer “high proof of customer traffic”
and visibility for businesses, yet why does the Philippines' trusted and caring health and wellness
partner, Mercury Drug, doesn't have any branch or outlets in this store.
The major reason why people could not find even a single Mercury drugstore inside of any SM Malls is
because of personal issues. Henry Sy, a Chinese-Filipino businessman is the director of SM Prime
Holdings Inc. and founded the biggest chain of shopping malls in the country.The young Henry started in
a very humble beginning dreaming to become rich prompting him to enter numerous businesses for a
couple of times, but most of them failed.The businessman worked hard enough to save a certain
amount of cash and start a small business selling shoes. Sy noticed that Mercury Drugstore has countless
loyal customers who kept coming back over and over again. One day, he decided to politely ask the
owner if he can rent a very small portion of the area for his proposed little shoe store. Unfortunately,
the owner rejected his offer and did not allow him to rent a little space for his small business. Since then,
the business tycoon promised himself that he will never let Mercury Drugstore enter his life again when
he gets rich.Today, Henry Sy is one of the richest men in the country and owns numerous SM Malls
branches nationwide. He also placed Watson’s as a substitute for Mercury Drug.
Solution:
If Mercury Drug can't put branches on SM Malls, they can just build their outlets or branches in front,
beside, or anywhere near the mall. Building outlets near the mall will allow Mercury Drug boost its sales
because customers from the SM store can still find the pharmacy accessible. In addition to this, Mercury
Drug can also build its branches where there is a high proof of customer traffic, public markets for
example.
