[Funding alert] Pharmacy chain Wellness Forever raises Rs 130 Cr from Poonawalla, Allana Group

Mumbai-headquartered retail pharmacy chain Wellness Forever on Monday announced that it has raised Rs 130 crore in funding led by UAE-based Allana Group and Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla. Existing investors including banker and renowned investor Rajiv Dadlani and venture capitalist Sajid Fazalbhoy also participated in this round.

According to the official statement, funds will be utilised for store expansion, strengthening their highly profitable private label brands which are under its 100 percent subsidiary Amore — which focuses on wellness and health products and invests more in ecommerce. The company has an existing online-to-offline strategy via omni-channel, hyperlocal delivery which it plans to leverage off ecommerce and tele-commerce. The company already claims to be inculcating them into its sales mix.

Further adding, Gulshan Bhaktiani, Founder and Director, said,

"With this round of funding, we plan to strengthen our private labels that have gained popularity over the years. We will continue to add more retail stores and reach out to our customers not just through brick and mortar outlets but also through online channels.”

Clocking revenues of over Rs 1,000 crore for the current fiscal year, Wellness Forever has swiftly expanded its footprint to over 200 stores in Maharashtra, Goa, and Karnataka. The company aims to add over 150 more stores in the next year and 1,000 retail outlets in the next three years.

It was founded in 2008 by entrepreneurs Gulshan Bakhtiani, Ashraf Biran, and Mohan Chavan who come with a collective experience of over 100 years of operating profitable pharmacies. Since inception, the company claims to witness 35 percent growth y-o-y with over 4,000 employees, of which 800 are qualified pharmacists. It claims to have over one million loyal paid customers.

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Commenting on the investment, Rajiv Dadlani of Rajiv Dadlani Group, and lead investor in the company, said,

“We are very impressed with their growth, profitability, capital allocation, vision, and ethics. The promoters having a collective experience of over 100 years of operating profitable pharmacies. Along with their management team, they have done a splendid job and the company enjoys amongst the highest operating metrics and productivity in the entire retail space. Given the founders' impressive track record and company’s vision, we continue to partake as long-term investors, and support them in their amazing journey, and next phase of growth.”