Tata 1mg eyes the e-pharmacy crown
Speaking on the acquisition for the first time, Tata 1mg CTO Gaurav Agarwal said there is no other brand in India that is more synonymous with trust than the Tatas.
Tata Digital’s majority stake acquisition in 1mg, one of the most-watched deals in the online healthcare industry in the past 18 months, brought the conglomerate into the fast-moving digital wellness ecosystem of India.
Gaurav Agarwal, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the digital healthcare platform , believes a close partnership with the Tata brand will provide much-needed firepower to propel its ambitions.
Agarwal was speaking at a panel discussion at the Ascent eConclave on Friday.
Gurugram-headquartered 1mg needs all the ammunition it can get to accelerate its business in the booming healthcare space. Other major deals that have taken place in the ecosystem include Reliance Retail’s acquisition of a majority stake in Netmeds for Rs 620 crore in August 2020 and online pharmacy buying Medlife in May 2021, and diagnostic chain Thyrocare a month later.
Gaurav believes that online healthcare has room for at least three players, especially because 97 percent of the pharmacy industry is still offline. The future is omnichannel, he asserts, adding that Pharmeasy and Tata 1mg are currently leading the pack.
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India has more than 70 unicorn companies, 40 of which got the coveted status in the past 11 months, he noted in the Ascent eConclave 2021 keynote on Friday.
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News & Updates
- Paytm said its loss in the second quarter widened to Rs 474 crore from the year-ago period, owing primarily owing to higher payment processing charges, which led to an overall increase in direct expenses.
- Xiaomi India announced its partnership with Saahas Zero Waste, a waste management organisation, to extend its support towards an e-waste awareness drive, an initiative by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB).
- The Centre is mulling providing help to the micro, small and medium enterprises that were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and a high-level meeting has been held in this regard, Union Minister Narayan Rane said.
Before you go, stay inspired with…
Caesar Sengupta, Co-founder, Arbo Works
“We believe the future of finance is technology — technology that is relentlessly intuitive and borders on magical. ”
— Caesar Sengupta, Co-founder, Arbo Works
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