Retailer SPAR Group’s pharmacy subsidiary SPAR Health has acquired pharmaceutical wholesaler Aptekor Group, which is mainly based in the Western Cape, with the aim to build a nationwide healthcare network that is locally rooted and nationally supported.

SPAR Health’s growing pharmacy network, called Pharmacy at SPAR, currently includes 125 stores nationwide, and it has plans to reach 250 stores within the next three years, says SPAR Health MD Jeremy Nicol.

Aptekor has evolved from a small group of independent pharmacies founded more than 50 years ago into a trusted pharmaceutical wholesaler and courier service, supporting pharmacies, hospitals and doctors across the Western Cape, Northern Cape and the Karoo.

The acquisition is a milestone in SPAR Health’s national growth strategy, which aims to empower independent healthcare practitioners under the Pharmacy at SPAR brand, says Nicol.

“Independent pharmacies provide personal, community-based care and our role is to give them the tools, infrastructure and marketing support to thrive in a competitive market,” he says.

“Aptekor brings decades of experience and deep relationships within the healthcare ecosystem, thereby strengthening our ability to support independent pharmacies and practitioners through trusted service, reliable supply and a national brand that South Africans already know and trust.”

Further, the acquisition of Aptekor represents the first phase of SPAR Health’s national wholesaling and support services expansion, with advanced plans already under way for a Durban-based pharmaceutical wholesaler to extend SPAR Health’s reach into KwaZulu-Natal and beyond.

SPAR Health’s purpose is to help independent pharmacists realise their potential through the scale, expertise and support services of the SPAR Group, including through branding and retail operations expertise, marketing, promotions and campaigns, loyalty and rewards programmes and wholesale advantages and supply chain efficiencies, Nicol says.