The six largest drugstore chains on the Romanian market posted over 80 million euros in sales on the non-pharmaceutical segment (creams and skin care products) in the first nine months of this year, i.e. almost a quarter of the overall sales recorded in this period, worth more than 360 million euros.

The Sensiblu, Catena, Dona, Help Net, Remedio and Centrofarm chains, which control almost 800 drugstores, derive between 9 and 46% of their sales from non-pharmaceutical products, which are preferred by pharmaceutical retailers because their price is not regulated as is the case of prescription drugs, so they can set their own markups.

Representatives of the OTC division (non-prescription drugs) of Johnson&Johnson Romania said recently that the markups on this segment amount to as much as 45-50% this year, from 35% in 2008.

"The non-pharmaceutical product category mainly includes cosmetics, dermocosmetics (products on the borderline between dermatological remedy and cosmetics, sanitary products, bandages, medical equipment such as tensiometers and glucometers," said Dorin Catana, general manager of Centrofarm.

Catana says there is not a clear standardisation of non-pharmaceutical products, which means every chain decides what categories are included on this segment. Teas for instance are considered nutritional supplements by some chains, so they are included in the pharmaceutical category, whilst in the case of other chains, teas are categorised as non-pharmaceutical products. For most chains non-pharmaceutical sales saw rises since the beginning of this year. "We exceeded last year's level because we had new drugstores, and thanks to the large display areas," Dorin Catana explains.

Sensiblu, the largest chain on the Romanian market, posted sales worth around 27 million euros on the non-pharmaceutical segment, i.e. 20% of its around 136 mill