Dis-Chem Pharmacies, a South African healthcare firm founded by the wealthy Saltzman family, has opened its third location in Botswana.
The move is part of the company’s strategic attempt to grow its regional operations and deepen its influence.
Located at Fields Mall in Gaborone, Botswana’s capital city, the new location will consolidate the company’s existing activities in the country, which include stores at Airport Junction Mall and Gallo Mall in Francistown. A promotion will run until Aug. 14 to accompany the opening.
Ephraim Titus, Dis-Chem’s country director in Botswana, said the healthcare company has been expanding rapidly in recent years, and the addition of new outlets to its extensive retail network in Botswana will help it strengthen its market share and presence in the country.
“We are really proud to be increasing our market share and footprint locally,” he said. “One other thing that humbles me is that we are contributing to reducing unemployment locally, especially amongst the youth, because they constitute the majority of our workforce.”
Titus went on to state that the new store, which will increase employment opportunities in Botswana, demonstrates that there is enormous growth potential for career advancement for existing employees.
Dis-Chem Pharmacies is a high-performing pharmacy and healthcare enterprise in South Africa.
Lynette and Ivan Saltzman, who founded the corporation in 1978, control a beneficial 45.2-percent stake in the company. Their shareholding is presently valued at R12.8 billion ($771 million).
Since the Saltzmans established the company more than four decades ago, it has grown into a major retail and healthcare organization, with linked dispensaries, family clinics, wound care clinics, and comprehensive self-medication centers.