Dr Batra's to open 22 clinics across India by 2018 end
New Delhi: Homoeopathy chain Dr Batra's Healthcare plans to add 22 new clinics across India in the next one year while it also looks to foray into more countries as part of its expansion plans.
The company currently has 215 clinics in India and 10 outside the country.
"We are planning to add 22 more clinics in India in next one year and will be foraying into 11 new cities for this," Dr Batra's Healthcare Founder Chairman Mukesh Batra told PTI.
The new cities include Shillong, Shimla, Bokaro, Nellore, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Palakkad and Kollam.
"This would mean that we will have presence in about 140 cities across the country by the end of next year," he added.
The company is also aiming to increase its international presence going forward.
"Homoeopathy is recognised in 86 countries globally and we are currently present only in five countries. We are planning to enter into new countries such as Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, Singapore, Egypt, Oman, Malaysia, Qatar and Canada," Batra said.
Dr Batra's Healthcare currently is present in the UK, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Bangladesh.
When asked about the timeline for entering the new countries, he declined to share exact details, saying it takes around two to three years to get all the licences and requisite permissions.
"For international markets, we are looking at new models such as 'clinic in hospital' model and we are looking at tying up with government agencies in healthcare to expand homoeopathy there," Batra said.
"All the clinics in tier I and tier II cities in India are owned and run by us but for those in tier III and tier IV we have franchise partners," he said.
The group is also focusing on expanding the reach of its over-the-counter (OTC) products in India substantially by scaling the number of outlets from 5,000 at present.
"By 2020 we will scale up the number of outlets selling our OTC products to 50,000 across the country," Batra said.
The company also plans to soon enter the nutraceuticals market, he said, adding at present it has 45 products in hair care, skin care and personal care segments.
