Retail Pharmacy: Hub and Spoke model

Dr. Lal is a well-known name in North India. A friendly neighborhood pathologist has created a new category of retail path labs. To the uninitiated, Dr. Lal path labs attempt to provide standardized care in terms retail healthcare. They are present across residential pockets, usually 500sqft - 1500sqft area; enough to create a waiting room for patients, inventory management, technical staff.

It is quite organized in it’s layout, quite efficient in it’s actual layout (hardly any space is wasted.) Usually led by a nursing staff member, it has lab techs, cleaning crew, some assistants and to my best guess a manager. They serve primarily as collection centers an the processing happens at a central lab.

The phenomenal growth that Dr. Lal path labs has witnessed is testament to a change in consumer behavior, from personalized to standardized, in a developing economy such as India. While CVS exists and Walmart may have it’s own health care staff through flu vaccinations, the choice there seems to be driven primarily by convenience and lower prices. Dr. Lal Path labs, is a more luxurious service, relatively of course, to the neighborhood pathologist. It is efficient, convenient and worth a slight premium since it is “standardized” and is a brand.To me, DaVita Dialysis is the closest format of retail chain of healthcare in the US.

What remains to be seen is whether, this format of retail healthcare, will be propagated in other areas of healthcare in a transforming healthcare landscape in India.

Namaste Y'all!

So the world is expanding, globalization is now as old as the "Dotcom boom". What is new really?
An interesting exchange seems to be taking place. While "farmers markets" and "fresh, straight from the farm, produce" is the new buzz word for most in US, India has been striving to move from the bustle of "farmers markets" to the comfort of air-conditioned, seemingly organized large retail formats.
In actuality, it is a bit amusing. The grass is always greener on the other side, and this exchange seems to be case in point.

"Ghee" or clarified butter that Indians swear by, has made a recent appearance at our own friendly Trader Joe's. My surprise and excitement at this, was trumped by only my disbelief at steel "dabbas", priced over $25 at Whole Foods! For those not from the sub-continent and especially growing up in the 80's and 90's the "Dabba" was the sole companion for those going to work. It carried the love, food and feel of home. The click sound of the unlocking of this somewhat holy contraption as it revealed food at lunch time, was a beautiful harmony played across offices at lunch time."Madras" pants/shirts are regulars now, at most clothing retailers that house anything close enough to cotton. Until recently the only Indian presence I knew of in retail was either the british inspired "Chicken tikka-masala" or the royalty of Rajasthan, reflected in "Hermes" campaigns.  I am certain other cultures are too creating headway into the daily lives of the American, it is just that I can easily spot my home country.

The common Indian, the everyday man, now seems to intrigue and therefore, for as long as we are here to stay "Namaste to Y'All"

Retail Reverie

“Alice came to a fork in the road. 'Which road do I take?' she asked.
'Where do you want to go?' responded the Cheshire Cat.
'I don't know,' Alice answered.
'Then,' said the Cat, 'it doesn't matter.” 
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

But it does.. It really does!
Living in the era of consumerism our choices do matter. Our "everyday"choices.
Whether we shop at Costco (quality conscious, price savvy), Walmart (price conscious, variety connoisseurs) or Whole Foods (brand conscious, health/environment driven); we choose to do so because it appeals to how we perceive ourselves, or strive to create that perception.

We may or may not know which way we align ourselves, or how which colored glasses we wear to look at the world; but our retail choices certainly do.

Money is a power that we choose to exert one way or the other. Some may argue that necessities do not ascribe to this generalization however, they too lend insights into what we prioritize as essential. I have known many in undergrad choosing to forgo; food, living accommodation (crashing on a friend' couch) just to save allowance for that one appearance at the 1st social. for them, at that moment, the limited power is chosen to be exerted in the direction of making an impression.

Obvious or sublime, purchasing power decisions are not about parity to say the least, ( no offense to the economic pandits); they define the alignments of the new "retail" world.

We don't always know where we want to go but the path we "choose" to get there certainly matters.