In a first for the Malaysian marketplace, Alpro Pharmacy Group and Sugi Holdings have announced a joint venture that heralds the opening of Japanese-style drugstores in Malaysia.Low Swee Siong, the CEO of Alpro Pharmacy, Malaysia’s largest prescription pharmacy chain, has been quoted as saying that the group aims to evolve into a new type of pharmacy that delivers health, trust, security and safety to consumers.The two pharmacy companies have been collaborating to offer Japanese healthcare and personal care products in Malaysia since 2022. The joint venture is expected to bring additional made-in-Japan brands to the Malaysian market.Furthermore, the joint venture is expected to expand across Southeast Asia, bringing Japanese-style drugstores to countries such as Brunei, Singapore, and Indonesia.The story so farAccording to Yin Chen Lee, the director of branding, promotion and trade at Alpro Pharmacy Group, the joint venture will bring numerous benefits to Malaysians.“By partnering with Sugi Holdings, Alpro Pharmacy gains access to their extensive expertise and resources in the pharmaceutical sector,” he told Inside Retail.The collaboration will seeAlpro Pharmacy evolve into a new type of pharmacy that places a stronger emphasis on professional healthcare services and Japanese personal care and lifestyle products that focus on healthy and natural-based ingredients.“This partnership will accelerate Alpro Pharmacy’s drugstore business expansion opportunities and enable us to provide new value and enhanced services to the community, further strengthening our presence in the pharmaceutical sector,” he added.Yin believes that the drugstore venture will facilitate the introduction of a diverse range of Japanese healthcare, personal care and cosmetic products to the Malaysian market, and it aims to enhance access to high-quality products for consumers.“The joint venture will have a transformative impact on the retail landscape in Malaysia, expanding access to Japanese products without the need for consumers to travel to Japan,” he added.Yin Chen Lee, the director of branding, promotion and trade at Alpro Pharmacy GroupThe challengesThe language barrier was one of the biggest challenges, Yin said, and the Alpro team worked closely with their Japanese counterparts to translate product information from Japanese to English, so that it can be understood by Malaysian consumers.“We have also spent lots of time searching for the right products for Malaysians. The team spent months studying the consumer’s preference in Malaysia and also product market potential before bringing in the products directly from Japan,” he explained. Introducing quality products from Japan can be quite tough, as there are many local brands in Japan that are not known to Malaysians. “Most of these products are not from big multinational companies that people [are] used to. They are genuine and down-to-earth Japanese brands that used to serve only the Japanese. It takes a lot of effort for us to introduce these good brands to Malaysians,” he said.Opportunities aboundAccording to Yin, Alpro Pharmacy has been the largest prescription pharmacy chain in Malaysia since 2021. It has been stated that the chain serves around 55,000 customers everyday nationwide.“We have gathered a large pool of consumer data and we know our customers well. Since the partnership with Sugi Pharmacy, we have also sent a group of our team to stay in Japan and learn their products, culture and ways of doing things,” he added.Japanese customer service experiences are highly regarded in the region, and this is something the team is trying to integrate into Malaysia.“The strength for Alpro Pharmacy is always the people and the community. By combining our professional pharmacists, nutritionists and dietitians in the pharmacy, and quality Japanese products from Sugi Pharmacy, we believe we can win the hearts of Malaysians,” he said.Digital transformationAlpro Pharmacy Group opened its first bricks-and-mortar outlets in 2002, starting its journey in digital innovation, including e-commerce, in 2018.During the pandemic, the company experienced a 400 per cent surge in e-commerce activity, double the number of customers visiting its physical stores.“This was when Alpro decided to embark on a full digital transformation journey involving the entire front-end and back-end system,” he noted.As part of its digital transformation, the company embraced various technologies to redesign its websites, develop mobile applications, implement ERP systems and digitise warehouse operations. This included using handheld devices for pick-and-pack processes.It chose Zebra Technologies for its ERP and RFID capabilities. As the company has a B2C and B2B model, its 200 outlets throughout Malaysia needed a comprehensive solution to handle the logistical complexities.“By leveraging this technology, we have achieved an 80 per cent increase in efficiency with almost 100 per cent accuracy in warehouse fulfilment processes. This notable improvement has significantly boosted the overall efficiency of [our] warehouse operations,” he concluded.