On the afternoon of August 12, 2026, an in-depth discussion on the future shape of retail pharmacies was taking place at the main BFA venue of the Boao Forum for Asia Hotel.
As an important part of the Xipu Conference, the Health Industry Ecology Conference discussed on the same stage with representatives of leading pharmacy chains such as Jinyao Daren Tang, Yunnan Baiyao (000538.SZ), Donga Ejiao (000423.SZ), China (PFE.US), and Zhongkang Technology (02361) on the same stage to explore the transformation path of leading pharmacy chains such as Yixintang (002727.SZ) and Shuyu Pingmin (301017.SZ). Xu Yongqian, chairman of the conference and general manager of China Runjiang Chinese Medicine, pointed out the urgency of change during the opening session: the fragmented business model of consumer-centered pharmacies is being restructured with AI penetration, and the new business format “Health Post” has taken root.
According to the Zhitong Finance App, behind this transformation is a clear setting at the national level.
In January of this year, nine ministries and commissions including the Ministry of Commerce issued “Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Development of Drug Retail”, which for the first time promoted the upgrading of pharmacies from “drug sales terminals” to “health posts” at the national level, strengthening the three core functions of professional services, health promotion, and emergency protection. Almost at the same time, the “15th Five-Year Plan” for National Health also clearly stated that it is necessary to shift from “disease-centered” to “health-centered” and establish a health management service system throughout the life cycle.
When sorting out the policy context, Liang Guanzhang, vice president of Zhongkang Technology, pointed out that from setting the direction in 2015, to the transformation proposed for the first time in the “14th Five-Year Plan” to setting the tone of this year's documents, the context is clear. “Health Post is no longer a slogan, but the next step is to undertake a comprehensive service process such as medication consultation, weight loss and smoking cessation, and medical treatment.”
However, while the policy drew a blueprint, the actual data revealed a chill. A set of figures shared by Liang Guanzhang made those present think deeply: the number of pharmacies nationwide has fallen from the peak of 702,000 to 680,000, a net decrease of 22,000 in 2025, with a closing rate of 7.5%. The industry has completely moved from quantitative expansion over the past ten years to a stock game. The management level is also not optimistic. Total retail sales increased by only 1.5% from January to May this year, and the overall gross margin of pharmacies has slipped to around 30% from 2023.
What is even more impressive is the passenger flow data — overall passenger flow continues to decline, yet the proportion of consumers concerned about health climbed to 93% from 83.9% in 2023. Diversified needs such as gastrointestinal, sleep, cardiovascular, immune, and oral health have long gone beyond the traditional category of “seeing a doctor and taking medicine.” Demand is escalating, but supply is lagging behind. This structural contradiction has become the sword of Damocles hanging over the top of the industry.
Facing the crossroads, what exactly should a health post look like? Li Junguo, vice president of Zhongkang Technology, gave a key definition: a health post is the “last mile” of health management. He explained that the world does not use doctors to manage health after outpatient treatment or discharge because social costs are too high; health posts are responsible for managing healthy lifestyle compliance after medical diagnosis and treatment, including the last four of the five major clinical prescriptions, such as medication compliance, exercise prescriptions, and nutritional prescriptions, that doctors have no time to take into account. This means that pharmacies must shift from a “place that sells drugs” to a “health-based scenario”, from a single transaction to long-term companionship, and have the three core capabilities of professional service, member operation, and digital penetration. According to Lee Joon-guk, the Health Post initially provides disease course management, and later advanced health management is the full life cycle health management. “Take good care of the illness before you can manage the whole process of health.”
At the same time, during the conference, a number of pharmaceutical companies shared their respective paths of specialization and renewal.
For example, Wang Lei, chairman of Jinyao Daren Tang Group, focused on the field of mental and mental health, broke out from the perspective of traditional in-hospital diagnosis and treatment, constructed nearly 100 life scenarios through five major dimensions, including time and space, and summed up the “always take common problems” service logic. Clinical observations of 2,817 cases with 12 top three hospitals showed that the clinical application rate of quick-acting heart saving pills reached 92.2%, and their safety was outstanding in cases of acute myocardial infarction with low blood pressure. Wang Lei revealed that the company plans to distribute 100,000 first-aid kits to protect the heart health of 500 million families, and will cooperate with Alipay to build the first AI smart device to protect the heart. Zheng Xiangwei, general manager of the pharmaceutical business group of Yunnan Baiyao Group, proposed to provide comprehensive solutions from the four dimensions of “medicine, treatment, nutrition, and prevention”, and to carry out evidence-based research through cooperation with platforms such as Peking University and West China to extend traditional advantages from damage to cardiovascular improvement, oral health, scalp care, and medicinal food homology, and achieve a leap from “selling products” to “selling solutions”.
Under the pressure of the stock game, expanding the incremental circuit has become a common choice for enterprises. Donga Ejiao announced a strategic shift at this conference, extending from nourishing for women to nourishing men, and proposed redefining the “kidney supplement” category as a new track for “male health and vitality.” The company has mastered raw materials such as cistanche and sika deer through mergers and acquisitions. Product matrices such as brain health oral solution and deer antler powder will be launched one after another from August to September, and plans to focus on 10 to 50 core chains to jointly build an incremental market; China Resources Jiangzhong continues to cultivate the “Keep at Home” track to release new packaging of lactobacillus tablets, trifecta of active bifidobacteria (hospital conversion to zero), brain power, multi-vitamin tablets, and pure liver tablets. Care, build a health product matrix covering the entire family scene.
Of course, while creating uniqueness, technological innovation also seems to be providing underlying support for this transformation. Li Guanglai, head of Pfizer's retail business in China, shared innovative practices in out-of-hospital weight management: upgrading weight loss from “selling products” to “defining a lifestyle” through joint drainage with fitness brands and setting up 3D body scans and professional pharmacist services in pharmacies, combined with AI calorie recognition and one-on-one patient management. Li Guanglai emphasized that Pfizer's slogan is “Let patients win first, let partners win first”. In the future, it will continue to expand its product pipeline and extend in-hospital expertise to life scenarios outside the hospital.
Between ideals and reality, there are several difficult problems to be solved. During the roundtable discussion, Yixintang Chairman Ruan Hongxian said bluntly that “the biggest obstacle is myself”. If the corporate concept does not change simultaneously with policies, markets, and consumers, “why don't we wait to die?” Li Wenjie, chairman of Shuyu Civilian, specifically pointed out five major difficulties: first, the overall quality requirements for store staff are high, but the talent base in the industry is weak, with only 757,000 registered pharmacists nationwide, with a gap of 440,000; second, the long-term sales-oriented assessment system of pharmacy chains is difficult to shift to service-oriented in the short term; third, the capital investment in store hardware transformation is huge; fourth, hospital and pharmacy data are not connected, and full life cycle management is difficult to achieve; 5. Some health monitoring projects, such as blood pressure, blood sugar, and bone density tests, are still in a gray risk zone at the policy level. Restrict service development. Li Guanglai added from an industrial perspective that the construction of a health post station is an ecological project that requires industry and retail to break the boundaries of “product trading” and jointly invest resources to cultivate the market.
In fact, at the end of the discussion, the participants agreed that Health Post was the only determined transformation direction for the industry, but it was by no means achieved overnight. As host Xu Yongqian said, the starting point of the health industry has always been the family. When medicines change from treatment tools to part of a lifestyle, whoever can help consumers achieve a “better self” will have the opportunity to redefine the rules of the game. Driven by AI technology innovation and policy dividends, the restructuring of retail pharmacies has already pressed the acceleration button, and running through the “pharmaceutical+service” business model will be the key to determining the success or failure of this transformation.