Current Market Conditions: Maryland Pharmacy Industry

By Brad MacLiver
Authorship and profile at Google


Currently there are a number of factors that are impacting the current market conditions of the U.S. pharmacy industry. These factors are affecting the pharmacy business valuations of pharmacies in MD and drug stores all across the U.S.

Local demographics:

The valuation process also includes local market conditions and local demographics. Smaller communities have less growth potential and with the declining profits a buyer will need to purchase at a lower value because they will have to service the debt from a business loan and still try to make a living. The same is true for communities that have lost population due to economic conditions, or have a high rate of unemployment. Fewer people, or fewer customers with the ability to purchase, will mean fewer sales and less chance of any substantial improvement in the near term. This results in a lower pharmacy business value.

Maryland Pharmacists Shortage:

Pharmacies in Maryland and across the country have had difficulties in finding pharmacists.  This shortage not only affects employee opportunities but it also affects the number of potential independent buyers. 

Reduced Buyers:

There is also a reduced number of corporate buyers. Some of the largest pharmacy chains in Maryland have been both purchased and consolidated into the pharmacy industry roll-up, and many smaller chains have run into financial difficulties and have thus stopped their expansion. It is much harder to drive a pharmacy price higher when there are fewer willing, or capable, to purchase.

Current Market Conditions Necessitate Industry Roll-up:

The consolidation of the pharmacy industry is necessary in order to get additional traffic into a single store.  Simple economics states that whenever any business has a reduction in profits, they are less attractive to a buyer.  Pharmacy business values will then drop. There are many factors contributing to the downward pressure of pharmacy values and there is not any expectation of a turn around. Pharmacy owners should not be fooled by inexperienced Brokers claiming grand outcomes and over stating Maryland pharmacy business values not based on realistic market conditions.

With the consolidation of the MD pharmacy industry that has been happening for several years, many new brokers have entered the market to broker pharmacy acquisitions. Most brokers do not have pharmacy related experience, nor do they use current market conditions when they value a pharmacy. Most are using simple accounting formulas that hold no sound reasoning for the value when faced with current pharmacy market conditions. Due to this many brokers are valuing pharmacies 2 to 3 times more than what the market is really willing to pay. Any inexperienced person can quote a high value to capture a listing.  However, that does not mean the over inflated asking price is what the business will actually sell for.

Mail Order:

Some insurance companies are designating a noticeable amount of pharmacy patients as “long-term medications” and require they only purchase the medications from mail order pharmacy companies who provide products at lower prices. This results in local pharmacies not only missing out on prescription sales, but front-end sales will also decline since the customer is not entering the store. Pharmacy mail order sales have now surpassed sales from independent retail pharmacies in Maryland.

Choose a firm that provides pharmacy business valuations based on real market conditions and does not use a simple formula for calculating the value of a Maryland pharmacy. Complex methods are used to derive the value of a pharmacy.

It is best to use a company that specializes in pharmacy and has extensive and current industry data.  Choose pharmacy specialists who have been working in the MD pharmacy industry long enough to have extensive pharmacy experience and an excellent reputation.  A company with good credentials possesses large amounts of national data.  The largest financial institutions, national chain pharmacies, regional pharmacy chains, independently owned drug stores, and pharmacy equity investment groups use the services of companies fitting this description.

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