A few months ago, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced the creation of a ‘super pharmacy’ to reduce the lack of medicines in Mexico. However, this concept is not new since, in 1989, Farmacias Guadalajara called the business model as such, combining a pharmacy, convenience store, and supermarket in one place.
The concept of ‘superpharmacy’ also refers to the service they offer 24 hours a day, every day of the year, in establishments where you can find everything from health products, personal care, and food to photoelectronics and financial services.
What is the origin of Farmacias Guadalajara?
This chain has its roots in Guadalajara, Jalisco. In 1942 -during the Second World War- Francisco Arroyo Chávez and his wife founded the first pharmacy under the name “Farmacia Guadalajara”.
Since its humble beginnings in Guadalajara, the pharmacy chain has experienced meteoric growth. In the following decades, Farmacias Guadalajara expanded its presence throughout the country, especially in the west of the country.
In 1983, Corporativo Fragua was created, created to consolidate the group of pharmacies, and in 1977 they successfully entered the stock market.
In 2009, Farmacias Guadalajara inaugurated its Western Distribution Center, at the time the largest and most modern in Latin America, where it advanced towards new horizons of specialization, according to the chain on its website.
In 2012, the thousandth branch was inaugurated and the concept of ‘superpharmacy’ arrived in Mexico City. Six years ago, in 2018, Farmacia Guadalajara doubled the number of branches, reaching 2,000 establishments throughout the country.
Who are the Arroyo Chávez, owners of Farmacias Guadalajara?
The Arroyo Chávez family owns nearly 80 percent of Corporativo Fragua’s shares.
The remaining 20 percent is placed mostly in the public by investors.
In 2019, Corporativo Fragua – operator of Farmacias Guadalajara – reported that Javier Arroyo Chávez will be the new executive president of the board of directors.
Meanwhile, his son Javier Arroyo Navarro serves as the general director of Farmacias Guadalajara.
How many branches does Farmacias Guadalajara have?
In the second quarter of 2023, Farmacias Guadalajara has 2,632 branches in 460 cities in 32 states of the country.
The company is growing at the rate of one branch every three days on average and their goal is to open 120 branches per year.
Currently, it has 55,283 employees, 7.5 percent more than 2022.
