Francisco de Narváez repeats in the country a formula that he knows by heart. This week, the owner of Changomás (the former Walmart) will present two new brands in the company: More Pharma and more Autocenter. Both chains, which currently operate in some supermarkets, they will operate independently and come out to compete in the pharmaceutical sector and in the repair and sale of auto parts. Today there are 36 pharmacies and 43 auto centers, but they plan to add more locations in the next months.

The starting point is the points already operational. The company works against the clock for remodel and expand existing pharmacies and also auto centers. “In this way, we aim not only to complete the offer of our stores with differentiated service spaces, but also position ourselves as a major player in each market”, Says Matías Grondona, general manager of GDN (Grupo De Narváez).

In the company they clarify that these are not cosmetic changes. “They are two new business units that will operate independently of supermarkets,” they say. This is what has been done in Uruguaywhen in 2016 it made the San Roque pharmacies and Bas clothing stores independent, initially appendages to its core business: the supermarket chain Tata.

In Argentina, the Google Display Network will seek to expand into two mature markets with developed chains with a long history. According to own studies, in the pharmacy category, the leaders are Farmacity (241 stores in 14 provinces), Farmar (85), Farmalife (60) and Farma Plus (37). In the maintenance and sale of auto parts, the most important are Neumater (100 stores) and Neumen (39).

Autocenters have so far been installed in the largest stores (Híper ChangoMás and ChangoMás). They are traditional and quick repair shops, where they offer services such as front axle fixing, brakes, suspension, bearings, alignment and balancing, tires and lubricants, among others. They also sell 1,200 car-related products, such as tires, oil and air filters, and belts, among others.

The relaunch of pharmacies, in addition to the search for new locations, involves the remodeling of existing stores. They currently offer 2,400 toiletries and 22,000 medications. “The project is to double the sales area and add top-of-the-range beauty items (creams, make-up and dyes) and a wide range of imported perfumes, “confides a company source. The first ones are inaugurated this week.