China Nepstar Chain Drugstore, the largest drugstore chain in China, announced that its total number of drugstores in operation has exceeded 2,000. As of December 31, 2007, China Nepstar had 2,002 stores across 62 cities in Mainland China and has added 556 stores in 2007.
In 2007, China Nepstar substantially increased its market penetration in coastal cities with relatively high household disposable income, where it already had a presence. These cities include Shenzhen (from 202 stores as of December 31, 2006 to 311 stores as of December 31, 2007), Dalian (from 127 stores to 174 stores), Guangzhou (from 123 stores to 161 stores), Hangzhou (from 102 stores to 144 stores), Ningbo (from 73 stores to 96 stores), Dong Guan (from 75 stores to 94 stores), Suzhou (from 54 stores to 70 stores), Tianjin (from 23 stores to 66 stores), and Shanghai (from 46 stores to 60 stores).
Mr. Qian Jiannong, Chief Executive Officer of China Nepstar, said, ''2007 was an exciting year for us as we continued our growth momentum and market penetration. During the year, we added 556 stores to our national chain drugstore network. In response to the continued and rapid growth of the Chinese urban population and buoyant residential real estate development in urban areas, we have accelerated the average pace of our new store openings from one new store a day in 2006 to nearly one new store every 15 hours in 2007.''
Mr. Jiannong further said, ''Compared with developed countries, the retail healthcare industry in China has much room for future growth. The increasing demand for higher living standards, including greater access to pharmaceuticals, together with the soaring healthcare requirements of an aging population, makes China one of the fastest growing healthcare markets in the world. China Nepstar is dedicated to providing consumers with broader products and service offerings, ensuring the high quality of our products and expanding our geographic reach. Moreover, we continue to focus on maximizing shareholders' value.''