Drugstore to sell infant milk powder

Both experts and consumers have expressed skepticism over a reported pilot program to sell infant formula milk powder in some chain drugstores in Beijing starting October.

About 10 brands of infant milk powder, including Dumex and Mengniu, will be sold in chain drugstores such as Jinxiang and Tongrentang through special counters or vending machines, Xu Jing, vice chairman of the Association of International Trade (AIT) affiliated to the Ministry of Commerce, was quoted by the Beijing News as saying Sunday.

The international brand management center under the AIT will be responsible for purchasing milk powder from the producers and delivering to the drugstores, Xu said in the report, to ensure a completely closed supply chain.

But Chinese customers are worried about the quality problems in manufacturing itself instead of delivery, Song Liang, an analyst with the Distribution Productivity Promotion Center of China Commerce, told the Global Times Sunday.

"If I cannot buy milk powder directly from overseas, I may consider buying it in China's drugstores, but I will stick to foreign milk powder due to concerns over the quality of domestic products," Liu Jie, a mother, told the Global Times Sunday.

Milk powder sold in drugstores will be less expensive because a stable sales channel such as drugstores can help producers save costs on marketing and advertising, Xu said in the report.

But the gross profit margin of drugs is much higher than that of milk powder, Song said, and drugstores will not be willing to sell less profitable goods. He pointed out that the drugstores may charge high slotting fee on milk powder, which eventually will raise the price.

Sales staff from Jinxiang and Tongrentang drugstores told the Global Times Sunday that they had not heard of the plan.