Vaidyaratnam to add 500 outlets

Kochi, June 25 (UNI) Thrissur-based Vaidyaratnam Group, one of the leading practitioners and retailers of Ayurvedic medicines in the country, plans to expand its retail network by adding 500 more outlets bringing the total number to 1,500 across the country by 2010.

In a press release here today, Company Director Dr E T Neelakandhan Mooss said to meet the requirements of the new outlets, the group was in the process of setting up another state-of-the-art manufacturing unit at an estimated cost of Rs four crore at Pollachi in Tamil Nadu.

The facility would start production by September this year. The unit was in addition to those in Ollur, Thaikkattussery and Chuvannamaanu in Kerala.

The group would help potential persons or institutions to identify and select a strategic location in opening the outlet and provide training and assist in promotional activities, he added.

The management would ensure the selection of raw material, processing and packaging underwent rigorous scrutiny before the products hit the market, he said.

The Vaidyaratnam Nursing Home, the hospital division of the Group, was enhancing its capacity from 100 to 200 beds. The Group plans to touch a turnover of Rs 50 crore by 2010.

The Group is organising a one-day national seminar of Global Ayurveda Market to deliberate on problems and prospects of Ayurvedic products exports, Dr Mooss said.

The group exports medicines to around 15 countries, including the US, UK, South Korea, Spain and GCC countries.

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