SHENZHEN, China, July 20, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --
China Nepstar
Chain Drugstore Ltd. (NYSE: NPD) ("Nepstar" or the "Company"), the largest
drugstore chain in China based on the number of directly operated stores,
today announced that the Company has successfully sold the 50,000th Nepstar
Shopper's card.
Beginning in May 2010, Nepstar started to expand its product offerings by
introducing high turnover convenience merchandise such as beverages, healthy
food, household consumables, personal care products and other
non-pharmaceutical products. The Company expects that the expansion of product
offerings will not only meet consumers' growing demand for shopping
convenience and increase Nepstar's revenue, but also help mitigate the
near-term negative impact of ongoing healthcare reform and government policies,
which have caused price reductions to pharmaceuticals that are on the national
essential drug list and the reimbursement drug list.
In May 2010, the Company rolled out Nepstar Shopper's Card Program
nationwide. The Nepstar Shopper's Card is essentially a prepaid card, and
bears different face value from RMB300 to RMB3,000. Customers can use their
Nepstar Shopper's Cards to purchase beverages, healthy food, household
consumables, and personal care products at Nepstar stores. For every RMB6 of
the face value of the Shopper's Card, card owner receives bonus credit of RMB1.
Bonus credits can be used to purchase pharmaceutical and nutritional products
in Nepstar stores. The Company believes that Nepstar Shopper's Cards encourage
consumers to visit their neighborhood Nepstar stores more frequently and
facilitate their purchases of household consumables with Nepstar stores.
The Nepstar Shopper's Card Program has been well received by customers
since its introduction. By July 20, 50,000 Shopper's Cards with a total face
value of approximately RMB19 million have been sold.
Mr. Jason Wu, Acting Chief Executive Officer of China Nepstar commented,
"We are very pleased to report the rapid growth of our Shopper's Cards sales.
The favorable market response to our new initiative demonstrated our
customers' trust in the Nepstar brand name and confidence in our newly
introduced household consumable product line. We believe this new program can
strengthen our cash position and help increase our sales and revenue."
About China Nepstar Chain Drugstore Ltd.
China Nepstar Chain Drugstore Ltd. (NYSE:NPD - News) is China's largest
retail drugstore chain based on the number of directly operated stores. As of
March 31, 2010, the Company had 2,559 stores across 74 cities, one headquarter
distribution center and 13 regional distribution centers in China. Nepstar
uses directly operated stores, centralized procurement and a network of
distribution centers to provide its customers with high-quality, professional
and convenient pharmacy services and a wide variety of other merchandise,
including OTC drugs, nutritional supplements, herbal products, personal care
products, family care products, and convenience products including consumables.
Nepstar's strategy of centralized procurement, competitive pricing, customer
loyalty programs and private label offerings has enabled it to capitalize on
the robust economic growth in China and to take advantage of the demographic
trend in China to achieve a strong brand and leading market position. For
further information, please go to http://www.nepstar.cn
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements
constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 21E of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S.
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects,"
"anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and
similar statements. Among other things, the quotations from management in this
press release and the Company's strategic operational plans and business
outlook, contain forward-looking statements. Such statements involve certain
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding
these and other risks is included in the Company's filings with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F.
The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking
statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except
as required under applicable law.
For more information, please contact:
In China:
Lucia Qian
China Nepstar Chain Drugstore Ltd.
Vice President, IR
Tel: +86-755-2641-4065
Email: qianrt@nepstar.cn
In the United States:
Dixon Chen
Grayling
Investor Relations
Tel: +1-646-284-9403
Email: dixon.chen@grayling.com
SOURCE China Nepstar Chain Drugstore Ltd.