Thulasi Pharmacy: Riding the Digitalization Wave to Omnichannel Retailing

The case discusses the opportunity for Thulasi Pharmacy to develop an online sales model, thereby transitioning from a sole store format to omnichannel retailing. Thulasi Pharmacy was most prominently present in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India, with 69 stores and an annual turnover of $16.5 million.

With the advent of e-pharmacy in India, riding on growing internet penetration and a positive change in consumers’ preferences toward online shopping, Thulasi was contemplating on whether extending their services into e-pharma was the next step in expansion.

The case also introduces change management in the context of organizational changes required to build a hybrid business model. It describes the situation at Thulasi Pharmacy, challenges students to understand an industry in-depth, and explains the importance of core competencies to a retail organization.

While discussing how a company can leverage digitalization to move into omnichannel retailing, the case encourages the students to think about the various new stakeholders and organizational changes required to bring synergy between the offline and online business models.