In a press release, Apotea announced that the company has acquired stakes in its two established Nordic competitors, Apomera in Finland and Apotera in Norway. The plan is to apply Apotea’s business model and follow a similar path.
“I see enormous potential in establishing new Apotea locations in our Nordic neighboring countries. I believe these markets need a challenger, and there are also many synergies between the companies that we can take advantage of,” says Apotea’s CEO and founder, Pär Svärdson.
It has been ten years since the online pharmacy Apotea began its journey toward becoming Sweden’s largest pharmacy. In Norway and Finland, the development of online pharmacies has not progressed as far, and Apotea sees an opportunity to continue its journey toward becoming the Nordic region’s largest online pharmacy. By investing in existing companies, this journey does not have to start from scratch; instead, Apotea can continue to develop and grow alongside the established companies Apomera and Apotera, using the same structure as Apotea. Ownership stakes and the purchase price have not been disclosed, but both Apomera and Apotera have spoken very positively about the future opportunities they see in partnership with Apotea.
“We are very much looking forward to collaborating with Apotea and capitalizing on the synergies we see between the companies. Furthermore, it’s no secret that we are proud to have such a competent player—one that has shaped the Swedish online pharmacy market—as an owner. We now look forward to further accelerating our growth as a challenger in the Norwegian pharmacy market,” says Patrick Hjetland, CEO of Apotera.no.
Apomera CEO Pekka Ketonen is also optimistic about the deal, which he believes will accelerate his company's growth.
– We are incredibly happy and proud to have Apotea come on board as our owner. Sweden’s largest online pharmacy is a disruptor that has shaped the Swedish e-commerce market for pharmacies. We are privileged to benefit from their experience and expertise. We will now accelerate our growth even further and continue to invest in order to achieve our goal of becoming the Finnish market leader in our industry.
