Jiamei plans major growth in smaller cities, rural areas

Country's biggest private chain of dental clinics bullish on oral care market

Jiamei Dental Group, the biggest privately owned chain of dental clinics in China, said it plans to expand in smaller cities and rural areas, and increase its efforts in growing online medical services, because it is bullish on the significant growth potential of the Chinese oral care market.

The company, which has been operating for 23 years, has nearly 100 dental clinics nationwide. It intends to launch more in the next few years, following the government's latest healthcare reform, which has further relaxed restrictions on private capital entering the medical sector.

"We plan to expand fast in smaller cities and rural areas and integrate some smaller clinics, as we hope to cover the large market gaps in those areas," said Liu Jia, founder and CEO of Jiamei.

"We will send our dentists out and provide training to local doctors, and provide corporate clients and launch more long-distance medical services," Liu said.

He added that the new policy was bringing a lot of benefits and freedom to private medical agencies.

"Medical services in China are expected to become more market-oriented and the market is going to have a decisive effect on the development, layout and operation of the sector," Liu said.

Jiamei, whose current profit margin is around 13 percent, said it believes it is poised to boost net profit margins to around 20 percent, as the government gives subsidies to private clinics. The group has seen decent sales performances in recent years, and has attracted a large number of customers through word of mouth, Liu said.

In the next 15 years, the market scale of China's oral care market, including oral disease prevention, nursing and treatment, is expected to reach 500 billion yuan ($74 billion), according to a report released by Chinese toothpaste brand Saky.

The rising middle class in China and their increasing awareness of oral care, in addition to their preferences for higher-quality products, are set to drive the sales growth of various oral care products.

zhuwenqian@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 11/01/2016 page16)