Georgia’s leading pharmaceutical company PSP has been providing high-quality products and services to customers for 30 years already. It started distribution operations in post-war Georgia, ensuring access to high-quality medicines for every citizen. Within two years, it became the official distributor more than 100 of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies and expanded its network to cover the entire territory of Georgia.
Mamuka Bregvadze, the Administrative Director of PSP, talked about the company’s commitment to ensuring access to quality medicines for all Georgian citizens and listed the main factors that led PSP to success in this interview with Golden Brand.
Q. This year PSP won its 19th Golden Brand at the Golden Brand awards ceremony, meaning that PSP has never lost to any other company operating in the same field. What are the main factors that determine the unchanged position of PSP as Georgian customers’ preferred pharmacy chain?
A. For the past 30 years, our company has been committed to providing high-quality products and services to customers. The company’s focus has been on activities that cater to the interests of the customers. The company started its distribution operations in post-war Georgia in the late 20th century, with a focus on meeting the needs of the citizenry. At that time there was a shortage of medicines in the country, and the company set out to provide guaranteed quality medicines to every citizen and medical community. Within just two years it became the official distributor of 100 of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies. To ensure that every citizen in the country had access to medicines, the company expanded its network to cover the entire territory of Georgia.
The company has been expanding its range of necessary and innovative products for every member of the family and those of all ages. Our focus is on meeting the demands and needs of customers, whether it’s personal or patient care, medical and decorative cosmetics, baby food, hygiene, oral care, or essential health products. We also offer food additives and various other categories of products. Moreover, the company always provides innovative and exciting offers to customers on different themed days and holidays.
In 2007, PSP became the first pharmaceutical company to establish an online pharmacy. This move enabled us to expand our online services to major cities throughout Georgia in March, 2020. We have seen a steady increase in the number of online users and their order volumes have doubled within a year.
Being recognized as a favorite pharmaceutical company and the status of a leading brand over the years is a great responsibility and, at the same time, a motivation to continue developing and offering innovations.
Q. Let’s summarize the events of 2023 which led PSP to winning the Golden Brand Award.
A. In 2023, pharmaceutical companies faced several challenges due to new regulations. One of the regulations involved setting reference prices in multiple stages. Another regulation required pharmaceutical companies to implement Good Distribution Practice (GDP) and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) for pharmaceutical manufacturers, which became mandatory in 2022.
The Tbilisi distribution warehouse was among the first to successfully pass the audit in June last year. In 2023, PSP Pharma’s West Georgia warehouse received a certificate of compliance with the GDP standard of the national wholesale distributor. Furthermore, the warehouse of PSP Pharma, along with the national one, received an international certificate of compliance with the GDP standard after an audit conducted by the international auditing company Heacon Service GmbH. The distribution quality management standard ensures that the high-quality medicine produced in Europe is supplied with the same quality to the contracting organizations and directly to the consumer through the PSP pharmacy network.
PSP is a company that is consistently focused on innovation, particularly in the area of digitization. In 2023 PSP partnered with SMART business Georgia to fully automate warehouse processes, resulting in a highly efficient and transparent inventory management system. This has greatly simplified the daily tasks of employees and improved overall control over inventory.
The digital development team of PSP recently attended ConneXion For Retailers 2023, which is the biggest digital transformation event globally. They were invited by Microsoft and LS Retail to the event. The team presented their experience in pharmacy digital transformation at the first-ever digital products conference in Tbilisi, called ProdAct Conference 2023. Our daily lives are now filled with various digital services, and we are actively involved in this direction.
In addition to the traditional Thanksgiving week, March Women’s Day, and New Year offers, there were some interesting projects and deals directly offered to consumers. In 2023 we held the first-ever Beauty Fair not only in the capital, but also in Kutaisi and Batumi. Over the course of three days, customers had the opportunity to explore PSP brands as well as new brands and their products. Along with the familiar range of products, many interesting activities and offers were available to visitors in each city. The PSP Beauty Festival received great interest and approval from customers.
Q. Which new brands did PSP introduce last year?
A. For several years, PSP has been offering a variety of products from renowned American food supplement brands such as Solgar and Amvilab, and French brand Pileje. In 2023 we expanded their range to include several other world-famous brands such as Pure Encapsulation from the US, and German brands Gefak, Quisser Pharma, Doppel Hertz and Orthomol.
The range of baby care products has significantly expanded with Good Gout and Dodie from France, as well as Isabella Laurie from Belgium, offering colorful, safe, and comfort-oriented products.
Some famous brands of body and face care products Heathcote from Britain, Rituals from the Netherlands, Theaology from Italy, and several Korean brands such as Village11, Apieu, Stenblanc, and the popular brand among young people, Tony Moly, were also introduced in 2023. Also, there are some new brands such as the original Italian soap brand Fiorentino, professional hair care products Ref from Sweden and Reywell from Italy, women’s and men’s deodorant brand Haan from Spain, and the men’s care brand Heath from Britain.
The PSP network includes over 320 pharmacies all across Georgia. Starting this summer, the new PSP pharmacy in the highland city of Mestia will offer more than 20,000 medical and parapharmaceutical products to the local residents and tourists of the Svaneti region.
All told, two million customers choose PSP as their family pharmacy every month.
Q. Can you name products that are available at the PSP pharmacy chain and that you take pride in?
A. PSP has introduced specific European brands to the Georgian market and is their official distributor. These brands include French Caudalie, Esthederm, La Petite, Algologie, German Sebamed, Polish Ziaja, and Italian oral and hair care brands. Based on customer requests and interests, PSP also imported Korean cosmetic brands Mizon and Missha, the first time Korean cosmetics were introduced to Georgia. Additionally, PSP introduced Essence, a favorite youth German brand among.
Q. Please tell us about Corporate Social Responsibility events that PSP was involved in last year.
A. The main focus of PSP’s social responsibility is to promote a healthy lifestyle and support educational projects.
PSP has supported various sports since 2000, including rugby, judo, basketball, boxing, futsal, and football. Since 2019, PSP has supported the school league, where over 5000 students compete in sports like mini football, rugby, tennis, shooting, volleyball, and chess. The goal is to promote sports as a way of life for every student.
PSP has a successful football team of employees who have won multiple championships, including the Business League. They also won the 2023 Futsal silver medal. This is a source of pride for all employees and promotes a healthy lifestyle.
PSP has been involved in educational projects and activities for years, including a memorandum of cooperation with the National Library of the Parliament. In 2023 PSP held weekly educational online classes for students in the Pshav-Khevsureti and Racha villages. Within the framework of this project, books, equipment and medicines were donated to Chrebalo’s Public School.
PSP has been actively involved in environmental protection projects and activities that support social enterprises for many years. The company is dedicated to promoting women’s employment, self-realization, and development. At our pharmacy chain, 98% of our frontline employees are women, who start their career development as students and can reach managerial positions. PSP is one of the largest employers in Georgia, with approximately 5,000 employees.
