Southstar Drug is a chain of

drugstore A pharmacy (also called drugstore in American English or community pharmacy or chemist in Commonwealth English) is a premises which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmacist oversees the fulfillment of m ...

s in the Philippines.

History

Southstar Drug was established in 1937 as a small business venture engaged in the retail of Chinese herbal medicines, located in

Naga Naga or NAGA may refer to: Mythology * Nāga, a serpentine deity or race in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions ** Phaya Naga, mythical creatures believed to live in the Laotian stretch of the Mekong River ** Naga, another name for Bakunawa, an ...

Camarines Sur Camarines Sur (; ), officially the Province of Camarines Sur (Central Bikol language, Bikol: ''Probinsya kan Habagatan na Camarines''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region on Luzon. Its ca ...

, and is the oldest operating drugstore in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. Southstar Drug was formerly known as Southern Drug (1937–1950) and New South Star Drug (1950–1990s). It faced competition from

Watsons Watsons () is a Hong Kong health care and beauty care chain store in Asia and Europe. It is the flagship health and beauty brand of AS Watson, which is majority owned by CK Hutchison Holdings. It operates 8,000 stores and 1,500 pharmacies ...

(which entered the Philippine market in 2002) and

Mercury Drug The Mercury Drug Corporation, better known as Mercury Drug, is a Filipino pharmacy chain. A subsidiary of the Mercury Group of Companies, it is headquartered in Bagumbayan, Quezon City. The chain was founded in Santa Cruz, Manila in 1945, maki ...

. Presently, Southstar Drug belongs to the top 1,000 corporations of the Philippines. It has spread out to more than 500 branches nationwide. Since 2012, Southstar Drug is owned by

Robinsons Retail Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc., trading as RRHI, is one of the largest multi-format retailers in the Philippines. Founded by Filipino industrialist John L. Gokongwei, Jr. in 1980, Robinsons Retail started as Robinsons Department Store in ...

, the Philippines' second largest retail chain. From its origins in Southern

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

, Southstar Drug has expanded its business by first putting up more stores in Southern Luzon, then in

Northern Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

(following the acquisition of Manson Drug chain in 2011) and the islands of

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ), it has a population of 1,408,454, as of the 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of ...

Masbate Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate (Masbateño language, Masbateño: ''Probinsya san Masbate''; ), is an island Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provi ...

, and

Catanduanes Catanduanes (; ), officially the Province of Catanduanes (), is an island province located in the Bicol Region of Luzon in the Philippines. It is the 12th-largest island in the Philippines, and lies to the east of Camarines Sur, across the M ...

(through Virac). Southstar recently expanded in the

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Bisayan languages, Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; Filipino language, Filipino: ''Kabisayaan'' ), are one of the three Island groups of the Philippines, principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, a ...

region in 2010 (through its region's first branch in

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

). Southstar sells fresh

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

s and goods in remote communities.

References

{{reflist Gokongwei Group Pharmacies of the Philippines Pharmacy brands Retail companies established in 1937 Companies based in Quezon City Philippine brands