Dis-Chem

Trade name	Dis-Chem Pharmacies
Company type	Public
Traded as	JSE:DCP
ISIN	ZAE000227831
Industry	Retail
Founded	1978; 47 years ago (1978)[1]
Founder	Lynette Saltzman[1] Ivan Saltzman[1]
Headquarters	Midrand , South Africa
Number of locations	300+ (2025[2])
Area served	South Africa Namibia Botswana
Revenue	R 39.17 billion (2025[3])
Operating income	R 2.1 billion (2025[3])
Net income	R 1.22 billion (2025[3])
Total assets	R 19.26 million (2025[3])
Total equity	R 5.23 million (2025[3])
Number of employees	18,500 (2025[4])
Website	www.dischem.co.za

Dis-Chem Pharmacies Limited, commonly known asDis-Chem, is the second-largest retailpharmacy chain inSouth Africa, operating over 300 stores acrossSouthern Africa. The company offers a wide range of products, including third-party andprivate label items, bothin-store andonline, and operates a wholesale division. The company's head office is based inMidrand,Gauteng and is listen on theJSE under theticker symbol as DCP.^[2][5][6]

Dis-Chem was founded in 1978 bypharmacists Ivan and Lynette Saltzman.^[1][7] The pharmacy opened its first retail pharmacy inMondeor, a southern suburb ofJohannesburg.^[8] The couple introduced the concept of a discount pharmacy, offering product categories that were previously unavailable in South African pharmacies due to restrictive legislation.

In 2014, Dis-Chem expanded internationally by opening its first store outside South Africa, inWindhoek,Namibia.^[9] In November 2016, the company listed 27.5% of itsshare capital on theJohannesburg Stock Exchange, raising approximatelyR 4.4 billion in what was then the second-largestinitial public offering in the exchange's history.^[10][11] Following the IPO, Dis-Chem announced plans to double its number of outlets by 2021, with one-third of its stores being less than three years old at the time.^[12]

In July 2020, theCompetition Commission of South Africa found Dis-Chemguilty of inflating prices of certain hygiene products, such as disposableface masks, during theCOVID-19 pandemic. The Tribunal imposed an administrative penalty ofR 1.2 million,^[13] significantly lower than theR 2 billion fine the Commission had initially sought. Dis-Chem chose not toappeal the decision, citing concerns overreputational harm.^{[14][15][16][17][18][19]}

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