OTC Healthcare in Lithuania
Euromonitor International's OTC Healthcare in Lithuania market report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the market at a national level. It provides the latest retail sales data, allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth. It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market - be they new product developments, packaging innovations, economic/lifestyle influences, distribution or pricing issues. Forecasts illustrate how the market is set to change.
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Tables: 13 | Publication date: Mar 2007
Why buy this report
- Get insight into trends in market performance
- Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change
- Identify market and brand leaders and understand the competitive environment
Product coverage
Adult mouthcare; Allergy care; Analgesics; Calming and sleeping products; Child-specific OTC healthcare; Cough; cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies; Digestive remedies; Ear care; Emergency contraception; Eye care; Medicated skin care; NRT Smoking cessation aids; OTC obesity; OTC statins; Vitamins and dietary supplements; Wound treatments
Executive summary
OTC products sales show great growth potential
Fast and stressful lifestyles, better living conditions and the growing popularity of healthy lifestyles influenced self-medication and usage of vitamins and dietary supplements. Going to doctors for advice is still popular but it is losing significance. Huge advertising campaigns provide a lot of information about new OTC products and people buy these without medical supervision. These are the main reasons behind growth in OTC healthcare in Lithuania. What is more, Lithuanian consumers still spend less money for medical care than their counterparts in Western Europe, US, Japan, etc.
Distribution channels become more flexible
During the review period, the government-imposed laws regulating the distribution channels for medical products were relaxed to a greater extent than ever before. The main distributor is still chemists/pharmacies but it lost share throughout the review period. Drugstores/parapharmacies, healthfood shops and grocery outlets are creating a strongly competitive environment. Following the practice of other European countries, direct sales through the internet will become legal during the forecast period and will become a main distribution channel by 2010. Chemists/pharmacies needs to find new ways to get round the great number of obstacles placed in its way in order to maintain a good position in the distribution network.
Companies become involved in war of advertising campaigns
Notably, it is not price, but significant advertising campaigns that are a main requirement in becoming a leader in the OTC market. TV and radio commercials, posters and advertisements in medical newspapers and journals all influence people to buy particular OTC products. Lithuanian people believe that well-known and widely advertised products are much better than those that aren’t advertised even if they have the same ingredients and offer the same benefits.
Another significant factor the success of particular brands is the power of pharmacist recommendation. It is common practise for manufacturers to win favour with pharmacists by giving them small gifts and souvenirs: pens, note books, pencils, clocks and other small company-branded items. The government introduced laws to regulate the giving of gifts that can be construed as bribes, but this practise continues regardless.
Bayer AG achieved leading position of OTC market in 2005
Strong competition between foreign and domestic OTC producing companies is a characteristic of all sectors of the OTC market. Bayer AG is the main player in OTC in terms of value share in 2005. The company is only leader in one sector: analgesics, but this is the biggest sector within OTC and Bayer’s share is significant.
Domestic OTC companies like Sanitas AB and Valentis UAB fall behind many of the foreign companies in terms of market share. In order to improve the situation they need to follow the example set by the leaders and emulate their marketing strategies.
High expectations for market growth has producers focussing on cough, cold and allergy remedies
Cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies is predicted to double in terms of value during the forecast period. Review period performance shows that growth on this scale is achievable. Changes in the global climate such as extreme cold weather, common air pollution and rapid urbanisation all influence the usage of cough, cold and allergy remedies.
Table of contents
OTC HEALTHCARE IN LITHUANIA : MARKET INSIGHT
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2. OPERATING ENVIRONMENT
2.1 OTC Registration and Classification
2.2 Vitamins & Dietary Supplements Registration and Classification
2.3 Advertising
2.4 Packaging and Labelling
2.5 Distribution
2.6 De-listing or De-reimbursement
2.7 Traditional Remedies
2.8 Homeopathy
2.9 Generics
2.10 Consumer Expenditure on Health Goods and Medical Services
Table 1 Consumer Expenditure on Health Goods and Medical Services 2000-2005
2.11 Life Expectancy
Table 2 Life Expectancy at Birth 2000-2005
3. OTC HEALTHCARE SALES
3.1 Market Performance
Table 3 Retail Sales of OTC Healthcare by Sector: Value 2000-2005
Table 4 Retail Sales of OTC Healthcare by Sector: % Value Growth 2000-2005
3.2 Switches
3.3 Competitive Environment
Table 5 OTC Healthcare Company Shares by Retail Value 2001-2005
Table 6 OTC Healthcare Brand Shares by Retail Value 2002-2005
3.4 Leading Company Profile: Sanitas AB
Summary 1 Sanitas AB: Operational Indicators 2005
3.5 Leading Company Profile: Valentis UAB
Summary 2 Valentis AB: Operational Indicators 2005
3.6 New Product Developments
Summary 3 OTC Healthchare: New Product Launches 2004-2005
3.7 Retail Distribution
Table 7 Retail Sales of OTC Healthcare by Distribution Format: % Analysis 2000/2005
Table 8 Retail Sales of OTC Healthcare by Sector and Distribution Format: % Analysis 2005
3.8 Retailer Activity and Private Label Trends
3.9 Forecast Market Performance
Table 9 Forecast Retail Sales of OTC Healthcare by Sector: Value 2005-2010
Table 10 Forecast Retail Sales of OTC Healthcare by Sector: % Value Growth 2005-2010
4. DEFINITIONS