| Link in the chain (Clicks segment) | Turnover, year to 31 Aug 2025 | Total income | Total income as % of turnover | Year before |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail | R37,554 million | R13,252 million | 35.3% | 34.6% (R12,264 million on R35,438 million) |
| Distribution (UPD) | R18,658 million | R1,843 million | 9.9% | 10.0% |
Source: Clicks Group, annual results presentation for the year ended 31 August 2025, pages 7 and 8. The percentages are the company's own margin column; we re-divided the rand figures and they agree. Rand figures are as the company states them.
How much of the shelf price does each link keep?
On Clicks' own numbers, its retail segment kept 35.3 rand of total income per 100 rand of retail turnover, and its distribution segment kept 9.9 rand per 100 rand. Retail's share is about 3.6 times distribution's (35.3 divided by 9.9, our arithmetic). Year on year, retail rose 0.7 points and distribution moved 0.1 points down.
Each percentage is a share of that segment's own turnover, so the two cannot simply be added. The presentation shows intragroup turnover of R8,384 million (R7,750 million the year before) without breaking it down, so we do not add the segment figures together, and we do not work out what share of the distribution arm's turnover goes to the group's own stores.
We are a manufacturer. We do not run pharmacies or a wholesale arm, so this is an outside reading of a public document, not our own trading data.
Why is distribution's share so much smaller than retail's?
The company gives two comments in its own commentary, and the rest is our reading. For retail it says: "Retail margin driven by strong growth in private label and supply chain efficiencies". For distribution it says: "UPD impacted by slightly lower SEP increase". SEP is the single exit price of medicines, and the company describes its increase as lower than the year before.
Our reading, not a finding of the report: a wholesaler moves very large volumes at a thin share and earns by turnover and efficiency, while a retailer carries a smaller volume at a larger share and also carries the cost of rent, staff and stock on the shelf. The presentation reports the shares only; it does not prove this split of costs.
Is "total income" the same as profit?
In our reading, no: total income is not profit, because costs of running the business would still come off it. The presentation reports the line as a share of turnover, and the exact definition the company uses is not reproduced here.
Read the figures as a comparison of two links inside one company, using one definition. Do not compare them with a gross margin quoted by another company or by a blog, because the definitions may differ.
What does it look like on a shelf price of 100?
A method, not the real split: on an index of 100 at the shelf, Clicks' two shares give about 35.3 to the retail link and about 6.4 to a wholesale link before costs. This is an arithmetic exercise to show how the shares would be applied, not a finding, and it holds only if both shares are read as shares of the price each link sells at.
| Step | Calculation | Result (index) |
|---|---|---|
| Shelf price | set at 100 | 100.0 |
| Retail link keeps 35.3% | 100 x 0.353 | 35.3 |
| Retail buys at | 100 minus 35.3 | 64.7 |
| Wholesale link keeps 9.9% of what it sells | 64.7 x 0.099 | 6.4 |
| Wholesale buys at | 64.7 minus 6.4 | 58.3 |
Three limits apply. A pharmacy may buy a product through a wholesaler or directly from the brand, and the table assumes the first. A brand owner who sells direct to a pharmacy skips the wholesale link altogether. And the shares are for a mixed range under South African rules, so the real split for a supplement in another country will differ. Use the table as a method for asking your importer the same questions, not as an answer.
Can I apply these figures to a supplement or to my country?
No. The figures cover the whole range of one company in South Africa, not supplements alone. We did not find a public, sourced margin figure for food supplements alone, in South Africa or in Saudi Arabia, Egypt or Nigeria. Figures quoted on blogs or marketplaces without a primary source are not used here.
What the numbers support is narrower: in a pharmacy group that reports both, the retail link keeps a much larger share of its turnover than the distribution link keeps of its own. Whether that holds for your product and country is for your importer or distributor to answer, with a written price structure.
Does a pharmacy's own brand change the retail share?
Clicks says it does: its retail margin is "driven by strong growth in private label and supply chain efficiencies". The report ties the retail result to the chain's own brands, but gives no separate margin for them, so the size of the effect is not public. We cover what Clicks reports on own brands, and what that means for a brand owner, in pharmacy own brands: what Clicks reports.
For the question here, the point is where a brand sits relative to the chain. In our reading, if the chain sells its own brand, your brand shares the shelf with a product on which the chain keeps the retail link and, in part, the link before it.
Own outlet, distributor or pharmacy chain: what does each route cost you?
Each route changes which links you keep and which you hand over. None of them is better in itself, and each has a price in capital, time or risk rather than a single margin. This part is our reasoning about the structure, not data from the Clicks report.
| Route | Links you keep | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|
| Your own outlet or online shop | The retail link as well as the brand | Capital and risk: stock, premises or platform, staff, licences where the country asks for them, and money tied up until the stock sells |
| A distributor or importer who sells your brand to pharmacies | The brand; the wholesale and retail links go to others | A share of the chain, and dependence: the distributor decides which outlets it serves, and registration, where required, must be agreed between you |
| A pharmacy chain that stocks your brand | The brand, on a shelf the chain controls | Terms and volumes set by the chain, and competition on that shelf from the chain's own products |
What your situation decides
The structure you already have removes some routes before preference comes into it. The cost of each limit is in time, quantity or risk.
- No licence or premises in the country of sale. This removes the own-outlet route there until you have them. Cost: time to set up, or a local partner and a share of the chain.
- No importer yet. Registration, where a country requires it, is filed by the brand owner, your importer or a local applicant, not by a manufacturer. Cost: the first batch waits for that decision, so settle who files before you order. See for distributors and importers.
- A formula already in production, and a need to start soon. White label puts your brand on a ready-made formula with no development stage. Cost: the composition is not reserved for you, so another brand may sell the same one and your carton and service must set you apart.
- A product that should differ from what a chain or competitor sells. Private label puts your brand on a formula developed for you, which we do not describe as exclusive. Cost: a development and sample stage before the first batch.
- A distributor who asks for a wide margin. Cost: the more the chain takes before the shelf, the less room is left for the price you can set and for what the brand owner keeps. Ask for the price structure in writing.
Minimum orders and production times depend on route and format and are on minimum order quantity and lead times.
Questions brand owners ask about margin
What is a typical profit margin on supplements?
We found no public, sourced figure for food supplements alone, so we do not quote a typical one. The one open figure we use is Clicks Group's, covering a whole range in South Africa: 35.3% of retail turnover for retail and 9.9% for distribution, as total income.
Is a supplement business profitable?
It depends on price, volume, cost of goods, registration cost and how many links take a share, and we cannot promise a result. The public figures available show how the links compare in one company, not what a new brand will earn.
How much margin does a pharmacy keep compared with a wholesaler?
In Clicks' year to 31 August 2025, its retail segment reported total income of 35.3% of turnover and its distribution segment 9.9%. That is one company in South Africa, covering a whole range. Another country or product may differ widely.
Is total income the same as gross margin or profit?
In our reading, total income is not profit, because running costs would still come off it. We do not call it gross margin either: the presentation reports the line as a share of turnover without the definition we would need, so compare it only within the same company.
Why does a distributor take a smaller share than a retailer?
Clicks reports the shares for its own business and says its distribution arm was affected by a slightly lower increase in the single exit price of medicines. Our reading is that a wholesaler works on volume and a retailer carries shelf costs. The report does not prove the cost split.
Can I skip the distributor and sell straight to pharmacies?
Yes, where the pharmacy buys direct. You then keep the wholesale link, but you also carry what the distributor did: storage, delivery, invoicing and collecting payment. Count that cost in time and cash before you count the saved share.
Does an own-brand pharmacy product leave less room for my brand?
It can compete on the same shelf, and Clicks links its retail margin to growth in private label. The size of the effect is not public. Our separate article sets out what Clicks reports on own brands and what it means for a brand owner.
Do you give margin figures or set my retail price?
No. We manufacture the product, pack it in blisters and supply batch documents. The selling price, the distributor's terms and the registration route are yours and your importer's to agree. We do not state prices on this site.
Which should I choose, white label or private label?
White label starts from a ready-made formula with no development stage but is not reserved for you. Private label uses a formula developed for your brand but needs a sample stage first. Both run under your brand with the same batch documents.
What should I ask a distributor before I agree terms?
Ask for the price structure from your ex-works price to the shelf in writing, who files registration, who carries duties and storage, and which outlets they serve. Then check each line against what the importer's authority requires.
Read more
For distributors and importers · White label supplements · Private label supplements · Pharmacy own brands: what Clicks reports · Minimum order quantity · Lead times
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Sources
- Clicks Group, Annual results for the year ended 31 August 2025, analyst presentation, pages 7 and 8 (retail and distribution turnover, total income, margin column, intragroup turnover, company comments): https://www.clicksgroup.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/CGL-2025-Annual-results-analyst-presentation.pdf. Checked 14 October 2026.