By Kylie Madry and Andre Romani
SANTIAGO, July 23 (Reuters) – E-commerce firm MercadoLibre has discussed a proposal with Chilean authorities to operate as a pharmacy in the country, a plan that would require a change in local regulations, records of meetings between the parties showed.
The move would mark the latest step by Uruguay-based MercadoLibre, once primarily a marketplace for external sellers, toward expanding its own retail operations while deepening its push into pharmacies after a similar pilot in Brazil.
MercadoLibre, which operates across Latin America and is one of the region’s largest firms by market capitalization, met with Chilean officials at least six times in the past year. Meeting minutes revealed MercadoLibre’s previously unreported plan to operate an in-house and online-only pharmacy model in Chile.
The plan would expand the firm’s Chile operations, where, as in Argentina, Mexico and other markets, MercadoLibre currently only sells medication from third-party retailers.
After hearing the plan, Chile’s health ministry recommended that MercadoLibre seek a technical evaluation from the nation’s Public Health Institute (ISP), since the proposal would require regulatory changes or reinterpretations, according to records from a January meeting.
ISP in a written response to a request for comment did not detail whether MercadoLibre had requested that evaluation. It said MercadoLibre currently does not have authorization to operate an in-house drugstore in Chile, and that current regulations do not allow for the operation of an online-only drugstore.
Chile’s health ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
MercadoLibre said in a statement to Reuters that it was working to gradually expand its health offering, adapting to each market’s regulatory framework. It declined to comment specifically on plans in Chile.
As part of a broader long-term business strategy, the firm has increased investment in its in-house retail operations in recent quarters, focusing on segments such as beauty and household appliances.
That strategy has pressured margins, causing the stock to tumble almost 11% so far this year to $1,799 each.
In Brazil, its biggest market, MercadoLibre bought a physical drugstore last year due to local rules requiring a brick-and-mortar presence for companies selling medicines. It began a pilot there in March selling over-the-counter medicines, promising delivery in an average of up to three hours. It has yet to expand outside of Sao Paulo.
The firm’s pitch in Chile also included deliveries in “a few hours in some regions,” according to minutes from a meeting in September.
Chile lags behind the company’s largest markets of Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, but a successful rollout there could serve as a model for expansion across Latin America.
(Reporting by Kylie Madry in Santiago and Andre Romani in Sao Paulo; Editing by Mark Porter)
