The Medicine Shoppe
Retail & Consumer Goods · Specialty Retail
- Active units
- 271
Franchised, year-end 2025
About The Medicine Shoppe
The Medicine Shoppe® is a well-known brand in the healthcare industry, operating as part of Cardinal Health Inc. They offer a wide range of healthcare services and products, catering to pharmacies, hospitals, clinical labs, and more. With a history dating back to 1970, Medicine Shoppe International, Inc. As one of the largest national pharmacy chains, they prioritize providing exceptional care beyond prescriptions. Cardinal Health, Inc., their parent company, is a global, integrated healthcare services and products company, recognized for delivering customized solutions to hospitals, health systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories, and physician offices worldwide. With their extensive experience and a team of approximately 50,000 employees in 46 countries, Cardinal Health is committed to enhancing supply chain efficiency and integrated care coordination, ultimately improving patient management.
Key terms
- Franchise fee
$0
- Footprint
2,500 sq ft
Brand Percentile Rankings
Rankings compare brands in the same operating year. Fee and investment figures come from the FDD (2025 filing).
Growth
- Total locations271
Franchised units open at year-end
- New openings8
Gross new units opened during the calendar year
- 1-year unit growth rate-7.2%
Net unit growth versus prior year
- 3-year unit CAGR-4.5%
Compound annual growth rate of unit count over the trailing 3 years
- Unit growth ratio0.3×
Cumulative opens / closures through year-end
Unit economics
- Annual unit volume (Median)—
Per FDD Item 19 disclosure
- Annual unit volume (25th percentile)—
Per FDD Item 19 disclosure
- Annual unit volume (75th percentile)—
Per FDD Item 19 disclosure
- 1-year Median AUV growth rate—
Year-over-year change in median AUV
- Store-level EBITDA Margin—
Median unit-level EBITDA / AUV
Investment profile
- Estimated initial investment$704k
Midpoint of estimated initial investment range
↓ Lower is better - Time to open—
Midpoint of average time from agreement to opening
- Royalty rate—
Percent of net sales paid to the franchisor
- Sales-to-investment ratio—
Median AUV / estimated initial investment midpoint
- Cash-on-cash returns—
Median unit-level EBITDA / estimated initial investment midpoint. Steady-state estimate; year 1 returns will be lower as the unit ramps to median volumes.
Franchisee healthLocked
- Unit closure ratio
- Transfer vs. closure ratio
- Percent multi-unit franchisees
- Litigation rate
- EBITDA multiple on sales & transfers
Create your free Glidepath account to access full brand information.
Location footprint
Showing 251 of 276 mapped locations
Sources
Financial and operating figures are sourced from the brand's Franchise Disclosure Documents. Brand percentile rankings are based on comparisons to other brands that include the same metrics in their Franchise Disclosure Documents.