Mexican pharmacy chain founded in 1997 by Víctor González Torres. The firm fought powerful pharmaceutical companies to win the freedom to sell generic drugs at prices up to 75% lower than patented rivals. Its slogan is "the same but cheaper".
Farmacias Similares operates nearly 10,000 branches across Mexico and claims to sell 45% of all prescription drugs in the country by volume. The firm does not publish financial results.
Every pharmacy has a doctor's office attached, with appointments costing 60 pesos ($3). Other Mexican pharmacists have copied the model.
The firm runs 550 branches in Chile. Attempts to enter Argentina and Colombia have not gone well, which the company blames on highly regulated and closed industries. Víctor González Herrera, who succeeded his father as boss in 2022, has inaugurated a new headquarters in Texas and opened "Similandia", a shop on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. Regulatory hurdles mean it initially sells only vitamins and non-prescription drugs in the United States.
The company mascot is a moustachioed character called "Dr Simi". Employees dressed as Dr Simi dance outside pharmacies. The brand is widely recognised among Hispanic communities in California and Texas.
God made everything out of nothing, but the nothingness shows through.