VIDEO – Self-tests: what is the margin for pharmacists?

They have become an (almost) essential daily tool. Particularly popular with the French during this fifth wave of Covid, self-tests are selling like hot cakes. More than 2 million copies have been sold in the last week alone. However, prices are still very disparate.

A government decree of December 28 authorized supermarkets to sell these self-tests, on an exceptional basis and until next January 31. A godsend for several large groups who hastened to sell them at cost price. Thus, as indicated by the 20H TF1 survey at the top of this article, the E. Leclerc and Intermarché brands sell these screening equipment at a price of 1.24 euros (6.20 euros per box of five). At Auchan and Carrefour, the cursor is placed a little higher since the boxes of five self-tests are exchanged for 9.75 euros, or about 1.95 euros per unit. This rises to 12.95 euros in Monoprix stores.

“We sell 400 boxes of self-tests per day, which represents 2000 tests. It has been a huge success.”, is delighted with TF1 Henry Zué, director of a Carrefour hypermarket in Drancy. “It defies all competition compared to pharmacies”, testifies one of the customers of the sign. “I find the price difference huge”, abounds another.

Indeed, self-tests are even more expensive in pharmacies in France. It is also not uncommon for the price of a unit to rise to 5.20 euros, the maximum threshold set by the government. It is therefore necessary to pay more than 25 euros to poach a box of 5 self-tests in these pharmacies. Since the recent opening to competition, the difference with the price displayed in supermarkets is considerable for consumers. A delta which corresponds to the margin achieved by each establishment, and which is justified according to Eric Myon, a Parisian pharmacist. “We are not on a comfort test. We are on a diagnostic test that allows us to know whether or not we are positive for Covid-19. What do we do next? How do we manage waste? All this information is key “, he hammers. The fact remains that pharmacies make a profit with each self-test sold.

But by the way, how many are these self-tests produced? A TF1 team went to a factory in eastern France to try to see more clearly. The manufacturing price oscillates “between 1.50 euros and 2.50 euros. “It will really depend on the purpose and type of customer request”, explains Gaël Levy, industrial director of Biosynex. For example, a box of 5 self-tests costs less to produce than those sold individually, he adds.

According to data from Public Health France, more than eight million tests were carried out in France between December 27, 2021 and January 2, 2022. This is an absolute record over a week since the start of the epidemic in France.