“We are in 400 pharmacies” does not yet tell you how much of the market that covers. You need the product, the retail outlets counted, the date and the way presence was established. Numeric distribution becomes useful once those four things travel with the figure.
Calculating numeric distribution
Numeric distribution (DN) is the share of the retail outlets in a defined universe that stock a product, for the presence criterion and the period chosen. Each outlet counts once, whatever its size. For a figure that comes from a market panel, reuse the provider’s definition and period exactly.
The denominator can be national, limited to one channel, or limited to your own territories. None of them is always the right one: a national DN tracks market coverage, while coverage of your territories helps you allocate field effort. Write the universe next to the indicator, and do not change its definition from one month to the next without saying so.
Target universe2,000 pharmacies
- Stocking: 240 ÷ 2,000 = 12%240 pharmacies
- Other pharmacies in this universe1,760 pharmacies
The choice of denominator changes the result. Do not mix a national universe with a targeted portfolio.
Why the date of the reference file matters
The Ordre national des pharmaciens, the French pharmacists’ regulatory body, counted 20,242 pharmacies on 1 January 2025 across the country, 260 fewer than a year earlier. That dated figure is a reference point, not a denominator to reuse indefinitely. Source: the Ordre’s demographic overview (French).
In your own database, separate closures, transfers, changes of operator and duplicates. Otherwise a clean-up can raise the DN without a single new listing. Keep a version of the reference file so you can explain those movements.
Weighted distribution weights outlets by their activity
Weighted distribution (DV) measures the share of category sales made by the stocking retail outlets, within the same universe. The weighting is based on category activity, not on your brand’s sales alone.
Fictional example: four pharmacies out of ten stock your product. Your DN is 40%. If those four pharmacies make 60% of the category’s sales in that universe, your DV is 60%. The DV/DN ratio is 1.5: the outlets where you are present carry more category weight than average.
That is not enough to decide whether to prospect rather than improve rate of sale. A high DV can sit alongside weak sales of your own product. A DV close to the DN does not prove a national listing either: it only describes the average weight of the stocking outlets.
Reconciling the sources of presence
An invoice to a wholesaler does not give you the list of pharmacies delivered. Pharmacy-level data, where it is available, improves coverage but describes deliveries. On its own it does not prove that a product is still in stock. A field observation gives you a dated reading, limited to the outlets visited.
Never infer a share of pharmacies covered from a share of revenue: 70% of sales going through indirect channels does not mean 70% of pharmacies are invisible. Account sizes, volumes and overlaps between channels all differ. Match the establishments first, then de-duplicate the lists.
Telling physical presence from purchasing activity
In a sales tool, the phrase “active DN” can mean the share of pharmacies that have ordered recently. That is an internal measure of purchasing activity, useful for follow-ups. It should not be presented as a direct measure of stocking: a pharmacy may hold old stock or buy through another channel.
Here, 380 pharmacies have ordered at least once and 210 within the last 90 days. The remaining 170 need qualifying. Some are seasonal, some have changed their buying channel, and some still hold stock. So the gap is not automatically a list of 170 lost pharmacies.
Choosing the action from the diagnosis
- →Presence unknown: check the sources and ask for a shelf reading at the next contact.
- →Confirmed out of stock: understand the demand and arrange the reorder with the customer.
- →Part of the range only: present a complementary product suited to the pharmacy’s customers.
- →Non-stocking outlet with potential: prepare an opening proposal and a follow-up after delivery.
Calculate DN by product when you are working on the assortment. A pharmacy that stocks two products out of eight contributes to the DN of those two, not of the other six. A “at least one product from the brand” coverage figure is possible, as long as you give it a distinct name.
The table to keep every month
For every indicator, keep the universe, its size, the period, the sources, the number of known outlets and the method. Explain openings, losses of presence and changes to the reference file separately. An imperfect but documented measure is more useful than a precise percentage nobody can reconstruct.
Complete this coverage picture with rate of sale and sell-out. You will then be able to separate growing the network from improving sales in the pharmacies you already supply.
Look at your commercial coverage
Salesia brings together the orders you can see, pharmacy by pharmacy and territory by territory. Let’s look at the active outlets, the accounts to qualify and what your sources actually cover.
When a listing goes through a network, also keep listing with a buying group and orders from its members separate.
Frequently asked questions
- How do you calculate numeric distribution?
- Divide the number of stocking retail outlets by the number of outlets in the universe, then multiply by 100. State the product, the presence criterion, the universe and the period. In this guide’s example, 240 pharmacies out of 2,000 give 12%.
- Does active DN measure stock held in pharmacies?
- When it is calculated from recent orders, active DN measures purchasing activity in the sources available. It does not prove physical presence: the pharmacy may hold old stock or buy through another channel.
- What is the difference between DN and DV?
- DN counts each retail outlet once. DV, weighted distribution, measures the share of category sales made by the stocking outlets within the same universe. It does not measure your brand’s sales alone.
By Anatole Briant
By Anatole Briant
By Anatole Briant
CEO of Salesia
Anatole Briant is CEO of Salesia. He is your contact for demonstrations, pricing and partnerships.