Why Aspen's plan for Australia is different.

Byline: Nick Wilson

THE BOTTOM LINE COLUMN Why Aspen's plan for Australia is different IT MAY seem rather odd for one South African company to be diving into Australia just as another is leaving after finding that market too hard or too expensive to crack. Yet there really is no comparison between retailer Pick n Pay's departure and Aspen's decision yesterday to make a bid for Australia's largest pharmaceutical distributor, Sigma. Pick n Pay's approach was to grow organically off a small base, so it began with a small acquisition of a loss-making retailer which it gradually turned around. But the process was so arduous and expensive, and the competition so strong, it began to …