Federation Centres and Stockland have the highest number of chemists that could be under pressure from the Competition Policy Review Panel recommendations.
The two malls' landlords have, according to property analysts, the highest pharmacy exposure of the sector. But if the chemists closed down, they could be replaced by larger supermarkets which have new pharmacy areas and the "mini major" stores, such as Priceline, which also offer chemist services.
In the draft report into the biggest review of competition in the country by economics professor Ian Harper, a key recommendation was that pharmacy ownership and location rules should be removed in the long-term interests of consumers.
The report said these rules should be replaced with regulations to ensure access and quality of advice on pharmaceuticals that do not unduly restrict competition.
Property analysts said if the federal government implemented this recommendation, supermarkets could potentially be allowed to have in-house pharmacies. This would likely place further downward pressure on pharmacies in shopping centres.
Macquarie Equities analysts said pharmacies are key tenants in shopping centres and account for up to 5.5 per cent of gross retail rent in shopping centre portfolios owned by real estate investment trusts.
"We believe the outlook for this major tenant base is very challenging in light of significant government reforms to drug reimbursement that are likely to have a large effect on pharmacy profitability in 2015; Woolworths and Coles' expansion in health and beauty, which will impact pharmacies' sales of their high-margin 'front-of-store' retail products such as cosmetics, hair care, skin care and sun care products; and federal government budget measures that will dampen demand for PBS drugs as less people visit the doctor and fill out prescriptions," they said.
