retail trade
Thanks to online trading: sales growth at drugstore chain dm
A logo of the drugstore chain dm, taken at a branch in Karlsruhe Photo: Uli Deck / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The drugstore chain dm is sailing well through the corona crisis. Sales are growing, not least because of online shopping. The stationary stores remain the “heart”.
Strong growth in online trading has given the drugstore chain dm a significant increase in sales despite the corona pandemic.
As Germany’s largest pharmacist announced on Thursday in Karlsruhe, sales grew by 6.5 percent to 12.3 billion euros in the financial year ended at the end of September, after 11.5 billion in the previous year.
The corona-related restrictions up to border closings have temporarily led to a decline in sales in stationary retail even at dm, the company said. On the other hand, this has given customers an enormous boost in online shopping – “the demand has increased significantly in dynamism,” said managing director Christoph Werner.
According to the information, around 20,000 parcels are now sent every day, and around 18 million people visit the online shop every month. Werner did not want to say what proportion of the total turnover in the online business is. Traditionally, dm does not provide any information on profit either.
More than 3800 branches
The markets are still the “heart” of the company. The drugstore chain is represented in 13 European countries so far – Poland is soon to be the 14th country to join – with more than 3800 branches, more than 2000 of them in Germany. In the 2020/21 financial year, dm invested around 110 million euros in its German branch network and opened 45 new branches. Another 120 million are to follow in the coming months and flow into the renovation and the opening of new stores.
In Germany alone, dm generated more than 9 billion euros – an increase of 5.8 percent. The company employs more than 66,000 people, including more than 42,500 in Germany.
The company initially left it open whether dm will enter the business with free self-tests again. It is still too early for that and the political statements are too vague, said Werner. In general, they are happy to provide support if the framework conditions are right. From March on, dm had operated rapid test centers. At the height of the pandemic, there were more than 500 nationwide before they closed again on September 30. Testing was only allowed outside, not in the markets themselves. Under these circumstances, that would not be possible over the winter anyway, said Werner.