Dm-drogerie markt

dm-drogerie markt (usually abbreviated as dm) is a chain of retail stores headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany, offering cosmetics, healthcare items, household products and health food and drinks. The company was founded in 1973, when it opened its first store in Karlsruhe.[1] Its founder is anthroprosophist Götz Werner.

In its industry sector, dm-drogerie markt is Germany's largest retailer measured by revenues.[2]

dm has more than 79,700 people employed in more than 4,000[3] stores in twelve European countries. In the 1970s, dm only had outlets in Germany and Austria. In the 1990s, it opened stores in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Croatia. In the 2000s, the company expanded to Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Italy and Poland.[3]

In 2015, dm planned to organize a fundraising campaign for a Kurdish community in Germany, supported by Rupert Neudeck. The campaign sparked outrage among nationalist German Turks. They accused dm of supporting the Kurdish PKK and terrorism and called for a boycott of dm. The company withdrew from its efforts, stating that it did not want to provide "a breeding ground for escalation."[4]

In March 2017, for the first time in its history, dm-drogerie markt started selling to consumers outside Europe with the Alibaba Group's Tmall global cross-border flagship store in China.[5] This expansion was initiated and is managed by a Shanghai-based Tmall Partner oddity Asia.

Employee rights

The company is known for promoting its flat hierarchical structures and high level of social commitment. Götz Werner has asserted that the well-being of employees is more important than the company's returns.[6]

In 2002, 28 years after the company's founding, the first independent works councils were introduced within the group in Germany. Some employees in two distribution centers had taken the initiative and established co-determination structures. Management then decided to establish works councils in all branches. One works council member called this a "clever move" by dm management, as they had targeted selected employees at the time and thereby deliberately sidelined employees who were critical of management.[7][8]

Locations

Figures for the number of stores in Europe as of 6 December 2025:[3]

See also

• Müller
• Rossmann

External links