dm drogerie markt Romania announces a turnover increase of over 58% in the fiscal year 2022

dm drogerie markt company marked the end of the fiscal year on September 30, with a significant increase following the implementation of its strategy, the sustained efforts of the entire dm team, and ongoing expansion. The turnover thus reached 1,308,295,008 lei, recording an increase of over 58% compared to the previous year. dm drogerie markt, present in Romania for 16 years, also celebrates one year since the launch of its online store.

“We are delighted to announce a significant increase, due to the constant efforts of the dm drogerie markt team in Romania. We feel privileged to have the support and trust of our customers, who form a solid community, as well as the support of our partners in the continuous development process. The values we share encourage us to bring something extra every day into our lives and to build, together, a sustainable future,” states Ivana Martinakova, CEO of dm drogerie markt Romania.

Financial Statement, Future Plans, and Investments

The fiscal year, ending on September 30, 2023, brought new results for dm Romania: 139 active drugstores across the country, with 14 new stores inaugurated last year in Craiova, Alba Iulia, Târgu-Jiu, Galați, Dej, Slobozia, Vaslui, Brașov, Buzău, Călărași, and four new branches in Bucharest. The expansion process is in full swing, but existing drugstores have also undergone renovations, with 11 of them benefiting from redesigns, space expansion, and adaptation to new standards.

“The fiscal year 2022 – 2023 marked the sustained development of our country-wide expansion plan. To create a more complete shopping experience, we implemented a new benefit, directly from the dm.ro application: the dmLIVE show, broadcast every other Tuesday at 8:00 PM. This show complements the information and consultancy our customers need and brings exclusive benefits for registered users,” says Ivana Martinakova, CEO of dm drogerie markt Romania.

The turnover at the end of the fiscal year 2022 – 2023 was 1,308,295,008 lei, with dm drogerie markt Romania registering a growth of 58.12% compared to the previous year.

“We are pleased with the interest shown in dm’s omnichannel, evidenced by the fact that over 7 million people visited us online, and over 350,000 customers created an account on our website or application. As our interest is to continue our expansion plans, investments in the fiscal year 2022-2023 amounted to over 70 million lei. We also thank our colleagues from the departments involved in the smooth running of the drugstore operations, which have now reached 140 branches. The expansion plan continues in the new fiscal year. We aim to open new branches and modernize existing ones, as well as to expand our central warehouse in Timișoara by 12,000 square meters, a necessary investment due to these increases. In this context, the investment plan for the fiscal year 2023-2024 is complex, covering several directions. At the budget level, we have allocated over 100 million lei, which allows us to sustainably develop our store network, as well as the distribution center and the central headquarters,” stated Cristian Crișan, administrator of dm Romania.

Online dm Store and “My dm” App

The online dm store and the “My dm” app, launched about a year ago, have brought positive results. Customers can find over 12,000 items on the online platform, also available in dm drugstores. Moreover, dm offers a complete shopping experience for customers: inspirational articles, tips and tricks, and, not least, the products that brand lovers are accustomed to, available both in the app and on the website. Among the most successful categories in the online shop are face and body care, makeup, baby and child care products, as well as food and detergents.

For the first year, the dm online shop recorded over 7 million visits and over 350,000 registered online customers, to whom over 1,500,000 items were delivered.

The MEREUAVANTAJOS Concept

Starting March 31, 2022, dm drogerie markt shoppers consistently benefit from the MEREUAVANTAJOS concept. This shopping concept allows customers to purchase their favorite products at affordable prices over the long term. The prices of products marked with the MEREUAVANTAJOS sign are not increased for at least four months and inform shoppers of the last price update, to help them make purchasing forecasts. dm customers enjoy shopping that helps save time and budget, as well as planning them.

The MEREUAVANTAJOS concept is indicated on the website, in the app, and on the shelf, on product labels, with the date of the last price increase specified. Following the implementation of this concept, which was enthusiastically received by shoppers, the number of customers increased by over 50%, confirming that price stability, in a constantly changing economy, is important for shoppers and gives them confidence both in planning their budget and in the promise made by dm through this program.

Social and Ecological Sustainability

Replacing Black Friday with a donation day, dm drogerie markt organizes the annual Giving Friday campaign, through which it offers 5% of its revenues from the last Friday of November to children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The company encourages purchases in physical or online stores on November 24, directly involving customers in the company’s charitable initiatives. The dm community happily contributes to these initiatives. In 2022, over 140,000 lei were donated to SOS Children’s Villages, a sum intended for social projects aimed at children and youth from rural areas.

SOS Children’s Villages is a long-standing partner of dm drogerie markt, with whom the company has developed a series of projects and been involved in various campaigns. In 2022, the two entities continued the campaign: “The Last Day of Holiday, the First Day of School”. The action, in its third edition in 2023, created the opportunity to offer unforgettable experiences for 100 children from all SOS Villages: Cisnadie, Sibiu, Bucharest, and Bacau, as well as from the Day Center in Hemeius. The youngsters and children enjoyed a day full of fun and adventure at the Dino-Zoo Park in Rasnov, with entertaining and interactive activities.

Another project for children, “A Classroom Like Home”, carried out together with Procter & Gamble, took place for the second time in 2023. If in the first year (2022), the two partners renovated a primary classroom in Timis County to European standards, in 2023 two classrooms for children were renovated.

Together with Timisoara, European Capital of Culture 2023

For 16 years, dm drogerie markt has been actively involved in various communities across the country and in Timisoara, the city that has been its “home” since 2007. In 2023, the year Timisoara holds the title of “European Capital of Culture”, the company collaborates with local artists to offer the community unique artworks in Romania, communicates important events taking place in Timisoara through its channels, and assists in welcoming guests visiting the cultural capital.

As an official partner of the Cultural Capital, dm drogerie markt supports art, creativity, Timisoara’s distinctive identity, and the beauty that culture brings to the city on the Bega. In early February 2023, dm drogerie markt, through the artist Flaviu Roua, created the largest mesh painting in Romania, using ecological paints that purify the air. The work consists of two portraits each 19 meters high and is displayed on the Pasmatex building, an emblematic location for street art in Timisoara.

The company also enriched this important year for the city through a multitude of events – live meetings with content creators, brand ambassadors, and fans, projects, contests, and renovations of dm stores. Moreover, using its communication channels, it promoted the city on the Bega throughout the country, partly through Social Media, and partly through the dm newsletter and the dm magazine, distributed in all cities where the brand’s stores are present.

The Health Caravan

dm drogerie markt believes that addressing health needs a suitable message, adapted to our needs and times. With a focus on a new, holistic consciousness, health thus becomes a lifestyle. The company aims to encourage a healthy lifestyle for all its customers and to address themes that place greater emphasis on women’s health. dm brought information, advice, and counseling closer to communities of fans and customers. It offered advice directly from specialists in nutrition, skin care, hygiene, and feminine care, including psychological aspects, through its health campaign, embodied in the form of a caravan. From June 24 to July 12, 2023, the Health Caravan reached seven major cities in Romania: Bucharest, Constanta, Brasov, Timisoara, Cluj, Oradea, Iasi, to bring women’s health and well-being to the forefront.

Sustainability remains a forefront concern for dm Romania

One of the core values of dm drogerie markt has always been sustainability. Concern for the environment, for their own employees, and for the communities where they operate remains a priority in 2023, a year in which the company has developed even more projects in this direction.

Through its product range, dm allows its customers to make a conscious decision in favor of sustainable products. Here, the focus is on both dm’s own brands and the selection of products from local and international partners. Sustainable products are marked on the shelf with a green label. This year, the “bag for life” was also implemented. Made of viscose, it allows customers to return the bag to dm drugstores when it wears out in exchange for a new one, free of charge. Thus, dm drogerie markt, together with its customers, protects the environment, encourages responsible consumption, and helps customers save.

Proper waste management and separate collection are two other topics of interest when it comes to community involvement. In partnership with ADID Timiș (Timiș Intercommunity Development Association for Waste), the company is running an awareness campaign in drugstores in Timiș, as well as in the central office, with the goal of distributing information to both customers and the dm community.

Implementing refill stations for BIO laundry and dish detergents from Planet Pure is another sustainable activity of the brand, an initiative that won the 2023 Excellence Trophy from Trade Market at the CSR Excellence: Reset Targets conference. Planet Pure products are based on ingredients and compounds derived from plant extracts, and the reusable packaging is made 100% from sugar cane. The refill stations allow for the replenishment of laundry or dish detergent containers, reducing the need to purchase multiple packages.

“Social and ecological initiatives give us the opportunity to contribute to the well-being of the community. We strive to expand our efforts each year, so that the impact of our commitment is sustainable. We believe that together with partners, customers, and members of the communities we are part of at the national level, we are responsible for taking care of both the environment and community members. Therefore, in line with the sustainability plan, we aim to consistently increase our positive impact, always keeping in mind the future we want and the steps we need to take to achieve it,” said Daniela Jordanovski, Marketing & Procurement Manager at dm drogerie markt.

dm drogerie markt continues to invest in people

With the help of the dm-lernwelt e-learning platform, the company provides employees with training, courses, and educational content for personal and professional development. In the spring of 2023, dm launched the online course “Organizational Culture Based on Dialogue” – training that was completed by colleagues from branches, headquarters, and the distribution center. In addition to the online course, the company organized a two-day physical seminar on this topic for Middle Management. The dm team is thus prepared to answer all questions from subordinates and to better guide their teams. Seminars for employees from branches, headquarters, and the distribution center are scheduled next. This fall, dm drogerie markt is preparing new online courses on the dm-Lernwelt platform on topics such as Project Management, AI, dmGPT, and many others, on very current subjects and themes.

The “Leadership Skills Development” seminar concluded successfully in the fall of 2023 for the second series, in which over 80 store managers from across the country participated and completed all five modules. In the coming period, the company plans to offer this opportunity to other colleagues from the dm work community.

Also this fall, in partnership with AHK Romania (Romanian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry), dm drogerie markt began involvement in the “School of Book and Crafts” project – a vocational training program based on a German method, which balances theory and practice hours. The program lasts three years and is run by several companies, including dm drogerie markt in partnership with various high schools in the country. Upon completion of the courses, students receive an internationally recognized diploma in the merchant-salesperson profession, as well as the opportunity to be employed in the company where they completed their practical program. Everything is carried out under the careful supervision of the Romanian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AHK Romania), based on a contract between the student, parent, company, and school.

“We are very pleased that in the first year of the project we have 17 ninth-grade students from the cities of Timișoara, Iași, Oradea, and Brașov, who will do their practical training in dm stores. The students receive both a monthly scholarship and the necessary training to know everything about the profession they will follow at the end of the program, because the store managers who train the children have also been trained as trainers by the professionals from AHK. We would be very pleased if, at the end of each year of the project, we remain together in the dm work community,” said Anita Pop, HR Manager dm drogerie markt Romania.

In a world constantly distracted and always on the move, it can be challenging to find time to reconnect with loved ones. That’s why Family Day has become a tradition at dm, now in its second year of organization. This opportunity offered the dm work community quality time with families, strengthened bonds between colleagues, and created lasting memories.

Family Day 2023 took place on September 3, 2023, outdoors, in the midst of nature. Over 1500 participants had the opportunity to choose from numerous fun activities, such as horseback riding, carriage rides, adventure parks, football, volleyball, cycling routes, children’s theater, creative workshops, concerts, and many more. They spent an entire day with their loved ones, building stronger connections between family members and the work community.

dm drogerie markt pays special attention to the health of its team and encourages them to adopt beneficial habits in everyday life. Through various actions, the company supports them on the path to a healthier lifestyle. Therefore, at the beginning of the new financial year, between October 9 and November 11, dm organizes Health Weeks, a series of events that offer colleagues a variety of webinars and information from specialists in multiple fields. The three themes addressed during this period were: mental health, physical health, and social health. During this period, colleagues from the Timișoara headquarters, branches, and distribution center had the opportunity to strengthen their well-being and inner balance and discover new ways of self-care.

From a sustainability standpoint, dm drogerie markt focuses its attention on the team, not just the environment and the communities it is part of. Future-oriented actions are created where each individual is prepared to embrace different perspectives, absorb new information, take on responsibilities, and implement ideas.

This summer marked the second edition of the Sustainability Impulses Week at dm. Colleagues from all departments of the company had the opportunity to attend presentations based on the themes of this year: “Recycling/Reusing Textiles”, “A More Sustainable Lifestyle”, and “Sustainable Nutrition”. Moreover, they participated in a clean-up action around the headquarters, as well as a tasting of organic products, intended to offer them healthy alternatives for daily snacks.

“We believe that dm is much more than just an employer: together, we are an ever-expanding community. The activity of all our colleagues reflects a well-defined set of values and encourages us to act as a collective within the community we are part of. We offer various training and development opportunities for the personal and professional development of team members, whether they take place in the central headquarters, dm branches, or the distribution center. We pay special attention to internal projects that aim to offer our colleagues innovative solutions for harmonious development within the dm company, and we strive to have together as many healthy habits and a lifestyle that reflects our organizational culture, i.e., healthy,” stated Anita Pop, HR Manager of dm drogerie markt Romania.

The joint efforts of the dm team have provided the company with positive results this year, both financially and in terms of employee satisfaction. dm drogerie markt Romania was designated the best employer in 2023, in Romania, in the non-food retail category, by the recruitment platform undelucram.ro, as part of an annual ranking conducted by them. At the same time, dm is also ranked 4th nationally in the overall ranking of the most appreciated employers, an award offered by the same platform.

dm drogerie markt company was founded in 1973, and in Romania, the chain of stores has been present for 16 years, during which it has constantly evolved, created over 1600 jobs, and opened 139 stores. In 2022, dm also launched the online store in Romania, with the company’s expansion continuing to be a priority.