Hanover’s city park came alive as around 3,500 of Rossmann’s colleagues and guests gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the family business. Alongside the jolly atmosphere of live band music, the occasion was further marked by the planting trees together with Climate Partner and the German Forest Protection Association - one for each of the company’s colleagues!
In 1972, Dirk Rossmann opened the first drugstore in Hanover, Germany. Dirk had incredible passion and a dream which eventually helped his store to grow into one of the largest chain of drugstores with over 4,300 branches spanning across all of Europe.
50 Years - it’s truly a remarkable milestone. What's more important is the people behind the number, the shared experiences and stories that are worth remembering.
Dirk Rossmann, Founder, Rossmann
The drugstore chain is a longstanding family business which now employs more than 56,500 employees across its European stores. In 2021, the 75-year-old founder handed over the reins to his son, Raoul Rossmann.
Looking back on the history, the success of the drugstores was a direct result of Dirk’s entrepreneurial spirit alongside his penchant for innovative practices in his businesses. While expanding the number of stores, in 1984, Rossmann successfully entered the perfume business and became one of the first to implement the discount principal. By 1996, Dirk Rossmann really wanted to focus on developing products based on customers’ needs, so he decided to develop Rossmann’s exclusive brands business. And finally in 2002, the company joined the AS Watson’s family.
But this never changed the way the business was run. Innovation and a family oriented approach means that even after 40 years, Rossmann was again ahead of its times in venturing into the digital space to launch the Rossmann app which allowed customers to redeem digital coupons and save money whilst shopping on their mobile phones as well as in store.
Lena Eilfeld, a loyal customer of Rossmann, “My family has been shopping at Rossmann for many generations. I remember going with my father to the stores when I was just a little boy. What has impressed me most are the staff’s smiles which haven’t changed over the years.”
Key Milestones of Rossmann:
As the Rossmann brands continue to evolve, the focus has very much always been on quality, design, moving with the times and meeting the demands of its customers. Above all, the company and its brands are committed to doing good for the environment to help towards developing a more sustainable and social world.
Since the company was founded, sustainability has been an integral part of its corporate culture. For example, the company has stopped using microplastics for their products since 2013 as one of many other sustainable actions.
At the heart of what makes the business successful is the fact that Rossmann treats everyone like family. It is committed to delivering a seamless O+O (Offline plus Online) customer experience. Since the expansion of its online business, eCommerce sales have more than doubled in the last two years. With such a demand, the company will continue to integrate its O+O platforms so that its customers can shop anytime and anywhere while planning to open 200 new stores this year with 70 of them in Germany.
This year we celebrate teamwork! It’s time to remember yesterday and think about tomorrow. The future is full of opportunities, surprises and challenges. I am looking forward to the next 50 years of Rossmann!
Raoul Rossmann, Managing Director, Rossmann
