German court reviews dm drugstore and online pharmacy model

The District Court of Karlsruhe has begun oral proceedings to determine whether the business model used by dm drugstore is compliant with German pharmacy laws. The legal dispute, initiated by the Wettbewerbszentrale, examines the integration of drugstore products and pharmaceutical goods within the dm online shop.

While dm is not a pharmacy and cannot sell pharmacy-only medicines directly, it utilizes a group company based in the Czech Republic, dm-Gesundheitsservices s. r. o., which operates the licensed mail-order pharmacy ‘dm-med’. This entity sells approximately 2,500 non-prescription, pharmacy-only medicines to customers in Germany.

The core legal questions involve whether the drugstore and pharmacy offerings are sufficiently separated for the consumer, whether the model violates prohibitions on third-party ownership, and whether dm is improperly directing customers toward its own pharmacy service. The outcome of this case may have significant implications for how drugstores and online pharmacies interact in the German market.