Dirk Rossmann
Dirk Roßmann is a German entrepreneur. He is founder and general manager of the family-owned drugstore chain Rossmann, based in Burgwedel near Hanover. In 1972, he established the first self-service store for drugstore goods in Germany. Therefore, he is known as inventor and pioneer of the drugstore market.
- The eponymous company Dirk Rossmann founded at age 25 is now Germany’s second-largest drugstore chain, with annual revenues of around $10 billion.
- In 1972, he opened Germany’s first self-service drugstore in Hannover just as price deregulation of pharmacy products was beginning.
- Rossmann has made numerous private equity investments and owns a stake in the German Bundesliga soccer club Hannover 96.
- Shunning many of the trappings of wealth, he prefers to spend money on traveling and books.
- His German Foundation World Population focuses on sex education and family planning, primarily in East Africa.
