Great sadness in the packaging industry today. The founder of the drugstore chain dm is dead. Götz W. Werner passed away peacefully on Tuesday at the age of 78, according to his family. He headed a company that today employs 66,000 people and also provided valuable impetus in the world of packaging.
The dm-founder Götz W. Werner died this Tuesday at the age of 78. His family announced that his strength had steadily declined over the past few months, meaning that he had to increasingly limit his range of activities due to his health. He endured this with great bravery. His son Christoph Werner, CEO of dm, said that his father and extraordinary life companion had passed away peacefully and that he and the family were in deep and silent mourning.
Götz W. Werner was born in Heidelberg in 1944, the son of a chemist. His greatest wish was to one day become a chemist himself and be there for his customers. He completed an apprenticeship as a chemist in Constance and, after completing his training, initially joined his father's „Drogerie Werner“. However, his ideas were not well received, so he left his home town of Heidelberg in 1969 and joined the Karlsruhe-based company „Drogerie Roth“. As he was unable to get his idea accepted there either, Werner decided to realise his ideas himself with dm in 1973.
Permanent, constructive dissatisfaction
His vision of framework conditions that enable people to contribute to the company and find their own individual, self-determined path in life, gave his innovative drive direction and vigour. This is how the dm working group came into being, which was initially seen by many as unusual, but over time came to be seen as visionary.
His maxim of „permanent, constructive dissatisfaction with the existing conditions“ and the resulting will to change the company again and again, have played a key role in dm's success. Today, the drugstore chain is active in 14 European countries. More than 66,000 people make up the consortium; dm is the market leader in Europe with a turnover of 12.3 billion euros. The company also continues to excel in the packaging sector today with innovative approaches and a commitment to the circular economy.
Source: dm drugstore