Milestone of 100 dm shops in Italia: 15–20 new openings per year are now in the pipeline

One hundred shops in less than nine years. This is the milestone that dm will reach tomorrow, 6 August, with the opening of its shop in Castenaso (Bologna), confirming Italia’s increasingly strategic role in the development plans of the German group specialising in personal care and home care products. The opening follows that of the 99th store in Savignano sul Rubicone and marks a new stage in an expansion that shows no sign of slowing down.

The aim, in fact, is to maintain a steady pace of growth. “Our plan is to open between 15 and 20 new shops each year within our expansion area, to cover locations where we do not yet have a presence,” explains Dirk Schneider, expansion director at dm Italia. “ “We want to have a presence both in high-traffic city centres and in densely populated areas, so that we can get ever closer to our customers.”

The 2024/25 financial year closed with strong growth. dm Italia recorded a turnover of 252 million euros, up 26.4 per cent on the previous financial year. There are also 1.26 million registered accounts on the dm app, whilst over the last twelve months more than 18 million receipts were issued, with an average value of €15.11. The Italian network now has 1,111 staff members (+11.7%) and stocks a range of around 15,000 products, including over 2,000 ‘Made in Italy’ items sourced from around 200 Italian suppliers. Private-label brands now account for 30% of turnover.

“Italia is one of the strongest, most dynamic and strategic markets in Europe,” emphasises Benjamin Schneider, CEO of dm Italia. “ “Our growth is not merely quantitative: we are seeing an increase in footfall in our shops and in the frequency of purchases, a sign of the trust our customers place in our brand and the strength of our commercial offering.”

The expansion plan will continue in the coming weeks with the openings in Brescia (27 August), Parma (2 September) and Bassano del Grappa (10 September). More generally, the annual pipeline envisages between 15 and 20 new openings, concentrated mainly in northern Italia, with a particular focus on Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna and South Tyrol. “Our strategy focuses on medium-to-large cities where we do not yet have a presence and on high-traffic locations, such as shopping centres and high streets,” Schneider adds.