Deutsche Post launches pilot scheme to enter mail-order pharmacy market

Deutsche Post AG said it will start offering pharmaceuticals through its partner, German discount pharmacy Easy-Apotheke, at selected post offices this week as it mulls entering the drug mail-order market, Financial Times Deutschland said.

‘We see the project as a good opportunity to expand the usability of our branches,’ the paper quoted a Deutsche Post spokesman as saying.

Customers will be able to fill in order forms at post offices and get their delivery within two working days.

Oliver Blume, managing director at Easy-Apotheke, which had sales of about 50 mln eur in 2007, says the offer looks to be the fastest pharmaceuticals delivery service on the market.

Eighteen post offices in the German cities of Stuttgart, Hanover and Hildesheim are participating in the pilot scheme, which will last for six months.

German retailers including DM and Schlecker have recently introduced drug delivery services via mail-order pharmacies, a move that is seen by many as a prearrangement to launching own drug retail operations.

German regulations currently restrict ownership of pharmacies to certified pharmacists and limit the number outlets in a pharmacy chain, but companies expect a ruling by the European Court of Justice to quash these restrictions.

Deutsche Post AG said it will start offering pharmaceuticals through its partner, German discount pharmacy Easy-Apotheke, at selected post offices this week as it mulls entering the drug mail-order market, Financial Times Deutschland said.

‘We see the project as a good opportunity to expand the usability of our branches,’ the paper quoted a Deutsche Post spokesman as saying.

Customers will be able to fill in order forms at post offices and get their delivery within two working days.

Oliver Blume, managing director at Easy-Apotheke, which had sales of about 50 mln eur in 2007, says the offer looks to be the fastest pharmaceuticals delivery service on the market.

Eighteen post offices in the German cities of Stuttgart, Hanover and Hildesheim are participating in the pilot scheme, which will last for six months.

German retailers including DM and Schlecker have recently introduced drug delivery services via mail-order pharmacies, a move that is seen by many as a prearrangement to launching own drug retail operations.

German regulations currently restrict ownership of pharmacies to certified pharmacists and limit the number outlets in a pharmacy chain, but companies expect a ruling by the European Court of Justice to quash these restrictions.