Rossmann SDP Sp. z o.o. is part of a capital and purchasing group, created by Rossmann GmbH and A.S. Watson. The group comprises such well-known brands as: ICI Paris XL, Kruidvat, Superdrug, Savers etc.
The board of Rossmann SDP Sp. z o.o. comprises two members. The Company does not have a Supervisory Board. The Company’s business is supervised by the General Meeting.
During General Meetings called by the Board an assessment of current operations is carried out and short- and long-term plans are made. That’s when the General Meeting recommends the introduction of certain mechanisms and identifies the directions in which the Company should develop as part of so-called best practices.
General Meeting: Rossmann GmbH A.S. Watson
Company’s Board of Directors:
Marek Maruszak -
Chairman of the Board
Marcin Grabara -
Deputy Chairman of the Board
Attorney-in-Fact:
Sławomir Szejna -
Chief Financial Officer
The originator of the creation of a chain of friendly self-service stores with chemist’s articles was Dirk Rossmann. In the year 1972 he opened under the brand name Rossmann the first self-service chemist’s store in Germany (Hannover).
In the beginning the company operated only in the Federal Republic of Germany, but after the turning point in the year 1989 it expanded its operations to the former GDR and the countries of the East-Central Europe. Today, we can find stores with the name Rossmann in: Germany, Poland, in the Czech Republic, in Hungary, in Turkey and even in Albania.
Rossmann opens its first chemist’s store in Poland (Łódź) - The central location on the map of Poland and favourable investment conditions were crucial for the selection of Łódź as the seat of the company. Exactly here, the head office and the main warehouse of the company are located.
10th anniversary of the company, Rossmann has 100 stores
15th anniversary of the company, 300 chemist’s stores
500th chemist’s store in Poland
Opening of the Logistics Centre in Grudziądz, putting of a new head office in Łódź into use
20th anniversary of presence in Poland, opening of 850th chemist’s store (Sopot), for the first time Rossmann opened 150 stores within a year
Putting of a new Logistics Centre in Pyskowice into operation
Opening of 1 000th Rossmann chemist’s in Poland, putting of the Internet shop into operation;
Rossmann owns 35 own brands. More information about our own brands can be found on our website at rossmann.pl
Isana brand cosmetics for women and men are the most popular among our clients, in particular skin care shower and bath gels.
Vegan facial, body and hair care cosmetics The compliance of ingredients used in these cosmetics with vegan requirements has been confirmed by Vegan and BDIH (German certificate issued to natural cosmetics) certificates. Alterra cosmetics are based on plant ingredients, harvested from ecological and wild crops, free of GMOs.
A well known and popular brand for those who value tidiness and order - in the range we find household chemicals
Under this brand we can find cosmetics and accessories for the care of babies: diapers, baby cereal and jars, toys, first toothbrushes, and products needed to care for expectant mothers.
Pleasant, often enriched with natural plant extracts products - toilet paper, kitchen towels, tissue and napkins are available in many colors and sizes.
The line for those who love sun bathing. Distinguished by her wide range of products for tanning and after sun care - lotions, creams, sprays protective dryer, shower gels and balsams.
We make every effort to respond to the needs and wishes of our customers. It’s a great responsibility, both with regards to supplying the best products possible and to shaping the consumer attitudes of Polish citizens. In our drugstores consumers can buy cosmetics, household chemicals, toilet papers and tissues or animal food. Stores with a larger commercial area also sell food and wine.
Survey of the strength
and brand awareness
In 2013, the A.C. Nielsen company carried out research into Rossmann’s brand power and awareness among consumers. This research constitutes an extraordinary source of knowledge about the company’s image, comprising of the products on offer, customer service, close vicinity of shops and many other factors. We are happy that total awareness of our brand in 2013 amounted to 100 percent (including 84 percent top of mind – which means that in 2013, 84 percent of customers believed that the “Rossmann” brand was synonymous to a store selling beauty supplies, cosmetics and perfumes).
Concepts associated with our company are also very positive:
of respondents believe that Rossmann has a very wide variety of products on offer
of respondents praise us for the large amount of new perfumes on offer
of respondents believe that our drugstores sell a wide variety of products considered as luxury
of respondents believe that the products found on our shelves are of high quality and are sold at attractive prices
of respondents believe that cosmetics sold under our own brands are of very high quality and that’s why they love to use them
Almost 5 000 reports – that’s how many matters are submitted to the Customer Service Department each month. In a company as big as ours, we had to implement certain procedures concerning the handling of matters that are submitted to our department. Thanks to these procedures, professionals employed in the Customer Service Department know how to talk to our customers and how to solve the problems that they report to us. We always try to approach our customers on an individual basis.
Customers ask us about very different matters, from those concerning to the products offered in our shops or current promotional campaigns and competitions, to suggestions and remarks concerning the opening of drugstores in new locations. What I remember the most are the stories which concern children – when a child loses its beloved teddy bear or doll in our store, we always try to help them find it. After all, they are the little one’s best friend.
Anna Chmielewska
Customer Service Department
Manager
Our cooperation with our suppliers is based on mutual respect and trust, built up over the years.
For several years now, Rossmann has placed 1st in the Retailers category (among 63 companies) in surveys of satisfaction in business relations and assessment of the company’s results in comparison to its competitors. This award is very valuable to us, especially due to the fact that it was our suppliers who made the assessment of our cooperation based on several criteria, including sales operations, supply chain or business relations. We analyse each assessment and try to improve what our partners believe requires improving, while maintaining our effectiveness with regards to these aspects of our operations that are highly valued.
„Our Suppliers value us for: timely implementation of plans, modern process of supply chain management, high level of product displays, good decision making by our traders, being open to new ideas, having clear rules for introducing new products”.
Three fourths (71 percent) of our suppliers positively assessed the level of business relations between us in 2014.
86 percent believe that our contribution to the modern process of supply chain management is valuable.
As many as 84 percent think that pre-arranged plans and programs are implemented in a timely manner and in all of our stores.
At the end of 2014 we had
14 010 employees
Our employees are our capital. Their knowledge, experience and energy are the building stones of our future. Thanks to them we are able to change to the benefit our customers and business partners. Our aim is to introduce in our company an organisational culture based on respect and understanding. A culture of safety, where the health and life of our employees is very important. It’s important for us that our employees feel important to our company.
In employee-employer relations we always observe the Labour Code and maintain a transparency in relations. Since the beginning of our operations in Poland we’ve opposed any mobbing practices at work. In 2012 we introduced an internal Anti-Mobbing Policy, containing detailed regulations on procedures to be implemented should any irregularities in this respect be detected.
Rossmann is a workplace where employees:
„People first” is our motto that we’ve been following for years. Our aim is to always engage in a dialogue with our employees in every aspect of their professional lives. As the leader in the Polish drugstore market, we are aware that we are part of an elite group of companies that set high standards with regards to corporate responsibility and adherence to employee rights. Our personnel policy, all actions and decisions taken with regards to workforce management are compliant with applicable Polish regulations concerning labour law, and in most cases, with regards to the employer’s duties, exceed the requirements of existing laws to the benefit of our employees. We ensure that our employees feel safe and stable in their jobs, and support those who require financial, medical or legal aid due to finding themselves in difficult, critical situations”.
Ilona Perużyńska-Zych
Personnel and Payroll Department Manager
Rossmann continuously invests in the development of its employees. In 2013 and 2014 we trained our employees for a total period of 807 days. Our aim is to increase the competence of our personnel and prepare them to participate in the strategic actions of our company. Every year we organise a series of internal and external training sessions. The largest group of employees who receive training are store employees. In 2013 we concluded the “Rossmann – road to success” program, co-funded from EU funds and provided to employees in the Logistics Department.
In 2014 we expanded our e-learning offer to topics concerning products and assistant store supervisors.
Thanks to the platform we’ve been able to provide training to:
- 4 800 employees as part of product training
- 3 300 persons as part of „soft” skills training
- 700 employees were trained with regards to the procedures implemented in the company.
Crazy About Life
We care about work-life balance by offering health benefits to our employees and organising a number of activities. A few years ago the company decided to create a special team, dubbed the „Crazy About Life”. Activity Organisers help our employees in using their free time in the best possible manner and support them in their initiatives.
In 2014, „Crazy About Life” organised 47 events with almost 1 200 participants, as well as a bowling tournament with more than 800 competitors. 1 948 users joined the team’s Facebook group and almost 9 000 users signed up at the zakręceni.rossnet.pl website.
„One of the biggest challenges facing the HR Department in a company as big as Rossmann is to implement and then manage tools allowing us to reach every single employee with a uniform and coherent message, containing thoughts, ideas and learning content. Based on our previous experiences concerning e-learning, in 2013 we decided to purchase and implement a new platform, whose functionality would allow us to provide training to several thousand users at a single time. We simultaneously began working on preparing a versatile training offer. In 2014 we introduced internal OH&S and anti-mobbing training for our management personnel and employees working in our headquarters. Our „Aces of Sales” program, dedicated to over 2 000 assistant store supervisors, proved a huge success.
Jacek Słoński
Recruiting and Training
Department Manager
Occupational safety of our employees, clear and comprehensible work standards and procedures, adherence to regulations and human rights are our priorities. The OH&S Department in our company is first of all responsible for consulting and reviewing activities in the field of occupational health and safety, but also for educating our employees in this matter.
In order to increase occupational safety, the OH&S Department organises first aid training sessions, participates in competitions organised by the State Labour Inspection, organises a “Safety Week” and competitions for children, and has received an OHSAS 18001 certificate in managing safety systems. Two AED systems are available in the company’s headquarters, in 2014 a procedure was initiated to implement the system in our two remaining warehouses.
Appreciated
Our actions aimed at educating our employees and improving workplace safety have been recognised by the Regional Labour Inspectorate in Łódź.
In 2013 Rossmann placed third in the „Employer – organiser of safe work” competition organised by the above Inspectorate
(in the category of workplaces employing more than 250 persons).
„Our aim at Rossmann is to never stop working towards increasing the comfort of work for our employees, and in consequence to increase safety. We are able to achieve this partly thanks to the OHSAS 18001-compliant Occupational Safety Management System implemented in our company. The system allows us to organise and review actions that prevent hazards. In order to popularise safety among all our employees, aside from mandatory actions, for the past six years we have been regularly organising the “OH&S Week”. During this event, our employees can check their knowledge with regards to OH&S, take part in short workshops and training sessions and gain additional knowledge about pre-medical first aid”.
Izabela Laskowska
Health and Safety at
Work Department Manager
Responsibility in business does not only involve caring about customers, employees or suppliers. It’s also about being aware of our impact on the environment, possibilities concerning the above, but first of all about responsibility – not only responsibility about that is happening “now”, but also how our impact on the environment will change the world in the future. We are paying more and more attention to what we eat, what we wear and what brand of products/cosmetics we use. We are becoming a modern and increasingly aware society. As the leader of the Polish drugstore market, Rossmann sees its role in the matter. We do everything we can to make our shops friendly not only to our customers, but also to our employees and the environment. We make sure that our stores save on electric power and segregate waste in an appropriate manner. We also try to lower our carbon footprint, as well as build and maintain the best possible relations with our neighbours.
For many years we’ve strived to build our image of a company that shares its knowledge, experience and profit. Each month we receive several hundred offers concerning potential cooperation, requests for financial aid or sponsoring. We make every attempt to help various institutions, e.g. by making financial or in-kind donations, providing products that will be used for a specific purpose.
Only in 2013 we made donations totalling 1 814 083 PLN. In 2014 this amount rose to 2 001 158 PLN. Furthermore, we donate several hundred thousand złoty per year to support and sponsor local initiatives, cultural or educational.
Local and national campaigns
Aside from donations, we organise our own numerous local and national campaigns or join campaigns started by others:
Kup Misia (Buy a Teddy bear)
One of the best known and popular among Polish citizens (especially the youngest ones) charity campaigns of TVN’s “You’re Not Alone” Foundation, with whom Rossmann has been cooperating for years. Before Christmas, customers of our stores can buy their loved ones a teddy bear that was specially designed for this occasion by well-known designers and celebrities.
In total, in 2013 and 2014 we sold over 167,000 teddy bears in our stores.
All proceeds from sales are donated to TVN’s “You’re Not Alone” Foundation.
Rossmann’s Gift to Children
The event is a family picnic, for several years now organised in the Łódź Zoo on International Children’s Day. Children can meet their favourite cartoon characters, participate in competitions and quizzes with attractive prizes, watch artistic performances, try their hand at being actors or singers on stage. Each year we issue a special invitation to children from orphanages, who aside from unforgettable experiences receive packages with presents. Admission to the zoo is free.
Rossmann Run
In 2013 Rossmann became the titular sponsor of a well-known sporting event – The Rossmann Run Through Piotrkowska Street. Everyone can participate in the run, regardless of age or gender. All the runners on the start line have one thing in common – they are convinced that running is an excellent form of leisure and an unconventional way of sightseeing in cities. 2 000 competitors participated in the 2013 Rossmann Run. In 2014, this number rose to over 5 000.
Your Hygiene Toolkit
A survey concerning hygiene among Polish citizens was carried out in 2013 by research company MillwardBrown at the commission of Rossmann. According to survey results, at least 92% of respondents come into contact with persons who fail to keep personal hygiene, almost 66% believe that problems with hygiene might constitute an obstacle contacts between various generations, e.g. with grandparents. Taking into hear the proverb saying “what’s bred in the bone…”, we decided to organise a campaign in order to popularise rules of hygiene among children. We prepared 100 000 hygiene toolkits, containing: shampoo, soap, toothpaste and toothbrush, tissues, a lesson plan and a set of hygiene rules. Our employees were appointed as ambassadors of the campaign, while teachers were tasked with holding a lesson where children would be taught about the importance of caring about hygiene and the easiest way of keeping hygiene. To sum up the campaign, children were asked to prepare artistic works under the slogan “Going to school while clean and happy”. In total, over 600 schools across Poland took part in the „Your Hygiene Toolkit” campaign. The campaign was continued in September 2014, when we prepared 30 000 school bags complete with school starter kits and hygiene toolkits. The second edition of the campaign was aimed at parents.
Volunteer work
The latest campaign launched in our company, aimed at employees and intended to improve integrate teams around charitable and pro-community concepts and build a sense of having common goals and the need to cooperate on achieving them, is a project based on the concept of charitable volunteer work of employees. Each employee of the company may propose to launch a pro-community or charitable campaign in his hometown and ask his co-workers for help. Our company offers know-how, organisational and financial support for such activities. First projects that constituted part of this volunteer work were officially launched in 2014. We were able to prepare packages with Christmas presents as part of the Charitable Package campaign, renovate a community hall for autistic children in Łódź and one floor of the Children’s Hospice ran by the Gaius Foundation. Interest in this form of activity is very large and therefore we are aiming to systematically expand and develop this campaign. So far, over 150 persons have participated in all our volunteer work campaigns.
Our business activities attach great importance to environmental care. By opening new stores or building new logistics centers in Poland, we try to apply modern and ecological solutions.
In 2012 we opened the new headquarters of our company in Łódź. The office building was constructed so as to be not only economical, but also ecological. The building is constructed in 100 percent from fully recyclable reinforced concrete. Glass and aluminium was also used in construction.
From the beginning of our company’s operations in Poland we spent over 1 billion PLN in investments. In the reported period alone, we made commercial investments amounting to 150 million PLN.
In 2013 we made almost 85 000 deliveries to stores. A year later we had almost 1 000 stores and our lorries left our depots over 100 000 times. This means that every day we make between 300 and 400 deliveries, and every year we drive several million kilometres. Although our company is expanding into new locations in Poland, we are doing everything we can to minimise CO2 emissions. We’ve began using trailers housing 50 pallets, which ensures a greater efficiency of transport and thus lowers fuel consumption per unit of merchandise. The lorries we are currently using consume around 31-32 litres of petrol per 100 kilometres, while our new vehicles consume ca. 4 litres per 100 kilometres less. Based on this data we can predict that in 2015 our lorries will consume about the same amount of fuel as in 2013.
Consumers can leave their used batteries in designated places in all our shops in Poland; we then hand these batteries over for recycling. In 2013 we handed over 10,167 kg of batteries, a year later this number rose to 11 584 kg.
All waste produced by our company is regularly removed by a specialised waste transport company and taken to a location where they are processed. Depending on the type of waste, they are either disposed of or recycled and then reused, e.g. to produce alternative fuels
Our duties relating to waste recycling and recovery, resulting from environmental protection laws applicable to packaging (e.g. made of paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, steel, aluminium, natural materials and wooden pallets) are carried out by an external company. Using our own means, in our stores and warehouses we recycle paper and plastic foil, which we resell and acquire documents confirming their recovery and recycling.
In 2013 and 2014 we recycled 13,366 tonnes of paper and 886 tonnes of plastics.
Each of our warehouses is equipped with a paper baler, which constitutes the main component in the process of recovering recyclable raw materials from cardboard and plastics packaging.
As we took the decision about constructing a new office block of our company, one of the targets that we set ourselves was that it is not only aesthetic and functional, but first of all economic and ecological. At Rossmann we are aware of the fact how our every day’s activities and taken decisions translate into the appearance of our surroundings in the future. While taking the decision on constructing the most “ecological” office block we thought first of all about the possibilities of reducing the energy demand and thus reducing the CO2 emission and lowering the TEWI value.
Apart from the building of the office block the company owns big warehouse facilities. While we were building them, we were also putting attention to the ecological issues. We tracked intently the modern technological trends striving after the reduction of the energy consumption for the needs of functioning of facilities. It regards in particular the thermal insulation of facilities, air doors installed in all loading docks and automated heating and ventilation systems which adjust the operational parameters in the function of temperatures in the rooms and to the external conditions.
Marcin Faustman
Technology Department
Manager - Head Office
Notable economist Edmund S. Phelps once said:
„Economics is not a science of making money. It’s a science of relations between the economy and social life”.
We see our actions and initiatives in a similar manner – they help us build a friendly and reputable image of our company, while at the same time allow us to make permanent positive changes in our environment. We would like sustainable growth to become our common possession – so that we can all influence what we do, how we do it and where we do it. That’s our goal for the coming months and years’, said Marek Maruszak, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SDP Sp. z o.o.
Simultaneously to publishing this Report we began working on a Strategy of Sustainable Growth. Aside from a typical management approach, we wanted to devise a strategic plan for CSR actions, which will be accepted by all employees of our company and will constitute our common possession and common goal.
