DM Drogerie Markt in Vienna is one of my favorite shops
Anyone that knows me and knows anything about my life in Vienna, Austria knows my favorite places to shop are the supermarkets Hofer and Penny Markt, the bookstore Thalia and the drugstore DM Drogerie Markt.
Known simply as DM (pronounced Day-Em) in Vienna, DM Drogerie Markt is the place to shop if you want high-quality but extremely affordable cosmetics, vitamins, health foods and drinks, baby products, household products and more.
In fact, in my 30-plus years living around the world and traveling the globe, I have yet to find a drugstore that is better.
Here then is why I always recommend a trip to DM in Vienna to anyone that comes to visit.
And why I always wax poetic about DM to anyone who will listen because, as drugstores go, it would be almost impossible to find one that is superior.
What is Vienna’s DM Drogerie Markt and what do they sell?
Technically, the drugstore chain is not ‘Vienna’s DM Drogerie Markt’ as it is a German chain with many branches in Vienna and elsewhere in Austria.
DM also operates in 11 other European countries, although DM stores have been in Austria for almost as long as they have been in Germany as the country was the first one the German company expanded into way back in the 1970s.
Since then, DM has expanded all over Austria, with now 389 stores.
As far as what DM sells, think about a typical American drugstore or a British pharmacy chain like Boots.
The things they sell are primarily what you will find on offer at any branch of DM in Vienna
For a closer look at some of those products, the video below shows you a typical DM store in Vienna and some of the things they sell.
A partial list of things you can buy at DM in Vienna looks something like this — vitamins, food supplements, health foods, organic packaged foods and drinks, vegetable milks (rice, oat, soy etc), specialty teas, specialty chocolate and snacks, baby products like diapers and shampoo, cleaning products, shampoos and conditioners, hair color, cosmetics and beauty products, contact lens solution, band-aids and bandages, and gift items.
Each branch usually has a hair salon as well, although I cannot comment on the service as I have never used it.
The prices at DM in Vienna
While I love that there are DM stores all over Vienna, and that every store is clean and well taken care of and sells pretty much everything I need, I also love the prices at DM.
Prices that, if I compared them to the price of similar products at a drugstore in the United States, would be 50% cheaper for many things or even lower.
Take the DM brand shampoo and conditioner I buy (see above).
It is called Balea and is 75 cents a bottle, yep, 75 cents, or the equivalent of about 85 cents in the U.S., and the quality of both shampoo and conditioner is exceptional.
The same goes for all the Balea products at DM — and there are hundreds — high-quality and crazy cheap.
DM, of course, sells other brands but I will usually grab the Balea brand first as the prices are great and I have never been disappointed with anything I have bought.
Many of the Balea cosmetic and beauty products are also vegan. Yep, vegan. For that crazy cheap price.
On top of that, DM has a great selection of affordable packaged organic foods from plant milks to sauces, grains and soy products. I have bought many of them, and I have thoroughly enjoyed all of them.
DM and its staff
I have a problem spending my money at companies I know do not treat their staff well, which is why I love shopping at DM.
According to everything I have heard, and to what German businessman Götz Werner the founder of DM has said about the company’s employees himself, he believes treating them well is even more important than profits.
A pity more companies don’t think that way, eh?
And a philosophy that has worked incredibly well for Werner, who is currently one of Germany’s richest men.
DM in Austria and profits
Even with their cheap prices and the responsible way their staff is treated, DM still makes amazing sales and profits.
According to a report from their last fiscal year, which ended in September, 2021, DM sold more than 1 billion euros worth of product in Austria.
Even with Austria’s never-ending lockdowns.
For me, it is easy to see why.
DM in Vienna, and elsewhere, is a company that takes care of its employees, while providing its customers with high-quality products at a very affordable price.
You don’t get a much better business philosophy or customer experience than that.