Pharmacy chains "inevitable" in Germany, says Celesio chief

Fritz Oesterle, head of the south German drug wholesale group Celesio, has said that, despite the latest ruling of the European Court of  Justice (Marketletters passim) the establishment of pharmacy chains in  Germany in the medium to longer term is inevitable and unavoidable.

These chains, operated and managed as capital enterprises, would only  be the continuation of a trend that started in the 1980s when  pharmacists started to compete with each other using promotions. This  fashion has now reached its logical next-phase with more and more  flexible competition, he stated.

Earlier, the European Court ruled that the current German legal  position on pharmacy ownership restrictions was in line with European  law with an independent pharmacist only allowed to own and run a  pharmacy. Private capital companies are excluded. The judgement came as  a reverse for Celesio and for pharmacists who want to establish chains  across the country.