New markdown limit in drugstores to come from May 19 – thousands of products could be affected

In response to a question from RTL, the minister said that the measure affects more than a thousand products and may cover about 35 thousand different goods. The aim of the regulation is to curb inflation, as the government believes that “unreasonably high margins” have developed in this market segment.

The new margin freeze will be in effect from May 19 to August 31, 2025.

The regulation operates in a similar way to the previously introduced food mark-up freeze, but this time it covers hygiene and household products – such as shower gels, detergents, toothpastes, diapers and cleaning products – and is primarily aimed at the supply of drugstore chains (DM, Rossmann, Müller). It does not directly apply to general retail chains, but they may also follow the price reduction due to competition.

The detailed rules and the exact product ranges are expected in the coming days.