apo.com Group

apo.com Group
TypeGmbH
IndustryE-Commerce
Founded2004
FounderKirsten Fritsch Edit this on Wikidata
Headquarters
Markkleeberg
,
Germany
Key people
Dr. Oliver Scheel (CEO); Daniel Mühl (COO)
Revenue375 million Euro (2025)
Number of employees
450 (2025) Edit this on Wikidata
Parentapo.com Group Holding GmbH Edit this on Wikidata
Websitegroup-apo.com

The apo.com Group GmbH (formerly Apologistics GmbH) is a Europe-wide operating health company with its headquarters in Markkleeberg near Leipzig, Germany.[1] Further locations are Duiven (Netherlands) and Wrocław (Poland).[2] The apo.com Group operates several domains for the shipping of pharmacy-appropriate products as well as over-the-counter and prescription medications. The best-known sites are the online pharmacy apodiscounter.de and the health platform apo.com. With its two highly automated logistics centres in Duiven and Markkleeberg, up to 54,000 parcels a day can be shipped.[3] Thus the apo.com Group runs the third largest pharmaceutical mail order business on the German market.[4]

History

In the early 1990s pharmacist Kirsten Fritsch founded a pharmacy in the Paunsdorf Center in Leipzig. This was opened in 1995 as a pharmacy in Kaufland and belonged to one of the first Kaufland pharmacies, an initiative by the Schwarz-Group in the pharmacy market.[5]

In 2004 the Fritsch family registered the online pharmacy Apo-Discounter.de. Shipping was done from the back-office of the pharmacy in the Paunsdorf Center. In 2005 industrial engineer Dirk Wappler came on board as co-founder. With 1,000 packages a day the capacity limit was reached and Apo-Discounter.de moved to Markkleeberg near Leipzig.[6]

In 2007 pharmacist Michael Fritsch and Dirk Wappler founded Apologistics GmbH. In the same year GE Capital via its leasing division invested 6 million Euro, enabling the realisation of a new 2,800 m2 logistics centre in Markkleeberg.[7] Following this, cooperations with Amazon, eBay and later also an official Lidl partnership followed.[8] In 2010 the online pharmacy group reached over 1 million customers for the first time.

In 2013 banker and major shareholder Gerhard Köhler invested 2 million Euro in Apologistics. In 2018 the Hagenmeyer family, formerly owners of the gearbox manufacturer Getrag, invested via the holding company THI Investments 60 million Euro.[9] This made possible the construction of a new logistics facility in Duiven, Netherlands. THI Investments later increased its participation and now holds the majority share.[10] The new logistics centre in Duiven was opened in 2020 and covers about 20,000 m2.[11] It is characterised by even stronger automation with a robot-controlled picking system.[12] The pharmacy mail order business was transferred to the affiliated pharmacy Apo Pharmacy B.V., which operates the online pharmacies to this day.

These include the subsidiaries Deutsche Internet Apotheke, Juvalis and Apolux.[13]

In 2021, the company name changed from Apologistics to apo.com Group, and Dr. Oliver Scheel became CEO.[14][15] This is associated with reorientation to a health-tech company with focus on innovative digital services. These include, among others, AI-supported advisory tools, cooperation with telemedicine platforms and expansion in the field of pharmaceutical services.[16] Such cooperation models reflect a broader trend in European digital healthcare, where online consultations, electronic prescribing and pharmacy fulfilment are increasingly integrated.[17][18] Examples of telemedicine providers operating in this area include ZAVA and DoktorABC. These services typically connect patients with licensed physicians and partner pharmacies through digital platforms.[19][20] Domains in Poland and Austria provide the apo.com Group a presence on the European market.[21] Since 2024 there is also a cooperation with Fressnapf for prescription-only veterinary medicines.[22] With 1.5 million customers at apodiscounter.de, a revenue of over 375 million Euro in the year 2025[23] and a market share of over 10 % the apo.com Group takes the third place among the online pharmacies in the German market.[24]

Since March 2024 the apo.com Group has been a member of the European Association of E-Pharmacies (EAEP).[25] Before that the apo.com Group was also a member of the Federal Association of German Mail-Order Pharmacies (BVDVA).[26]

References

  1. ↑ "Apo.com wirbt mit TV-Spots" (in German). 4 November 2024.
  2. ↑ "Apo.com Group sieht sich bei Wachstum an der Spitze - Deutsche Apotheker Zeitung". www.deutsche-apotheker-zeitung.de (in German). Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  3. ↑ "Strategy". apo.com Group. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  4. ↑ Abendblatt, Hamburger (15 October 2024). "Oliver Scheel: "Die Zeit der Online-Apotheken beginnt"". www.abendblatt.de (in German). Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  5. ↑ ADHOC, APOTHEKE. "Die Kaufland-Connection". APOTHEKE ADHOC (in German). Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  6. ↑ apodiscounter, Online-Apotheke. "Zeitstrahl". www.apodiscounter.de (in German). Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  7. ↑ ADHOC, APOTHEKE. "Neuer Chef für Apo-Discounter". APOTHEKE ADHOC (in German). Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  8. ↑ "Handelsblatt". www.handelsblatt.com. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  9. ↑ ADHOC, APOTHEKE. "Neues Konstrukt für Apo-Discounter". APOTHEKE ADHOC (in German). Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  10. ↑ ADHOC, APOTHEKE. "Apo-Discounter: Investor übernimmt Mehrheit". APOTHEKE ADHOC (in German). Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  11. ↑ ADHOC, APOTHEKE. "Apo-Discounter: Dreiviertelmehrheit für Investor". APOTHEKE ADHOC (in German). Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  12. ↑ Young, Liz (17 February 2023). "Companies Are Slow to Adopt Robot-Operated 'Dark' Warehouses". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 9 December 2025.
  13. ↑ "Apologistics". THI Investments. Retrieved 9 December 2025.
  14. ↑ ADHOC, APOTHEKE. "E-Rezept: Versender will Umsatz verdreifachen". APOTHEKE ADHOC (in German). Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  15. ↑ "Executive Forecast - Conversation: Dr. Oliver Scheel - Chief Executive Officer, apo.com Group, Germany". www.executiveforecast.com. April 2023. Retrieved 9 December 2025.
  16. ↑ "apo.com Group startet: Online-Apothekengruppe Apologistics macht sich mit neuem Markennamen und neuer Strategie bereit für das E-Rezept". FinanzNachrichten.de (in German). Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  17. ↑ Buchanan, James; Roope, Laurence S. J.; Morrell, Liz; Pouwels, Koen B.; Robotham, Julie V.; Abel, Lucy; Crook, Derrick W.; Peto, Tim; Butler, Christopher C.; Walker, A. Sarah; Wordsworth, Sarah (2021). "Preferences for Medical Consultations from Online Providers: Evidence from a Discrete Choice Experiment in the United Kingdom". Applied Health Economics and Health Policy. 19 (4): 521–535. doi:10.1007/s40258-021-00642-8. ISSN 1179-1896. PMC 7937442. PMID 33682065.
  18. ↑ "Telemedicine in Europe" (PDF). osborneclarke. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  19. ↑ "Zava (Health Bridge Ltd) - Care Quality Commission". www.cqc.org.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  20. ↑ "DoktorABC (Skymarketing Ltd) - Care Quality Commission". www.cqc.org.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  21. ↑ apotheke .at, Online Shop. "Versandapotheke | Online Apotheke". www.apotheke.at (in German). Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  22. ↑ ADHOC, APOTHEKE. "Apodiscounter kooperiert mit Fressnapf". APOTHEKE ADHOC (in German). Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  23. ↑ GmbH, Avoxa-Mediengruppe Deutscher Apotheker. "Geschäftsergebnisse 2025: Apo.com auf Platz drei der EU-Versandapotheken". Pharmazeutische Zeitung online (in German). Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  24. ↑ ""apo-discounter": Geschäft bei Leipziger Online-Apotheke boomt". bild.de (in German). 27 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  25. ↑ "EAEP WELCOMES APO.COM GROUP'S LEADING ONLINE PHARMACIES AS NEWEST MEMBERS". www.eaep.com. EAEP – European Association of E-Pharmacies. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2025.
  26. ↑ Versandpotheken, BVDVA Bundesverband Deutscher. "apo.com Group wird Mitglied im BVDVA". www.openpr.de (in German). Retrieved 8 December 2025.
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