dm-drogerie markt and PAYBACK agree long-term partnership

Cards prove popular with dm customers dm-drogerie markt has agreed an unlimited extension to its partnership with the market-leading PAYBACK loyalty programme until at least 2011. The Karlsruhe-based company has been a partner in the PAYBACK network since October 2000 and is now one of the largest partners in the programme. “Millions of our customers use their PAYBACK card for shopping,” says dm managing director Gerlinde Sulzmaier, adding that “our expectations for this core element of our dialogue programme have been completely fulfilled. Our decision in favour of card-based dialogue marketing and against classical advertising campaigns has proven to be the correct one, and one that is capable of meeting our future needs.” According to Sulzmaier, customers appreciate the advantages of using cards and value the tangible extra benefits, shopping more often and in larger quantities than other customers. “According to a recent GfK study, a PAYBACK customer’s average till receipt after using the card for three years is 25 percent greater than for non-PAYBACK customers,” says Sulzmaier, who is the managing director responsible for marketing and procurement. “Our internal analyses confirm the figures of the Nurnburg-based researchers.” dm is looking to systematically step up its collaboration with the PAYBACK operating company Loyalty Partner based on the positive results and experience of the seven-year partnership. “PAYBACK is the ideal enhancement for us and has the right mix of partners to offer our customers the best possible benefits,” says Sulzmaier. Bernhard Brugger, Member of the Board of Management and Head of the PAYBACK Partner Management, also sees new opportunities for joint activities on the basis of dm’s long-term commitment. “We are delighted with the excellent collaboration with dm. dm’s decision to indefinitely extend the agreement attests to its confidence in our programme’s performance and the expectation of even greater added value for customers and dm itself in the future. We consider dm to be very open-minded and keen to try out new approaches. The company has a culture that is extremely focused on innovation and that suits us perfectly”, says Brugger.