Procurement and supply chain brought together under the new Chief Operations Officer

Zur Rose Group AG / Key word(s): Personnel

01-Nov-2022 / 07:00 CET/CEST
Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Procurement and supply chain brought together under the new Chief Operations Officer 

• Successful integration of medpex Operations in the new logistics centre in Heerlen
• Kaspar Niklaus appointed new COO – with increased focus on procurement

The Zur Rose Group completed the operational integration of the medpex brand at the Heerlen facility at the end of October 2022 as planned. This is a significant milestone, allowing the Group to generate efficiency gains and savings totalling EUR 8 million per year as part of the EBITDA break-even programme. In addition to logistics and distribution, the operational focus will increasingly turn to procurement in future, resulting in a major contribution to improving the gross margin. With effect from 1 November 2022 these responsibilities will be taken on by Kaspar Niklaus, the new Chief Operations Officer and Member of the Executive Board. He succeeds Bernd Gschaider, who has decided to leave the Zur Rose Group to seek new professional challenges. CEO Walter Hess said “Bernd Gschaider managed and organised logistics processes across the Group with great technical skill for two and a half years. Under his leadership the new logistics centre in Heerlen was built and came into operation in summer 2022. The successful completion of this major project laid the foundations for the integration of the medpex brand.” The Board of Directors and the Executive Board would like to thank Bernd Gschaider for his valuable contribution and wish him all the best for the future.

His successor is Kaspar Niklaus, who joined the Zur Rose Group in April 2022 as Chief Transformation Officer and in that role managed the medpex integration project. A Swiss citizen, he is 54 years old and has extensive experience in wholesaling and retailing. In his previous position he spent seven years as Managing Director of the pharmaceutical company Phoenix Switzerland; before that he held senior positions at de Sede, Valora and Coop. He holds a degree in agronomy from ETH Zurich and a Master of Business Administration and Informatics from Rotterdam School of Management. Walter Hess commented: “We are delighted to have gained a proven manager in the shape of Kaspar Niklaus as Chief Operations Officer. His impressive track record and sector expertise will help us combat the trend in our markets by driving ahead and capturing the scope for optimisation in procurement and the supply chain in an even more targeted manner.”

Investors and analyst contact
Dr. Daniel Grigat, Head of Investor Relations
Email: ir@zurrose.com, phone: +41 58 810 11 49

Media contact
Lisa Lüthi, Group Director Communications
Email: media@zurrose.com, phone: +41 52 724 08 14

Agenda
19 January 2023 Sales 2022
23 March 2023 2022 Full-Year Results and Outlook 2023
20 April 2023 Q1/2023 Trading Update
4 May 2023 Annual General Meeting
17 August 2023 2023 Half-Year Results
19 October 2023 Q3/2023 Trading Update

Zur Rose Group
The Swiss Zur Rose Group is Europe’s largest online pharmacy and one of the leading wholesale suppliers to medical doctors in Switzerland. It also operates the leading marketplace for health and personal care products in southern Europe. The company is internationally present with strong brands – including DocMorris, Germany's best-known health platform. With its business model, the Zur Rose Group offers patients, customers and partners a broad range of products and services in the fields of e-commerce pharmacy, marketplace and professional health. In doing so, Zur Rose is pursuing its vision of creating a world for everyone to manage their health in one click. In 2021, about 2,400 employees in Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and France generated an external revenue of CHF 2,034 million serving more than 11 million active customers. The shares of Zur Rose Group AG are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (securities number 4261528, ISIN CH0042615283, ticker ROSE). For further information, please visit zurrosegroup.com.