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Pharmacy on Brückenberg: Closure after 56 years - causes revealed!
The pharmacy on Brückenberg in Rosenheim will close at the end of June 2025 after 56 years, for economic reasons and a decline in the number of customers.
Pharmacy on Brückenberg: Closure after 56 years - causes revealed!
Another chapter in local health history is closing in Rosenheim: The pharmacy on Brückenberg, which has been run by the Pauler-Nwajiaku family since 1969, will close its doors at the end of June 2025. The store, which has established itself over more than half a century not only as a point of contact for medication but also as an important social meeting point, will permanently close on June 27, 2025. The current director, Alice Pauler-Nwajiaku, took over the responsibility ten years ago and looks back on the development with regret.
A decline in customer frequency since 2019, especially after the departure of the local family doctor, has had a severe impact on the pharmacy. Added to this is the introduction of e-prescriptions and the constantly increasing operating costs. While the rent has remained stable, the higher electricity prices and wages are noticeable, while the fee structure has remained unchanged since 2014. This unfortunate situation ultimately led to the decision to close the business, as Merkur reports.
Economic challenges
Concerns about the economic situation of many pharmacies are not new. Florian Nagele, spokesman for the Bavarian Pharmacy Association, expresses concern about the closure and the resulting longer journeys for patients. “Supply in Rosenheim is currently still secure, but we have to act to stop the trend of pharmacies gradually disappearing,” Nagele continued. The decline in pharmacies in Bavaria is alarming: from 3,266 in 2014 to just 2,697 at the end of 2024 - a decline of almost 20%.
The search for successors is becoming increasingly difficult. This is how Annegret Köhler from Thuringia, a pharmacist who ran a pharmacy for 39 years, describes how she was unable to find a suitable successor despite a good business situation. “The high requirements and the administrative effort deter potential buyers,” she reports. The bureaucracy, emergency services and working in irregular shifts make many young people skeptical, as can be read in the Apotheken Umschau. A harsh wind is also blowing in Bavaria: in 2019, a third of pharmacy managers were over 55 years old, which indicates that there will soon be a retirement backlog.
The future of pharmacy
Alice Pauler-Nwajiaku already has plans for the time after the closure: She would like to continue working as an employee in another pharmacy. Your three employees have already found new positions. “I'm sorry we couldn't provide the continuity we needed, but sometimes life is just unpredictable,” she emphasizes.
Where is this development leading? In fact, the number of pharmacies in Germany could soon fall below 18,000, a worrying trend. At the same time, there is an increasing demand for pharmacy study places, as can be seen from the reports from Spiegel. There are currently two applicants for a place at university, which shows that there is interest in the industry, but the subsequent career prospects probably put many people off.
It remains to be hoped that those responsible will take the necessary steps to sustainably increase the attractiveness of the pharmacy profession. There is a clear need for well-trained specialists, and pharmacies are indispensable for local medical care.