PRESS RELEASES

Dusseldorf, 16 March 2023 – The country organization Germany, Austria, Switzerland ("DACH") of DOUGLAS will have a new Chief Executive Officer: From 1 April 2023, Veit Weiland will take over the CEO role from Nicole Nitschke, who is leaving DOUGLAS by mutual agreement to pursue her career path outside the company. Weiland has over 30 years of retail experience and most recently held the position of Managing Director at Deichmann.

"We would like to thank Nicole Nitschke for her extremely valuable contribution to the positive development of DOUGLAS DACH and wish her all the very best in the future," said Sander van der Laan, CEO DOUGLAS Group. "Nicole Nitschke has safely guided the DACH region through the difficult Covid period, playing a key role in both the necessary transformation of the business and the successful comeback after Covid lockdowns. At the same time, we are delighted to have Veit Weiland on board as an exceptionally experienced and accomplished retail manager. We are convinced that Veit Weiland will continue to build on the successful course set by DOUGLAS in our largest market."

"For me, DOUGLAS stands in particular for the tireless commitment of thousands of beauty experts at the headquarters and, above all, in the stores. With all their enthusiasm, they make our customers' life a little more beautiful every day," said Nicole Nitschke. "I would like to express my sincere thanks to my entire team for their trusting cooperation and I wish everyone continued success and all the best."

During his career as a retail manager, incoming CEO Veit Weiland held various national and international positions at CEO and board level in the shoe fashion, optical and eyewear fashion and food retail segment. Prior to his role as International Managing Director of Deichmann SE with country responsibilities for Northeastern, Central and Southeastern Europe, Weiland served as Managing Director at Apollo Optik Holding for Germany and Austria as well as Chief Sales Officer International at Lidl Stiftung.

"Veit Weiland brings profound knowledge and extensive expertise in areas including sales, expansion and logistics, as well as many years of leadership experience," said van der Laan. "We are convinced that he and the DACH team will lead DOUGLAS into the next phase of growth. In particular, this will involve expanding our successful omnichannel strategy and continuing to develop both the store business and online retail in the interests of our customers."

"I am grateful for the trust placed in me," said Weiland. "At the same time, I am very much looking forward to the challenge of leading a successful team on the further expansion of the DOUGLAS brand in the DACH region and continuing this success story. Our customers are at the center of everything we do as a team, both in the stores and in E-commerce. This makes DOUGLAS the first choice for beauty in Germany and the entire region."

Nicole Nitschke had taken on the role of DOUGLAS CEO in Germany and Switzerland in 2019 and, after the successful turnaround in 2021, integrated the Swiss and Austrian entities into the current DACH organization. Prior to that, she held various senior international roles at Shiseido, Coty and Henkel, where she also led major transformation processes.

About the DOUGLAS Group

DOUGLAS is the leading premium beauty retailer in Europe. DOUGLAS inspires customers to live their own kind of beauty by offering an unparalleled assortment in online stores, the partner program and around 1,800 stores. The further development of our successful omnichannel positioning is at the heart of our strategy, under which we are consistently expanding both our Store experience and strong E-Commerce. In fiscal year 2021/22, DOUGLAS generated sales of 3.65 billion euros in the areas of perfumery, decorative cosmetics, skin and hair care as well as nutritional supplements, health and accessories.

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