Since its foundation on February 14, 1980, our drugstore retailer has developed into an innovative company that is expanding beyond Austria’s borders with its modern stores.
It was Vienna’s Goldschmiedgasse in the 1st district where the first BIPA store opened on February 14, 1980. The “cheap perfumery”, BIPA for short, quickly established itself as a popular place to buy inexpensive cosmetic products and perfume novelties. Part of our Group since 1996, BIPA is now one of Austria’s leading drugstore chains with around 570 stores, over 4,000 employees and 3.3 million regular customers, and has also been active in Croatia since 2007.
From Austrian drugstore pioneer to international retail brand
BIPA can look back on an impressive history of growth since welcoming its first customers 45 years ago. It all started with perfumes and decorative cosmetics at affordable prices – two areas that still play a major role in today’s BIPA range,
explains BIPA Managing Director Markus Geyer. In 45 years of company history, the product range has grown enormously, but one principle has remained unchanged: Today, the BIPA range comprises more than 15,000 articles – including not only international branded articles, but now also 1,500 articles from our BIPA brands. With them, we ensure that drugstore shopping remains good value for money,
says Markus Geyer.
About:
Mark Geyer
BIPA managing director
Digital presence
From detergents, cleaning products, skin care and cosmetics to dental care, pet food and baby products, our Austrian drugstore specialist covers all areas of daily life. bIPA started in 1988 with the first photo stores in stores, thus also establishing a range of services. The branch network grew successively – even beyond Austria’s borders: in 2007, BIPA expanded to Croatia, where it now operates almost 140 branches. Since 2011, all items have also been available in the online store. In addition, the Click & Collect service, where products can be ordered in the online store and picked up in the store, was rolled out from 2015 and is now available throughout Austria.
Even after 45 years, innovation is a top priority at BIPA. One important area is the modernization of our stores with an inspiring and experience-oriented store layout. We are also continuing to develop our digital channels and, in addition to the constantly growing online store offerings on bipa.at, we are also offering delivery from the stores via foodora in more and more cities – in under 30 minutes on average,
says BIPA Managing Director Andreas Persigehl.
About:
Andreas Persigehl
BIPA managing director
New stores are designed to be energy-efficient with energy-saving lighting and climate-friendly heating and cooling technology as well as 100% green electricity. Some of the stores are equipped with photovoltaic systems.
BIPA turns 45
What do store employees love about BIPA? In the video, Ingrid, who has been working for our company for almost 25 years, explains what fascinates her about the development of our own brands. And Jaqueline, who is also celebrating her 45th birthday this year, tells us why she was already fascinated by the brand world as a child.
Second place among the most popular cosmetics brands
10 years after opening its first store, BIPA began developing its own brands in the 1990s. LOOK BY BIPA has been the first own brand on the shelves since 1997 and today competes with top international brands. According to a survey in 2024, LOOK BY BIPA was the second most popular cosmetics brand in Austria between L’Oreal and Maybelline. In 2014, the range was expanded to include the sustainable brand bi good, as well as many other BIPA brands – including BI CARE, BI COMFORT, BI HOME, BABYWELL and BI LIFE. Sustainability is a top priority at bi good, with 80 percent of all bi good products being developed and manufactured in Austria. In addition, special attention is paid to sustainable packaging. BIPA Managing Director Markus Geyer sees the brand as an essential pillar of the sustainability strategy: With bi good, we offer our customers a wide range of products that clearly focus on environmental protection and high quality, but are still reasonably priced. In this way, we are expanding the range of green products in our stores and making them affordable for everyone.
All green products at BIPA – i.e. products whose environmental benefits, such as quality labels, have been confirmed by Greenpeace – are labeled with a green price tag. This makes it even easier for BIPA customers to shop in an environmentally friendly way.
Important concerns: climate protection and social responsibility
Our Austrian drugstore retailer takes its responsibility for sustainability seriously, and not just when it comes to its product range: environmental and climate protection are a major concern, as is social responsibility towards employees and society. BIPA has been supporting the Austrian Nature Parks Association since 2023, promoting awareness among children for the important resource of water, among other things.
As an Austrian company, it is a matter of course for us to contribute to a good climate on our planet and in our society,
explains BIPA Managing Director Andreas Persigehl. We have long-standing partnerships that are very close to our hearts. At the same time, we are also launching new initiatives to respond to current challenges, such as saving food or combating period poverty.
The “Round up, please.” campaign, which has been running since 2013, supports Caritas, for example. A more recent initiative is the “Red Box”, which, together with the City of Vienna, distributes free period products to people who cannot afford them or can only afford them with difficulty. Since April 2025, vouchers for period products have also been distributed free of charge to employees to support them financially and encourage discussion on the topic of menstruation and other women-specific issues. The company attaches great importance to a working environment in which employees feel comfortable. The proportion of women in the workforce is 98 percent.
Anniversary editions for own brands
It is often many small moments that make life beautiful – this is the motto of the advertising campaign for the anniversary year. And BIPA will continue to make the lives of its customers more beautiful, not only in the anniversary year but also in the future.
Live shopping sets new trends in e-commerce
BIPA is setting new trends in e-commerce with the first live shopping event in Austria. While the concept is already a popular shopping trend internationally, the Austrian drugstore retailer introduced this innovative form of shopping to the Austrian market for the first time. In an increasingly digitalized world, our goal is to always be one step ahead. With the first live shopping event in Austria, we are setting an example of how new technologies and sophisticated delivery enable a new way of shopping – direct, personal and innovative,
explains Andreas Persigehl, Managing Director of BIPA. The first “Live Live Shopping” event took place on March 20, 2025. In an exclusive show on BIPA’s Instagram and Facebook channels, influencers Christl Clear and Magdalena Stefancic presented the new Minecraft special edition from NYX Cosmetics. The special feature: Viewers in Vienna were able to order the products via the Foodora app during the livestream and have them delivered to their homes immediately – within around 30 minutes.
