Does it fit?
Does this close a gap, replace something weaker, or is it just one more product on a full shelf?
FROM THE BUYING SIDE · GERMAN RETAIL
Getting into German retail: what I wish every brand knew before the first email.
I spent many years on the buying side of the table. Offers came in all the time, often from manufacturers who had clearly put a lot into their product. Most of them never got a second look. Not because the products were bad, but because the offer did not answer the questions a buyer has to answer for their own company.
So this is not a textbook. It is what I would tell you over a coffee if you asked me: how does it look from the other side, and what would make a buyer in Germany actually say yes?
The short version: German buyers do not list brands. They list products that close a gap in their range, leave them a fair margin and come with someone who helps them sell. If your first message shows that you understand this, you are already ahead of most.
CHOOSE THE DOOR FIRST
“German retail” is not one buyer.
Every brand wants the biggest name on its list. I understand that. But the channels here work very differently, and the right first door depends on your product, your price and how much support you can give.
Electronics chains
Enormous reach, but they plan whole categories and expect a lot of support. For a brand nobody in Germany knows yet, this is rarely the right first door, even if it is the one everybody wants.
Online retailers and platforms
Large online shops and marketplaces that also buy as retailers. They can scale a proven product quickly. They are also merciless when price, content or stock are not right.
Buying groups and independents
Many independent electronics shops buy through cooperatives and buying groups. One good listing can reach a lot of stores, but you need a partner who looks after them.
Specialist retail
Shops that live for one world: audio, mobile, photo, gaming, outdoor, design. Smaller volumes, but people who understand your product and customers who pay for quality.
Telecom and carrier channels
Accessories sold next to phones and contracts. Interesting for charging, protection and audio, with their own suppliers and programmes.
B2B and corporate
IT resellers, workplace suppliers, promotional business. Here a company buys, not a consumer, and a good bundle or a logo on the product can matter more than shelf space.
If your brand is new here, a smaller specialist channel is often the smarter start. It gives you sales, reviews and a reference. And that is exactly what the big retailers will ask you for later.
WHAT GOES THROUGH A BUYER’S HEAD
A buyer is not judging your company. They are managing a risk.
A buyer is responsible for a category, a margin and stock that has to sell. A new supplier means extra work and extra risk for them. When your offer arrives, roughly four questions run through their head:
Do the numbers work?
Margin after promotions, payment terms, marketing support, and what happens if it does not sell.
Who makes it sell?
Once it is listed, who brings the customers? Content, reviews, marketing, training, promotions?
Can I rely on them?
Delivery, stock in Europe, paperwork, service and returns. One problem here and the listing is gone.
Make these four answers easy, and you make the decision easy.
BEFORE YOU WRITE
What I would want to see before saying yes.
- One sentence on why. Why this product, for this retailer’s customers? Not “high quality, good price”. Everybody writes that. What gap does it close, or what does it do better than what is already there?
- A small, clear range. Three to five products that belong together. Not the whole catalogue. A buyer lists products that will sell, not a brand that exists.
- Numbers that work in Germany. Retail price including VAT, dealer price, and what is left for the retailer after promotions. If it only works without promotions, it does not work.
- Some proof. Real sell-through, ratings and reviews, ideally from markets a German buyer takes seriously. Being number one at home helps less than most brands think.
- A plan for the first months. Samples, content, marketing, training, promotions. Who brings customers to the product once it is on the shelf? That question decides more listings than the product itself.
- Clean product data. EAN codes, German texts, good images, complete specs. Things a retailer can load without three rounds of emails.
- Clean paperwork and clear service. If a German partner imports your goods, they usually carry the registrations. What they need from you is a clean CE Declaration of Conformity, test reports that match the product, stock in Europe or a reliable delivery time, and a clear answer on returns and warranty.
THE FIRST MESSAGE
Write about their shelf, not about your factory.
Here is the difference I mean. Both messages are made up, but you will recognise the first one.
What buyers get every day
“We are a leading manufacturer with 15 years of experience and 200 SKUs. Please find our company profile and catalogue attached. We are looking for distribution partners in Germany.”
What gets a reply
“Your range has no USB-C power bank under 150 g with a built-in cable. Ours sells at €39.90 with room for your promotions. Three models, stock in Europe, all registrations done. Can I send you two samples?”
The second one is short, it is about the retailer, and it asks for something small. That is all it takes to get a first answer.
WHERE GOOD PRODUCTS LOSE THEIR CHANCE
It is rarely the product.
Sending everything
Two hundred products tell the buyer that nobody has decided what Germany actually needs. Start with the few that fit.
A price without air
A retail price that looks great but leaves nothing once the retailer runs a promotion will not survive the first review.
Cheaper online than in the shop
Buyers look you up before they answer. If your own online price is below what they would need on the shelf, the conversation ends there.
No answer on service
Who handles returns and defects in Germany? “Send it back to the factory” is not an answer a retailer can give its customers.
A PERSONAL NOTE
If you are reading this and thinking “that is us”.
Then you are in a better place than you think. You have a product, and you are asking the right questions before burning your best contacts. That is exactly the moment where I like to help: choosing the right first door, building an offer a German buyer can say yes to, and then going there with you. I will not promise you listings. Nobody honest can. But I can make sure your first conversation is worth having.
Marco PenningFounder, LUMVEO · Hamburg
Take the 2-minute check ↓GERMANY MARKET ENTRY CHECK
Where do you stand? Eight questions, two minutes.
Tell me where you are today and what is in the way. I read every check myself and reply personally with a first honest view.
QUESTIONS I HEAR OFTEN
Short answers.
Do German retailers buy directly from Asian manufacturers?
Some large retailers import directly, mostly for their own brands or very large volumes. For a new brand, most retailers prefer a supplier in Europe who takes care of stock, delivery, compliance and returns. That can be your own EU company, an importer or a distributor.
How long does it take to get listed?
Usually months, not weeks. Retailers review their ranges in cycles and are careful with new suppliers. Often it starts with a small listing or a test. Plan the first year as building proof, not as full distribution.
Should I start with the biggest retailer?
Not necessarily. A smaller specialist channel is often the better first step. It gives you sales data, reviews and a reference, which makes the conversation with the big ones much easier later.
Is German-language content required?
Safety-relevant information and instructions for consumer products have to be available in German. Beyond that, German product texts make it much easier for a retailer to say yes.
This is my experience and view, not a rulebook. Every retailer and every category works a little differently.