Decoding German Retail

Episode 7: In Germany, the price on the label is not just a number.  It's a message to the entire system: to the buyer, to the category, to the private label range sitting next to you. In this episode, Jan Wapelhorst breaks down how the German price ladder works, why perception beats price every time, how the promotional margin trap catches even experienced brands, and why price increase negotiati...

Episode 6: After 16 years on the buying side, Jan Wapelhorst has seen the same mistakes repeat themselves over and over. In this episode, he walks through the five most common and most damaging errors international brands make when entering Germany, from treating the product as the strategy, to pricing from the factory instead of the shelf, to approaching the wrong retailer first. If you recognise...

Episode 5: Private label in Germany is not a cheap copy. It's a strategic weapon that has fundamentally reshaped the entire market. In this episode, Jan Wapelhorst explains how German retailers built complete brand worlds under their own control — from entry-level to premium — why the anchoring effect is the most powerful psychological tool in their arsenal, and why playing the brand game and the...

Episode 4: You have prepared your product, your pricing, your pitch deck. But have you prepared for the person? In this episode, Jan Wapelhorst reveals what it's actually like to be a buyer in German retail — the cognitive overload of managing 800+ SKUs with 40% understaffing, the five buyer archetypes from Junior to Master that he observed over 16 years, and the three universal forces that drive...

Episode 3: If there's one concept you need to understand before entering German retail, it's Category Management. It's not just a process — it's the operating system of the entire shelf, and it's a power structure that determines everything. In this episode, Jan Wapelhorst goes deep: the gap between the official win-win narrative and the reality of data control, the four category roles that change...

Episode 2: If you think German retailers make money by buying low and selling high, you're missing 80% of the picture. In this episode, Jan Wapelhorst breaks down the three profit levers that actually drive German retail — base margin, trade spend, and rotation — and explains why control matters more than margin, why private label isn't always more profitable than brands, and why your spreadsheet...

Episode 1: Most international brands fail in Germany before they even pitch to retail. Not because the product is bad — but because they misunderstand the system. In this first episode, Jan Wapelhorst breaks down why German retail operates on completely different logic than most global markets. You'll learn why Category Management is the real gatekeeper, what buyers actually think when they see yo...

Most brands fail in German retail before they even enter. Not because the product is bad, but because they misunderstand the system. This podcast explains why, from someone who spent 16 years deciding what goes on the shelf. Hosted by Jan Wapelhorst, former buying director at EDEKA, REWE, and Lidl. New episodes starting April 2026.