Dear Reader,

This website's aim is to provide you with highly relevant information on the consumer products and retail market in Germany. As you will see, the German market is one of the most sophisticated in the world - with many interesting trends and challenges that most people would hardly expect.

While Germany can be considered a saturated market on the one hand, it is always welcoming new products and innovations on the other hand. And as Germany is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, the question is usually not how to sell more, but how to sell better!

Updated: Sales leads and buyer contacts for the German FMCG retail sector available now! Click here.

Our company focuses on small and medium-sized foreign enterprises who are thinking about selling their products in Germany. We offer comprehensive solutions to all of your question that might arise in this process. Below we have summarised the main issues that might be of particular interest to you.

1. What does the consumer products market in Germany look like?

If you are a foreign consumer products manufacturer, you might ask yourself: what can I expect from the German market? What do the relevant market segments look like, be it food, clothing / apparel, (consumer) electronics or DIY / home improvement? What are recent trends and potential future developments? Should I sell my products in Germany? What are the chances, what are the risks? This website will provide you with some first answers.

A lot of things have changed in the German market over the last few years. Let me very briefly give you some ideas:

• an incredible rise in discount formats, with varying quality (Aldi vs. bargain shops)
• an immense consolidation process both on the supplier and retail side (especially in the food segment)
• a higher involvement of consumer goods suppliers on the sales-side (direct customer contact, especially in the clothing segment)
• a steady and strong growth in e-commerce sales
• a re-invention of segments and categories, e.g. in consumer electronics, sports equipment, and pet supply
• an increase in look-alike shopping centres and urban retail locations
• a lively discussion whether the German consumer is more price- or quality-oriented

Just take the example of discounters in food retail - over the last few years, we have seen major players such as Aldi, Lidl, Norma, Plus, and Netto taking big shares of the market, while at the same time consumers have become more quality-oriented. And as surprising as it may sound, these two worlds are not contradictory, since nowadays you can get high quality at low prices. Even convenience and organic food products are available at many discounters, as well as mobile phone credits, holidays and fair trade items. By quickly adopting essential innovations, food discounters have given supermarkets such as Rewe, Edeka and Kaiser's Tengelmann a run for their money. But it has also become evident that the latter's strength remains in offering a broader choice and especially niche products.

Suppliers becoming more involved in the sales-side can be best observed in the German clothing segment. Here we have witnessed a surge in vertical structures. Think of companies and brands like S.Oliver, Esprit, H&M or Zara which can be found in every city throughout Germany. At the same time, traditional clothing retailers co-operate intensively with brand suppliers (e.g. Hugo Boss, Levi's, Mexx) to come up with new ideas at the point of sale. In some cases, retailers in Germany just provide sales space which is then solely managed by the supplier - a situation that nobody would have thought of several years ago.

Other major segments such as consumer electronics or DIY / home improvement retail have also found themselves undergoing big changes - MediaMarkt / Saturn have re-invented the electronics segment in Germany and now have a very strong market position. Meanwhile, large DIY retailers such as Obi, Praktiker, Hornbach or Bauhaus are still searching for the best strategies to differentiate themselves from each other. There is a lot going on and these changes most definitely affect suppliers and producers as well.

We assist you by conducting an initial market evaluation designed around your products and objectives, to establish your products' potential in the market. We visit retailers and other distribution channels, discuss competing products with you and present the particular market situation of your product category.

2. How can I sell my products successfully in Germany?

The abovementioned issues are just some which we would consider relevant for every consumer products company who wants to learn more about the German market. Once you are aware of the driving forces in the market, you might ask: How can I be successful in selling my products in Germany? What do I need to know about my competitors? How should I position my brand? What is a promising USP?

From our point of view, consumers want value for money. This means that they might like discount stores as well as premium or luxury products. Even though discount is in fact a very German phenomenon, there is a lot of room for premium consumer goods and luxury items! While discounters are able to fulfil needs for standardised products, premium retailers and brand manufacturers can offer tailored products that might carry a lot of meaning for consumers. In this regard, however, marketing and brand management needs to do much more than simply emphasising technical product features or just charging their products emotionally, because consumers know about most of the tricks that are applied by contemporary marketing strategists. It comes as no surprise that authentic or sustainable products, especially when sold by small manufacturers or offered on the Internet, have caused a strong demand. We argue that we need to create true value for consumers.

Hence, we develop a strong marketing and branding concept that fits well into the German market. If possible, we adapt your existing approach from other country markets or create an entirely new concept.

3. How do I (technically) start selling in the German consumer products market?

Once a company has decided to sell its products in a foreign market, a lot of technical and organisational questions arise. How can we find a reliable distribution partner, based on our marketing and branding strategy? Which advertising agency would be best for us? Who can offer us legal advice and help us to deal with bureaucracy?

At this point you might already be aware of what we, as a service company, offer. Ingo R. Titze Research & Consulting is specialised in assisting foreign consumer goods companies who are considering selling their products in Germany. We offer extensive market knowledge for decision-making and help create concepts for product and brand positioning. But we are also very well-connected to other service companies who are specialised in answering all the questions that were raised just a moment ago. Hence, we deal with all the issues that I have touched upon on this page:

1. helping you decide whether the German market is right for your products (research)
2. working on a successful marketing and branding strategy that fits the consumer culture in Germany (consulting)
3. putting your products physically into the marketplace with a very reliable network of co-operation partners

Establishing contacts with distribution partners and sales channels is one of our core competencies. We pre-assess the openness of these channels (including test runs) and bring you together with the right people. We are also happy to manage ongoing operations for you. We do that at a competitive rate compared to setting up your own structure or employing a dedicated export manager locally.

We have successfully completed several projects for international (and domestic) consumer goods companies. Click here to learn more about us and what we can do for you. Our company profile is available here (opens PDF in a new window). Ingo R. Titze Research & Consulting is a member of the British Chamber of Commerce in Germany and a listed business service provider of the United States Commercial Service.

Thank you for reading this compact introduction. I now wish you a worthwhile exploration of our website which you can start by using the menu items on the left. We first focus on economic data on the German consumer market, followed by describing the market situation / drivers, and finally looking into the future. I'm sure that you have already noticed our market newsflash on the right. If you should have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are always looking forward to hearing from you!

Best wishes,
Ingo R. Titze

P.S. candidates for Bachelor and Master theses are invited to check out this page.