Retail Landscape of Germany
5,085 Retail companies in Germany, in one picture: who is hiring, who is raising money, who founded them, where they are based, what the news is about and which skills employers want. Updated August 2026.
Who leads Retail in Germany
Shows the top retail firms in Germany by hiring activity, funding, and media coverage, noting 5,085 companies tracked, 379 currently hiring, and 268 with disclosed funding rounds.
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MediaMarktSaturn Retail Group11last posted Jun 2026
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lidl11last posted Jun 2026
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Tchibo11last posted Jun 2026
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Edeka11last posted Jun 2026
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Hugo Boss11last posted Jun 2026
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XXXLutz11last posted Jun 2026
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E Breuninger11last posted Jun 2026
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Decathlon11last posted Jun 2026
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Berlin Brands Group$1BPE · Nov 2021
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SellerX$830.5MSeries B · May 2023
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Razor Group$817.2MSeries D · Mar 2024
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Everphone$574.8MSeries D · Jan 2024
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Billie$349.5MSeries C · Oct 2021
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Choco$301.4MSeries B · Feb 2023
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ABOUT YOU$300MSeries A · Jul 2018
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Commercetools$289.9MSeries C · Sep 2021
- 01
Zalando$12.3BFY2021 filing
- 02
Fielmann$2.5Bsnapshot Dec 2024
- 03
baby-walz$393.2Msnapshot Dec 2021
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Westwing$299.8Msnapshot Dec 2018
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WUNSCHGUTSCHEIN$219.9MFY2020 filing
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Emil Kiessling$103.5MFY2019 filing
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OUTFITTERY$79.8MFY2016 filing
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ALDI86,000tracked employees
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dm-drogerie markt66,000tracked employees
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otto group41,000tracked employees
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Triumph International36,500tracked employees
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adidas22.0%355 tracked events
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Mister Spex6.5%105 tracked events
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Freenet5.0%80 tracked events
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Intershop4.8%77 tracked events
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The Platform Group4.8%77 tracked events
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CECONOMY3.4%55 tracked events
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REWE126articles in the window
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Shopware35articles in the window
See all 5,085 Retail companies in Germany
Filter by funding, headcount, hiring and location, and export the list.
How the Retail ecosystem in Germany grew, 2016–2025
Displays the yearly count of new retail companies from 2016 to 2025, highlighting a peak of 344 startups in 2020 and only 14 in 2025.
Where Retail companies in Germany are based
Lists German cities with the most retail firms, with Berlin leading at 751 companies followed by Munich (292) and Hamburg (253).
The Retail market map of Germany: what these companies actually do
Breaks down retail firms by product focus, showing consumer digital (2,094) and B2C e‑commerce (1,968) as the largest sub‑categories, and identifies e‑commerce product sales as the most common revenue model (3,211).
The biggest kinds of Retail company, by how many we track.
- Consumer Digital2,094 companies · $2.3B raised · 134 hiring
- B2C E-Commerce1,968 companies · $1.9B raised · 121 hiring
- Enterprise Tech941 companies · $6.6B raised · 105 hiring
- Internet First Brands699 companies · $867.1M raised · 49 hiring
- Marketplaces668 companies · $1B raised · 53 hiring
- B2C Fashion E-Commerce562 companies · $1.2B raised · 30 hiring
- Commerce Enablers556 companies · $5.1B raised · 66 hiring
- Enterprise Software517 companies · $2.5B raised · 65 hiring
- Internet First Fashion Brands329 companies · $612.1M raised · 21 hiring
- SaaS328 companies · $2.1B raised · 42 hiring
- Retail SaaS274 companies · $1B raised · 36 hiring
- E-Commerce SaaS213 companies · $1.1B raised · 31 hiring
Monetization
How Retail companies make money
How many companies earn revenue each way. Plenty use more than one model, so the counts add up to more than the sector.
Funding, M&A and the deals moving Retail in Germany
- FundingPolish investment firm Warsaw Equity Group has led a €5 million Series A funding round in German EV charging technology company &Charge, joining forces with Porsche Ventures and existing backers including InnoEnergy and Redstone.2026-04-24
- FundingThe chain of stores receives a total of ten million euros through this interim financing.2026-04-22
- FundingFreenet AG has successfully secured a EUR 350 million promissory note loan, intended primarily to repay bridge financing for the acquisition of mobilezone Deutschland.2026-04-20
- M&AIn March of this year, Migros announced that it has agreed to sell most of its tegut stores to Edeka as part of its decision to withdraw from the German market.2026-04-20
- M&AREWE Group has reached an agreement with Switzerland's Migros to acquire up to 40 tegut stores.2026-04-20
- M&AEuronet's push to enhance its European merchant payment infrastructure was further demonstrated earlier this year through an agreement with Athens-based CrediaBank to acquire its merchant acquiring subsidiary.2026-04-16
- M&ACasavo's continued restructuring took a major step forward this week after the company acquired an estate agency group, Casando.2026-04-15
- FundingFast Finance 24 Holding AG (ISIN: DE000A1PG508) is providing further strategic progress in its investment in Digisell Services GmbH.2026-03-31
- FundingGermany’s Andercore, an AI-driven trade platform for industrial supply, has raised €33.5 million ($40 million) in equity and debt to expand its geographic footprint and deepen its category coverage, while supporting the long-term development of its AI platform to eventually allow suppliers to sell directly through the system.2026-02-11
- M&ABefore that, it completed acquisitions of creative agency School House; marketing firm Taylor & Pond, and e-commerce marketplace accelerator Finc3, all of which have since merged under the Front Row umbrella.2026-02-11
Mergers and acquisitions
Deals from the last 24 months where a Retail company in Germany was the buyer or the one bought, newest first. “Undisclosed” means the price was never published — not that the deal was worth nothing.
| Acquirer | Target | Deal value | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| undisclosed | Announced | 2026-04-20 | ||
| undisclosed | Announced | 2026-04-20 | ||
| undisclosed | Announced | 2026-04-16 | ||
| CrediaBank\'s merchant acquiring subsidiary | undisclosed | Announced | 2026-04-16 | |
| undisclosed | Announced | 2026-04-15 | ||
| undisclosed | Announced | 2026-03-11 |
Who is listing, hiring leaders, launching and winning work
Provides details on notable corporate events such as leadership changes, product launches, and new customer contracts.
FressnapfMatt Simister · Appointment → Fressnapf CEOApr 2026
AleaEric Lasaygues · Appointment → Head of EuropeApr 2026
Gebr. HeinemannRajshree Dugar · Appointment → Chief Executive OfficerApr 2026
Blackhawk NetworkDigital Wallet API (Stored value platform)Apr 2026
UPM Communication Papers~220 roles reported · cost reductionJul 2025
- African Women’s Development and Communication Network, Europ v amazon, ikea, tom tailorCorporate due diligence failure under Germany’s Supply Chain Act · FiledFeb 2026
- tchibo v Aldi Süd GroupAbuse of superior market power · DismissedFeb 2026
Half of these companies grew revenue faster than +7.0%, half slower.
Who is building Retail in Germany
Profiles 2,009 founders and CEOs across 1,424 firms, noting frequent alma maters like WHU (10) and Harvard Business School (8) and common prior employers such as McKinsey (22).
Ex-Cluno, HLA Fleet Services, McKinsey · University of Dayton MBA 2006, University of Augsburg JD 2007
2hearts, ex-Co-Founder Happee, Rocket Internet. University of Los Andes BSc, Maastricht University BSc
Ex-Otto Group, Roland Berger. HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management
Ex-Founder Xoanon, Oracle. Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich 2003
CEO Schustermann & Borenstein
ex- CEO @ Unibicate GmbH; WHU - Otto Beisheim Graduate School of Management
Co-CEO Chrono24, ex-CEO TeamViewer, Rossmanith, Zeta Software. Stuttgart Media University 2001
Ex-SYMMETRICS, CGI, symmetrics gmbh, amira project development, CMS. Leibniz University Hanover 2008
Venture Partner - Target Global. University of Warwick Bachelor of Science 2007
- flagged as repeat founders11
- no repeat-founder flag1,459
- women317
- men1,515
Look up the people behind Retail companies in Germany
Search founders, executives and operators by company, role and location.
Who funds Retail in Germany
Summarizes investment activity with 578 funding rounds since 2016 from 770 investors, where the typical round size is $4.2 million.
| Investor · most active investors since 2016 | Rounds | Led | Latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europa | 30 | — | Nov 2024 |
| Ministerstvo Hospodárstva Slovenskej Republiky | 27 | — | Jul 2023 |
| HV Capital | 22 | 10 | Oct 2023 |
| IBB Ventures | 17 | 13 | Feb 2024 |
| Global Founders Capital | 15 | 4 | Apr 2023 |
| Earlybird | 13 | 9 | Dec 2024 |
| Project A | 13 | 3 | Feb 2026 |
| Next Commerce Accelerator | 12 | 10 | Jan 2024 |
| Capnamic Ventures | 12 | 6 | May 2025 |
| Redalpine | 12 | 5 | Apr 2023 |
The typical round is $4.2M — half were bigger, half smaller.
The biggest Retail funding rounds in Germany
Highlights the biggest disclosed financing, including SellerX’s $500.3 million Series B round, and lists ten large recent rounds.
| Company | Round | Size | When | Backers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series Bmega-round | $500.3M | Dec 2021 | Sofina, BlackRock, Victory Park Capital Advisors | |
| Series Amega-round | $300M | Jul 2018 | German Media Pool, SevenVentures, Heartland | |
| Series C | $190.8M | Oct 2013 | Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan | |
| Series D | $150M | Feb 2021 | Target Global, Declaration Partners, Tiger Global Management +8 more | |
| Series B | $145M | Oct 2019 | Insight Partners | |
| Series C | $140M | Sep 2021 | Accel, Insight Partners, REWE | |
| Series B | $135M | Jul 2025 | Silversmith, Meritech, CRV | |
| Series C | $130M | Dec 2020 | TCV, One Peak, Project A | |
| Series B | $125M | Nov 2021 | Fortress, 468 Capital, Victory Park Capital Advisors +5 more | |
| Seed | $118M | Nov 2020 | Cherry Ventures, Felix Capital, TriplePoint Capital +3 more |
50 venture rounds with a disclosed amount in the window.
Conventional Debt$11.8MApr 2026
Series A$5.8MApr 2026
Series B$40MFeb 2026
Seed$2.1MFeb 2026
What the news says about Retail in Germany
Counts 442,745 news articles about German retail in the last year, with most coverage on geopolitical disputes and international political relations.
What the coverage is about
The subjects that dominate Retail news in Germany. The arrow shows whether each one is being written about more or less than a year ago.
- Geopolitical disputes and contested areas300,592▲+33%
- International and transnational geographic entities300,588▲+33%
- Administrative and political subdivisions300,540▲+33%
- International political relations61,934→+6%
- Security and defense policies42,569▲+20%
- International sports competitions35,147▼-42%
- International relations and diplomacy26,091▲+15%
- Olympic games coverage18,608▼-49%
- Professional league updates17,097→+7%
- Trade policies and agreements14,442▼-14%
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82 Retail companies here were named in the news over this period.
Watch Retail coverage in Germany as it happens
Prism follows these subjects story by story — which companies are named, what is said about them and how the tone moves.
Momentum
The words getting louder — and quieter
Which terms are showing up in more stories than a year ago, and which are fading. The percentage is the change in how many articles mention them.
The pressures the press keeps returning to
Three recurring angles in Germany Retail coverage, and whether each is getting more attention year on year (through 2025).
Retail jobs in Germany: who is hiring and what they ask for
Reports 18,355 job postings from 332 retailers in the past year, listing top skills like Excel and AWS and a median advertised salary of $34 k per year.
Demand
The Skills Employers Ask For
What Retail employers in Germany put in their job ads. The bar is how many postings ask for it; the arrow shows whether demand grew or shrank against the year before.
- excel25→
- sql12▲
- aws11▼
- php11▼
- photoshop10▲
- kubernetes10→
- ms office9▼
- react8▲
- powerpoint7▼
- english7▲
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Track Retail in Germany beyond this page
Radar finds and filters the companies. Prism watches what is being said about them.
Direct contact details for the people on this page are held in Fliar Radar, behind its own access controls.