You've prepared your product, your pricing, your pitch deck. But have you prepared for the person? In this episode, Jan Wapelhorst reveals how German retail buyers actually operate — from the five buyer archetypes he observed over 16 years, to the cognitive overload of managing 800+ SKUs, to the internal pressure systems that shape every decision. If you want to succeed in a buyer meeting, understanding the system isn't enough. You need to understand the human being sitting across the table.

Topics covered: buyer archetypes, negotiation psychology, internal KPIs, buyer turnover, loss aversion, meeting preparation, EDEKA regional structure.

Connect with Jan Wapelhorst on LinkedIn for weekly insights on German retail.

Website: wfr-advisory.com

Email: info@wfr-advisory.com

Category Management is the single most powerful force in German retail. It determines what ends up on the shelf, where it sits, and when it disappears. In this episode, Jan Wapelhorst takes you inside the real mechanics — from the gap between the official win-win narrative and the reality of data power, to the four category roles every brand needs to understand, to how REWE, EDEKA, ALDI, and Lidl each interpret Category Management completely differently.

Topics covered: Category Management, category roles, planogram logic, REWE vs. EDEKA vs. ALDI vs. Lidl, co-creation, data as currency, category captain dynamics.

Connect with Jan Wapelhorst on LinkedIn for weekly insights on German retail.

Website: wfr-advisory.com

Email: info@wfr-advisory.com"