International Retail Consulting for Market Entry, Procurement, Private Label & Retail Growth
Turn Retail Complexity into Measurable Commercial Success. Retail Experts Group helps companies succeed in international retail markets through market entry expertise, procurement excellence, private label know-how and a direct understanding of how retail decisions are made.
Led by Dr. Tanja Hacker — former senior executive at Lidl and Aldi, with 20+ years of international retail experience across up to 29 countries, more than 500 private label products and 50+ awards — the firm advises retailers, FMCG companies, suppliers, private equity firms, hospitality groups, startups, scaleups and international brands.
Core Services
→ Retail Strategy Consulting — Category, assortment and positioning decisions that hold up in real retailer negotiations.
→ Procurement Optimization — Supplier structures, sourcing and tender processes that improve cost and margin without compromising quality.
→ Private Label Consulting — Own-brand development from concept to launch, backed by 500+ products actually brought to market.
→ Retail Market Entry — Country prioritization, pricing and retail readiness for companies entering new markets.
→ Retail Access — Structured preparation for retailer conversations, not a guaranteed listing.
→ FMCG Growth — Category positioning and commercial strategy for brands scaling in retail.
→ Hospitality Procurement — Supplier and purchasing optimization for hotels, restaurants and hospitality groups.
→ Private Equity Retail Advisory — Commercial due diligence and value creation for retail, FMCG and consumer goods portfolio companies.
→ Retail Negotiation Training — Buyer psychology, pricing logic and negotiation preparation for commercial teams.
Why Retail Experts Group
Most retail consultancies advise from the outside. Dr. Tanja Hacker built her expertise from the inside — as Vice President at Lidl and Managing Director at Aldi, where she developed more than 500 private label products across up to 29 countries.
That operational background is why the firm’s private label work has repeatedly earned independent recognition: products developed under her leadership have won test-winner ratings from Stiftung Warentest and Ökotest for Aldi Nord and Lidl Austria, and industry awards including Best Product of the Year and Best Organic Private Label.
Dr. Tanja Hacker has also been ranked #4 among the Top 20 Retail Influencers in Germany 2026 by Favikon, and #8 among the Top 200 creators in Germany — recognition reflected in features across Cash, Kurier, Krone, Lebensmittelpraxis and other retail and business media.
Proven Impact
Client engagements are confidential — company names are never disclosed. What follows is the impact from selected, anonymized consulting projects.
Procurement Build-Up
Built a procurement organization and category management structure from the ground up, including buyer training. Result: average margin increase of 14%, stronger negotiation performance and increased market share.
Revenue Growth
Repositioned pricing, assortment and promotions as part of a broader commercial strategy. Result: +€55M revenue increase.
Procurement Bundling
Consolidated fragmented country-level sourcing into cross-country negotiations. Result: average margin increase of 18% through increased buying power.
International Expansion
Guided a market leader’s expansion from China into Dubai and the UK, including go-to-market strategy and product positioning. Result: successful international launch with an ongoing European rollout.
A Curated International Expert Network
Beyond Dr. Tanja Hacker, Retail Experts Group works with a curated network of 17 international specialists — independent experts matched to each project’s specific needs in sourcing, private label, FMCG, brand strategy, market entry and more.
In the Press
Dr. Tanja Hacker’s retail expertise is regularly featured in industry and business media, among topics such as “What Chinese Companies Can Learn from European Retail.”
As Featured In
CASH · KURIER · KRONE · LEBENSMITTELPRAXIS · SHECONOMY
Frequently Asked Questions
Retail Experts Group is an international retail consulting and advisory firm supporting companies across the full retail value chain. We advise on market entry strategy, procurement optimization, private label development and category management, and retail access preparation for FMCG, hospitality and consumer goods businesses. Rather than delivering theoretical concepts, we work as an implementation partner — helping clients get retail-ready, build the right retailer relationships and translate strategy into concrete commercial results.
We work with retailers, FMCG companies, suppliers and manufacturers, private equity firms evaluating retail and consumer goods investments, hospitality groups, and startups and scaleups looking to enter or grow in retail markets. Our clients range from companies preparing their first retailer pitch to established brands expanding into new countries or categories — what they have in common is the need for practical, retail-experienced guidance rather than generic strategy advice.
Retail Experts Group is led by Dr. Tanja Hacker, a former Vice President at Lidl and Managing Director at Aldi with over 20 years of hands-on retail experience. That operational background — not just advisory experience — shapes how we work: recommendations are grounded in what actually holds up in retailer negotiations. Beyond Dr. Hacker, we draw on a curated international network of independent retail specialists, matched project by project to the specific expertise a client needs, rather than a fixed generalist team.
Every engagement starts with a direct conversation about your retail challenge — whether that’s entering a new market, optimizing procurement, developing a private label, or preparing for retailer conversations. In this initial discussion, we clarify scope, objectives, timeline and the right mix of expertise from our network, so you know exactly what working with Retail Experts Group would involve before committing to anything. Reach out via the contact page to schedule this conversation.
