Thorsten Höllger founded Fortuneglobe in Munich in the year 2000 as a service provider in e-commerce for brands. Today, Fortuneglobe consists of six units with over 100 employees divided into various subsidiaries and provides companies throughout Europe with a wide range of services related to internet sales. Find out more by visiting https://www.fortuneglobe.com

Fortuneglobe group consists of three companies who act as specialist D2C partners:

• GUTEMARKEN https://gute-marken.com – internet sales focussing on fashion brands

• Connect Your Store https://connectyourstore.com (German only) – connects stationary retail with the eCommerce world

• and last, but not least TheCommerce https://the-commerce.com – internet sales focussing on non-fashion brands

In total, more than 100 eCommerce specialists work at Fortuneglobe Group.

Thorsten Höllger founded his first eCommerce company back in the year 2000. TheCommerce launched in 2021, drawing on over 20 years of Fortuneglobe know-how.

Various terms are used to describe our service. Traditionally, service providers who sell on behalf of their clients are referred to as “sales service providers” or “full-service providers”, or, in the English-speaking world, “third-party service providers”, abbreviated as “3PSP”.

We think “D2C partner” best describes our services. Ultimately, it sums up what we do: you sell your brand products directly to end customers, but we, as your partner, take care of all the commercial and logistical processing.

You have the ultimate control, though, and always have the final say on price, assortment and appearance.

“D2C” or “DTC” stands for “Direct To Consumer” or “Direct To Customer”. However, we prefer the latter because B2B customers also want to be supplied directly by the brand without a further middleman. And that’s exactly what D2C means – a brand or manufacturer that sells directly to the consumer without additional intermediaries. In this way, the brand controls price, range and appearance.

No, you don’t have to, but a basic understanding can be helpful.

If you already have eCommerce experience, we can develop this further together. Either way, at the beginning of our partnership, we’ll develop a fully-integrated eCommerce concept to build up a complete online presence for your product range.

Yes, an online shop is optional. The main thing is to sell your products on online marketplaces that match your brand.

Yes, of course, but we have to transfer the entire online shop onto our system. Since we create online shops inexpensively, rebuilding your shop in our system is probably more cost-effective than connecting the shop via complex and, therefore, expensive API connections.

We do.

All you need to know is everything about your product. We can also create content and photos, but we believe you’re a lot better at it. THeCommerce does everything else, including:

• Preparing for sale (marketplace and shop set-up).
• Logistics (goods receipt keeping and control, storage, shipping, carrier conditions, and returns processing).
• Listing your range (complete digital recording, creating SEO titles individually for the marketplace or in the online shop, and attribute allocation).
• Managing the quality of the listings on marketplaces and online shops.
• Marketing campains
• Consistent sales reporting, sales accounting, credit notes, and subsequent payment of gross profit minus expenses.

We can sell in any language, country and currency inside and outside the EU.

We can do everything step by step; if you want to be active outside your home market in Germany first, we’ll set up a German-language shop and sell on the marketplaces relevant to your brand in Germany.

We’re multilingual and take into account the different VAT rates in Europe. We also target every marketplace relevant to you throughout the EU.

If we ship worldwide, observing the local customs regulations is imperative. This applies to sales via online shops together with marketplaces outside the EU.

No, that’s what we do. We provide you with a contact person who we call your “Success Manager”.

This dedicated eCommerce specialist will discuss all necessary decisions with you, as we always keep in mind that you have the final say on price, range and appearance.

No, not directly, but we have verified social media specialists in the Fortuneglobe Group who do the job professionally. Please speak to us about this, and we’ll arrange this for you separately.

About 10 years ago, this was a legitimate question. Back then, many brands were afraid that online and on-street would conflict with one other. However, this is no longer the case.

Generally, eCommerce is as natural as any other internet activity. Studies show that high-street retailers benefit more from the extensive research possibilities on the Internet – it doesn’t harm them. Nowadays, a successful high-street retailer is always linked to the Internet in some way.

Nevertheless, we always consider your specific needs carefully and personalise our eCommerce strategy for your company.

Yes, we’ll take your high-street retail activities into account in the eCommerce strategy for your brand. What’s more, our sister company https://connectyourstore.com (German only) – connects high street retailers with the eCommerce world.

Yes, we do this on special sales channels online or, if you like, offline via trusted buyers abroad. However, we only sell end-of-life products or excess quantities as part of the overall eCommerce support we provide for your company. We aren’t interested in bulk business and one-off promotions.

We need content and pictures of your products, and, ideally, your entire range should be available in digital form. You can do the data transfer easily via Excel, but we prefer a data connection to your product database.

Apart from the usual Microsoft Office programmes, you don’t need to meet any special requirements.

The costs are divided into five areas:

• Set-up costs – setting you up on our system, building your online shop, setting you up on the marketplaces.
• Listing costs – preparing your product range according to the specifics of the marketplaces.
• Logistics costs
• Selling costs – platform costs and our commission.
• Marketing costs

We charge set-up, listing, logistics, platform and marketing costs on a one-to-one basis. We also take a 10% sales commission, which we reduce if we jointly sell more than a six-figure amount per month. In other words, we make money through your sales success. So, you and we have a common interest – that the sale is successful and profitable.

• Step 1: Contact us (scroll down to the contact link at the bottom of each page on our website).
• Step 2: We get to know your products and brand, assess the sales opportunities and tell you whether we can help you.
• Step 3: You receive an individual offer for marketplace and online shop sales.
• Step 4: You sign the offer to finalise the contract between you and us.
• Step 5: We hold an initial meeting with you – either in person or virtually, but we prefer to meet you in the flesh. At this initial meeting, we talk about what you know about eCommerce (even if you have no experience whatsoever), develop a strategy and then implement it.

We adhere to the HGB§383-406 regulations. This German Commercial Code – formerly known in Germany as the “Vorwerk Paragraph” – allows us to act as a regular trader to the end customer. But in the internal relationship between you as the brand and us as the seller, you’re the “Consignor”, and we’re the “Consignee”. In this way, you always have the final say on price, range and appearance without violating cartel regulations.

On the other hand, as a supplier, you aren’t allowed to dictate to regular traders what they do, which is why there’s a “recommended retail price” (RRP).

Yes, the goods are usually stored in our warehouse in Germany, where the journey to the end customer begins. Therefore, VAT regulations require that you have a German VAT number. For this reason, and because we as your Consignee work according to HGB§383-406 and distribute all gross earnings (including German VAT), a German VAT number is mandatory.

We’re happy to put you in touch with German tax advisors who will apply on your behalf for a German VAT number inexpensively and then submit monthly VAT returns to the German tax authorities based on your accounting records. Then, you offset all income against all costs and, thus, claim the VAT paid, including that from your other activities.

We work indefinitely – there’s no minimum duration. But, in order to work successfully with your business, we stipulate a medium-term minimum notice period of six months, always at the end of the year.

We’ll make you a detailed offer tailored to you and your brand. Upon your acceptance of the offer, you and THeCommerce sign the contract.

The Causer Pays principle applies here. If the violation of competition law is based on the information you provide to us, you’re liable. If we’ve made a mistake, then we’re liable.

We allocate you to a contact person called a “Success Manager”. They’re an eCommerce specialist who will discuss all necessary decisions with you. Ultimately, though, we always keep in mind that you have the final say on price, range and appearance.

At the initial meeting following the completion of the contract, we mutually ascertain which online marketplaces need to be served. In doing so, we take your brand into account and your personal likes and dislikes. In Germany, depending on your product category, you may need between five and 20 marketplaces to achieve comprehensive coverage.

In Germany, it’s tricky to avoid the so-called hybrid marketplaces (fashion and non-fashion) like Amazon, eBay, Otto, and Kaufland. There are numerous specialist marketplaces such as Saturn (electronics), MyToys (toys), Manomano (Home&Garden) or Zalando, and About You (both fashion), to name just a few.

Via Amazon and eBay, we’re also immediately internationally active (if desired). However, it’s possible to limit to German marketplaces exclusively. Depending on your country, there are individual marketplaces in Europe that operate in their market with higher market shares than these global players, including cDiscount in France, eprice in Italy, bol.com in the Netherlands, Allegro in Poland and eMAG in Romania.

You!

As your D2C partner, we never sell at prices against your will. Either you give us the specific gross sales prices or we calculate them according to mutually agreed rules.

Yes, wherever possible. We can create a completely brand-specific online shop or eBay store. On Amazon or other platforms, this is also possible within the framework of special programmes but sometimes involves extra costs. Essentially, you always have the final say in terms of appearance (for example, how you present your brand and its product range).

You!

We’re your D2C partner, and you have the final say on the scope of the offer.

Yes. You and we set a minimum budget for performance marketing, which we then use for you, utilising our 20+ years of eCommerce experience for your online shop or marketplace marketing. Of course, you can adjust this whenever you like. As a rule of thumb, it should be at least 1,000 euros per month for marketplace advertising and 15% of your company turnover for online shop advertising.

We optimise all the titles of your product range for search engines (SEO). Since online users use Google to search for anything, items on marketplaces must also be SEO-friendly so that marketplace visitors find them and, ultimately, purchase them.

As long as the goods aren’t dangerous, then no.

We can handle any goods type logistically, so long as it’s labelled with the individual EAN code.

No requirement’s too big for us. For example, we can help if you have items with a minimum shelf life that obey the First-In, First-Out system or other requirements. However, we set things straight at the beginning of our collaboration with you and let you know whether or not we can handle your items logistically.

Yes, your logistics warehouse can be connected to our managed platform as part of a drop-shipping model. However, your B2C logistics must meet the highest service levels. If we sell to German marketplaces, we’ll connect your warehouse directly to a German carrier. We’ll process all orders to your system Mon-Fri by 2:30pm and transfer them to the carrier on the same day.

As a rule, no. Within the scope of our service, the legal salesperson deals with end customers like a regular merchant.

Most of our customers prefer this form of sale.

If you expressly wish to act as a seller to your end customers, the process is more complex. We have to take care of everything on your behalf, including the set-up and the ongoing operation. We have to calculate the effort involved according to your requirements.

Our B2C logistics meet all the relevant requirements of the leading marketplaces. As a rule, if we receive the order on our system by 2:30pm German time, your goods are handed over to the carrier on the exact day.

Yes, our logistics department also handles all returns.

Depending on your wishes, you can choose to have your goods returned to you or we can completely refurbish them for you so they can be sold again as A-goods. Damage is also likely, so we consider the economic efficiency and look at returns sustainably.

Yes, but only if there is no other way – for example, we dispose of hygiene items or perishable goods. For economic reasons, we don’t like to dispose of goods and take sustainability seriously, so reprocessing returns must be done correctly.

Yes, but only if it makes economic sense. For example, if this is more cost-effective than using our own logistics via FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon).

Our logistics may ship an item as “Prime by Merchant/Seller” so that we may carry the “Amazon Prime” logo at the search and category level.

Yes, we have standard KPIs that are vital for scaling your sales. What’s more, we can jointly define your preferred KPIs and set up corresponding reports individually for you (set-up and ongoing fee).

Yes, we use the well-known repricer tools to get into the Buy Box regularly on the corresponding marketplaces.

We always determine the repricer rules with you. And don’t worry, you’ll always have the final say on price, range and appearance.

No. All platforms welcome marketplace sales publicly, even if you’re already acting as a vendor.

Whether you’re a joint vendor or independent seller, we develop specific concepts to give you more control over the price, the range and the appearance on the marketplaces.

Your monthly report tracks all sales, item-by-item, sales channel-by-sales channel. You receive the sales report once a month in the standard version, and you’ll see all revenue and costs listed in detail. We generate a credit note with 100% of the revenue and charge all costs at the same time. The difference is paid out to you.

You don’t have to understand and process different reports from different marketplaces, which you often receive daily, weekly – or possibly never.

According to the consistent monthly report across all sales channels, we pay out all gross profit collectively.