Topsort partners with Breuninger for luxury retail media in Europe

Topsort announced on October 7, 2025, a partnership with E. Breuninger GmbH & Co. that positions the artificial intelligence-based retail media infrastructure company within the European luxury fashion sector. The collaboration enables Breuninger, a premium German retailer operating 13 department stores across Germany and Luxembourg, to upgrade its existing retail media platform with Topsort's auction-based advertising technology.

Breuninger began running retail media operations using Topsort's sponsored listings and banner advertisements starting summer 2025. The rollout follows a phased implementation strategy, beginning with select advertising formats to ensure controlled transition from the retailer's previous retail media platform. The deployment prioritizes maintaining Breuninger's established standards for brand safety and customer experience across its curated portfolio of premium and luxury brands.

According to Regina Ye, chief executive officer and co-founder of Topsort, "Partnering with Breuninger underscores Topsort's ability to meet the highest expectations of global retail media, where brand safety, customer experience, and innovation must come together seamlessly." The partnership sets benchmarks for luxury retailers seeking to generate revenue through advertising while preserving the shopping experience that defines premium retail environments.

The collaboration marks a strategic expansion for Topsort within European markets, comparable to powering retail media infrastructure for retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue or Nordstrom in the United States market. The company, which works with international retailers and marketplaces including Poshmark, DoorDash, JustEatTakeaway, Cencosud, and LG, now extends its presence into the European luxury retail segment through this partnership.

Breuninger operates a significant omnichannel business with approximately 6,500 employees serving customers across physical stores and digital platforms. The retailer launched its e-commerce operation in 2008, which now serves customers in Austria, Switzerland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain, and Italy in addition to Germany. The company offers an exclusive selection of 1,500 brands spanning international designer labels and emerging fashion brands across fashion, beauty, and lifestyle categories.

The technical integration combines managed service capabilities for strategic brand accounts with self-service options designed for long-tail vendors. This hybrid approach enables Breuninger to scale retail media operations efficiently while supporting both established luxury labels and emerging designers on its platform. The flexibility addresses operational challenges that retailers face when working with diverse advertiser portfolios spanning different organizational capabilities and advertising sophistication levels.

Daniel Grafe, director of retail media and brand cooperations at Breuninger, stated that the partnership aims to position the retailer as the leading destination for premium and luxury retail media in German-speaking regions. "Leveraging our first party data for endemic and non-endemic brands, in combination with our omnichannel capabilities, we want to position ourselves as a partner for brand building," Grafe said.

The partnership emerges during a period of significant retail media expansion across European markets. European retail media advertising reached €13.7 billion in 2024, representing 21.1% growth compared to the previous year, according to IAB Europe data released on October 7, 2025. This growth trajectory substantially exceeded overall European advertising market expansion, with retail media now accounting for approximately one-fifth of total digital advertising expenditure across the continent.

Topsort's mission focuses on democratizing auction-based and AI-driven monetization technology developed by major technology companies into infrastructure accessible to retailers and marketplaces globally. The company emphasizes privacy-focused advertising that centers on product information rather than user tracking. The approach aligns with regulatory environments across European markets, where data protection requirements including GDPR establish stringent standards for consumer privacy in digital advertising.

The Breuninger implementation prioritizes maintaining luxury shopping experiences that reflect the retailer's 140-year heritage. Founded in 1881 by Eduard Breuninger with three employees, the company has evolved into a leading European fashion and lifestyle business. The retailer operates flagship stores in Stuttgart and Düsseldorf, complemented by locations in Ludwigsburg, Sindelfingen, Nuremberg, Freiburg, Erfurt, Leipzig, MTZ, Karlsruhe, Munich, Reutlingen, and Luxembourg.

Breuninger's service infrastructure includes 25 restaurants, bars, and confectioneries across its store network, along with specialized services such as personal shopping, shuttle service, in-house tailoring studios, and click-and-collect capabilities. These service elements differentiate the retailer within competitive European fashion retail markets where experience-driven shopping represents a strategic advantage against digital-native competitors.

The partnership reflects broader trends within retail media infrastructure development across European markets. Brands working with four to six retail media networks doubled from 10% to 24% in 2025, signaling diversification strategies among European advertisers who seek access to multiple retail environments rather than concentrating investments with dominant platforms.

Technical integration partnerships have accelerated across the retail media sector during 2025. Topsort partnered with Skai in September 2025, becoming the first API integration delivering access to retail media networks across 40 countries through unified global platforms. These developments address operational complexity that has limited advertiser adoption of retail media platforms beyond major players by enabling campaign management across multiple networks through single interfaces.

The Breuninger partnership emphasizes gradual implementation that allows the retailer to establish foundation for future expansion. The phased approach enables technical optimization and performance validation across advertising formats before broader deployment. This methodology contrasts with rapid rollouts that can compromise customer experience in luxury retail environments where brand perception directly influences purchasing decisions.

Topsort's infrastructure operates through data science and performance-based transparency rather than invasive user tracking. The company holds SOC 2 Type II certification, maintains GDPR compliance, and achieved carbon-neutral certification through Ecovadis, alongside California Consumer Privacy Act compliance. These certifications address requirements that European retailers face when selecting advertising technology partners that handle customer data and advertising transactions.

The retail media sector continues evolving toward standardization that addresses measurement challenges across networks. IAB Europe released updated commerce media measurement standards for public comment on October 9, 2025, targeting consistent metrics that enable brands and agencies to compare performance across retailers. The standardization addresses industry fragmentation where 70% of buyers cite lack of standards as investment barriers.

Founded by Regina Ye, Francisco Larrain, and Michael Ostrovsky, Topsort maintains operations across 13 countries with teams based in Boston, Silicon Valley, São Paulo, and Santiago. The company received funding from investors with expertise in retail, e-commerce, and marketplaces, including Quiet Capital, Upland, Pear VC, and FJ Labs. The investor composition reflects strategic alignment with Topsort's focus on retail media infrastructure development for diverse commerce environments.

The partnership between Topsort and Breuninger demonstrates the maturation of retail media from experimental advertising channel to strategic infrastructure within European luxury retail. The collaboration addresses operational requirements specific to premium retail environments where advertising must integrate seamlessly with curated brand experiences that define luxury shopping. The success of this partnership will likely influence how other European luxury retailers approach retail media platform selection and implementation strategies in coming years.

Timeline

• 1881: Eduard Breuninger founded retail shop in Stuttgart with three employees
• 2008: Breuninger launched e-commerce operation serving multiple European countries
• Summer 2025: Breuninger began implementing Topsort's sponsored listings and banner ads
• September 23, 2025: Topsort partnered with Skai for global retail media network access across 40 countries
• September 2025: MediaMarktSaturn launched first offsite retail media program with Unlimitail across European markets
• October 7, 2025: Topsort announced partnership with Breuninger for European luxury retail media
• October 7, 2025: IAB Europe released data showing European retail media reached €13.7 billion in 2024
• October 9, 2025: IAB Europe opened public comment on updated commerce media measurement standards

Summary

Who: Topsort, an artificial intelligence-based retail media infrastructure company founded by Regina Ye, Francisco Larrain, and Michael Ostrovsky, partnered with E. Breuninger GmbH & Co., a 140-year-old German luxury fashion and lifestyle retailer led by Daniel Grafe, director of retail media and brand cooperations. The partnership affects approximately 6,500 Breuninger employees and brand partners operating across 13 department stores in Germany and Luxembourg.

What: Topsort integrated its auction-based retail media infrastructure including sponsored listings and banner advertisements into Breuninger's existing retail media operations. The implementation follows a phased rollout beginning with select advertising formats, combining managed service for strategic brand accounts with self-service options for long-tail vendors. The partnership enables both endemic and non-endemic brands to advertise across Breuninger's omnichannel platform while maintaining the retailer's standards for brand safety and customer experience in luxury retail environments.

When: Topsort announced the partnership on October 7, 2025, though implementation began during summer 2025. The phased rollout enables gradual transition from Breuninger's previous retail media platform, establishing foundation for future expansion across additional advertising formats and capabilities. The announcement coincided with IAB Europe releasing data showing European retail media reached €13.7 billion in 2024 with 21.1% growth.

Where: The partnership operates across Breuninger's 13 physical department stores located in Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Ludwigsburg, Sindelfingen, Nuremberg, Freiburg, Erfurt, Leipzig, MTZ, Karlsruhe, Munich, Reutlingen, and Luxembourg, alongside the retailer's e-commerce platform serving nine European countries including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Czech Republic, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain, and Italy. Topsort maintains global operations across 13 countries with teams based in Boston, Silicon Valley, São Paulo, and Santiago.

Why: The partnership addresses Breuninger's strategic objective to become the leading destination for premium and luxury retail media in German-speaking regions by leveraging first-party data for brand building across endemic and non-endemic advertisers. Topsort gains presence within the European luxury retail segment, expanding beyond existing partnerships with retailers and marketplaces across 40 countries. The collaboration responds to broader European retail media market dynamics where advertising spending reached €13.7 billion in 2024, representing 21.1% growth that substantially exceeded overall advertising market expansion rates, while brands increasingly diversified partnerships across multiple retail media networks rather than concentrating investments with dominant platforms.