Walmart India
Planning a long run in India, Wal-Mart to open 50 wholesale stores in next 4-5 years, to enter ecommerce, strengthen compliance procedures:
“Wal-Mart is committed to India and we are excited about our growth plans and we will continue to focus on the cash-and-carry format as we are very happy with the way it has shaped up in the last few years,” Walmart Asia President and CEO Scott Price said in a statement.
Source: Business Standard
Walmart Asia
After issues in the past with Asian expansion, Walmart is taking a slow and careful approach, with expansion plans primarily aimed only at its three current regional markets – China, Japan, and India, which account for over 60% of Asia’s population.
In 2006, Walmart exited South Korea, selling its 16 stores there to a local rival. While in India last year, the company terminated a six-year joint venture with Indian conglomerate Bharti Enterprises, giving up a plan to open retail outlets in the country amid uncertainty over the regulation of foreign retailers. Indian operations are currently small, with the company operating around 20 Cash and Carry wholesale outlets.
China has also proved to be a challenging market for the company, with comparable store sales last year growing only 0.7%. Still, the company plans to open 110 stores there over the next three years. Walmart is also looking for “bolt-on” acquisitions of local operators, particularly in the country’s tier-three and tier-four cities, where there has been regional development of big boxes – 6 to 8 store chains.
However, analysts say Walmart’s focus on “everyday low prices” hasn’t translated well in China, where consumers often value product safety and authenticity over low price. However, low prices may play much better in its around 440 stores in Japan after the recent increase of the consumption tax to 8% from 5%.
Source: RNG www.retailnetgroup.com
Asda – Walmart UK
Walmart’s UK banner Asda will expand into the south and southeast of the UK, where it currently has few stores,
Asda is looking to open 40 superstores, 100 supermarkets, 150 gas stations and 1,000 click-and-collect points. Asda will able to leverage its learnings from its recent launch of click and collect in six London Underground locations. Two-thirds will be in the southeast, London, Cornwall and Devon, a spokesman said. These new stores will create up to 12,000 jobs over the next five years.
CEO Dave McMillon said that this move comes as a result of “a seismic shift in the structure of the retail market.” The spokesperson also said they will not be moving into the convenience store sector like many of its competitors and that the stores in the north would not be closing as part of the southward expansion
Source: RNG www.retailnetgroup.com
Top 25 Asian Retailers by Stores Added
RNG presents the top 25 Asian retailers by stores added 2009-13. Small-format stores dominate the rankings – 9 of the top 25 are convenience formats, while 7 more are QSR operators.
For the listing, click here.
Source: RNG www.retailnetgroup.com
Ulmart, Russia’s Largest Ecommerce Merchant
Despite Russia’s current STEIP landscape (slowing economic growth, low consumer confidence, and political instability), ecommerce retailers continue to post double digit growth. Ulmart, Russia’s largest consumer electronics retailer, recently became the first Russican ecommerce retailer to exceed $1 billion USD in sales. Ulmart takes a unique approach to ecommerce, and prides itself on a carefully designed logistics and delivery network. Understanding Ulmart is key to understanding the future of ecommerce in Russia and other Rapidly Emerging markets, as the hybrid online-offline model is far more compatible to the consumers in these markets.
Source: Planet Retail www.planetretail.net
Costco Expands into Eastern Europe
Costco expects to open its first stores in Spain and France this spring as the company looks to ramp up its European presence. Costco already has 25 units located in the United Kingdom and hopes to further expand its reach in Europe with its first store outside of the UK coming in Seville, Spain this spring.
Costco will launch its Spanish warehouse by the spring of 2014 while it hopes to establish its first French store by 2015. The company saw an 8% increase in international sales in January while its domestic sales grew by 5%; thus, Costco sees central Europe as an opportunistic location to further its international expansion.
Source: RNG www.retailnetgroup.com
South Africa Retail Data
Statistics South Africa released retail sales data for the market in Dec 2013, indicating a 3.5% YoY increase in retail sales. Growth was driven by apparel, DIY, and mass merchandise retailers. Household furniture and appliance retailers experienced negative growth.
The new data is encouraging for the market. Retail sales in South Africa have rapidly increased since October 2009. Analyst expected 2.7% Dec 2013 YoY and the actual count exceeds analyst expectations by 0.8%. The last month of the year tends to record higher retail sales than other months, due to the holiday season, which causes this period to be especially important when tracking retail growth.
Source: RNG www.retailnetgroup.com
