Global Retail Expansion: Keeps On Moving

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The 2012 A.T. Kearney Global Retail Development Index, the 11th annual edition, finds a wide array of possibilities for retailers seeking to capture an immediate impact and a growth advantage in developing countries. Global retail expansion today has a different profile than it had a decade ago when we published findings from the first Index. While the world's largest developing markets—particularly the BRIC nations of Brazil, Russia, India, and China—still tempt the largest global retailers and show no signs of slowing down, many smaller, untapped markets are providing new profit frontiers, particularly for regional and specialty players.

Highlights of the 2012 GRDI include:

• Brazil is the top country in the GRDI for the second straight year, leading the way for Latin America, which has 7 countries among the top 30. Chile is second once again, and Uruguay is fourth.
• China climbs to third place in the GRDI, as double-digit sales growth is expected. However, rents and labor costs are rising, so the market still has many challenges.
• Some of the smaller countries with attractive retail markets include Georgia, Oman, and Mongolia, all of which were unranked in the 2011 GRDI but are in the top 10 this year.
• With retail talent a critical differentiator in developing markets, finding and retaining talented workers is a core component to success. The Retail Talent Index, reintroduced this year, is led by Malaysia, whose low-cost labor and favorable regulations, and a well-educated population support the operations of international retailers that enter and expand in the market.

About the Index

Published since 2002, the GRDI helps retailers prioritize their global development strategies by ranking the retail expansion attractiveness of emerging countries based on a set of 25 variables including economic and political risk, retail market attractiveness, retail saturation levels, and modern retailing sales area and sales growth. The GRDI focuses on opportunities for mass merchant and food retailers, which are typically the bellwether for modern retailing concepts in a country.

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