OPERATION EUROPE: A blueprint for action

Abstract

The long‐awaited NEDO report on the distributive trades in Europe is published this month. It sets out to draw the attention of British distributors to the opportunities resulting from UK membership of the European Economic Community. The booklet examines opportunities for direct expansion by British distributors into other member countries, and also outlines ways in which British distributors could form links with similar organisations in other countries to exchange information or to ensure effective representation of their joint interest within the EEC Commission. The report was initiated by the EDC for the Distributive Trades, who set up a Common Market Working Group to prepare it. Members of this Working Group are listed in the panel opposite; the Chairman was Dr. James Jefferys of the International Association of Department Stores. The bulk of the report consists of a detailed examination of the distributive trade structure in each of the nine member countries of the EEC; this adheres to a regular pattern of a brief description of the retail scene, statistics on manpower and sales, comparative share of sales by form of organisation, and lists of leading retail companies. This section is preceded by an overview of the retail trades and the wholesale trades in Europe, and a description of existing methods of collaboration in European distribution. The third part of the report consists of two case‐studies — a UK company which diversified into Europe, and a French company which expanded into Italy. Finally there are ‘Check lists for Action’ — a list of points for consideration by companies contemplating entry into the EEC; and a suggested method of assessment of how changes in prices of supplies may affect distributors' purchasing policy. In the following pages we confine ourselves to a summary of the first — and most significant — part of the report: present situation and future prospects, an examination of the comparative retail and wholesale structures in the EEC countries, and the opportunities for the UK distributor which are presented. The central section of the report — on ‘Country Studies’ — contains a mass of essential data and statistics, much of it not previously available, which does not easily lend itself to condensation.

Citation

(1973), "OPERATION EUROPE: A blueprint for action", Retail and Distribution Management, Vol. 1 No. 6, pp. 6-12. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb017753