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Considers the interest shown by European retailers in the markets of South East Asia and places this interest within the wider context of East Asian markets. European retailers’ interest in the region has been a feature of recent developments in international retailing. Charts the growing interest in the region and the relative attractions of different markets and critically evaluates the assumptions that are made about East Asian markets and suggests that a far more rigorous set of criteria should be employed when evaluating markets in the region. Evaluates the implications of the recent financial and economic crises on European retail investment in the region.

Based on recent research, an overview of the new impetus which the 1992 programme has added to the internationalisation of European retailers is given. It is suggested that, in the past, much of the international growth in the retail sector has been a direct result of the constraints placed on retailers by a relative absence of opportunities in their domestic markets. During the 1980s a more proactive type of international retailer has emerged, motivated by the presence of growth opportunities outside the domestic market. The removal or easing of apparent barriers facing retailers has been a major driving force; particularly the legislative role of the 1992 programme in the European Community.

Considers the direction of the international expansion of European food retailers, and suggests that international retail studies have been criticized for a lack of empirical research. Discusses the results of a survey which sought the views of the main board directors of all major food retail companies based in six European Union countries: France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and the UK. Observation of previous international activity reported in the literature suggests that the direction of international retail expansion is primarily determined by three factors of geography, culture and economic development. Considers the observable trends in the light of the empirical results presented. Presents these findings within a conceptual framework which suggests that, over time, retailers move from a reluctant, through cautious, to an ambitious stage in their international development. Analyses and discussess respondents’ propensity to internationalization and proposes a conceptual development.

Discusses the internationalization of retail operations within the European Union (EU) and the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Discusses the determining factors behind the internationalization process and the influence this has on the flow of international investment. Places the motivations behind internationalization indicated by the survey results presented within the debate on the internationalization process. Analyses and uses to illustrate these determining factors, the particular experiences and attitudes of UK retailers towards international expansion. As a group, large UK retailers provide an interesting indicator of changing perceptions and underlying factors that determine the nature of international organizational growth and development. The EU and NAFTA provide useful market comparisons when assessing this process. Presents and discusses observable trends and survey results. Considers current and future developments in the internationalization process.

Explores the future development of the “big five” UK grocery retailers and their response to the challenges of the next decade. Presents the results of a survey of manufacturers, analysts and retailers, in which saturation and internationalization are the key themes. Recounts how UK grocery retailers have not been in the forefront of international retail activity – both non‐food UK retailers, and continental European food retailers, have established stronger international profiles. Suggests that the prospect of a saturated UK grocery market faces the “big five”, and addresses the question: when will opportunities in the UK become marginal, and how will retailers react to that prospect?

Many retailers are expanding throughout Europe, while it is well‐known that large differences still exist between the European countries. This paper aims to explore to what extent the historical expansion sequence patterns of retailers operating across Europe are driven by cultural factors.

The paper derives a cultural map of Western Europe based on data of Hofstede and Hall. Three important cultural clusters are identified. Next, this study investigates the expansion sequences of nine big EU‐ and US‐based fashion‐clothing retailers across those three cultural clusters.

The results show that initial expansion typically takes place in a neighbor country belonging to the same cultural cluster. Subsequent expansion tends to follow a stepwise cluster‐by‐cluster pattern, where retailers make cluster jumps, first expanding in the same cluster, but already move to another before the first is completed.

For US/Canada‐based retailers as well as for European‐based retailers it is crucial to fully recognize the differences between European countries, but it is very useful to consider their similarities too. Dividing the European market into clusters of countries seems to be a pragmatic way of handling differences and similarities. This information can help managers to make better decisions on entry sequences in foreign markets.

To the authors' best knowledge, this is the first study analyzing the complete international entry sequences, i.e. both the initial and subsequent entries of retailers in Western Europe, from a national cultural perspective.

Argues that global networked environments, such as the Internet and those of online service providers such as AOL and CompuServe, provide not only challenging philosophical dilemmas ‐ where nowhere is anywhere ‐ but more practical economic and operational difficulties for retailers and marketers, used to conventional distribution networks in physical space; notes that retailers’ reach can potentially and very easily outweigh their grasp. Reports that a number of western European and North American retailers have been wrestling with the need to establish a presence on the various internetworking services, where the cultural rules of the game are very different, in the context of the threat to established channels. Based on research undertaken among European retailers within the Oxford Institute of Retail Management, develops some thinking on the implications of a virtual geography of demand and supply; in particular, reviews the attraction of new channels to market, seeks to understand current European practice and provides a series of frameworks for evaluating opportunities for electronic commerce.

The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the important but neglected role of retail formats in the transfer and positioning decisions of international retailers. The paper examines the role of core and country-specific attributes of particular formats in determining retailers’ local positioning in inter-format competition.

Focussing on three distinguished grocery formats (i.e. discounters, supermarkets, and hypermarkets) and using multiple-group structural equation models, the authors conducted consumer surveys in Germany and Romania to evaluate consumer perceptions of the core attributes of those formats and their influence on retail brand equity and consumer loyalty.

Although consumer perceptions of core attributes differ between formats in Germany and Romania, most of the core attributes of the formats affect retail brands with equal strength in both markets. Retail brand equity determines loyalty to all formats in both countries.

Retailers transferring their formats to foreign countries should place particular emphasis on managing the core attributes of a specific format, as these attributes are of paramount importance in establishing a strong brand. Additional country-specific attributes are also relevant to varying extents, depending on the particular format that is used. Assessing causal relationships extends retailer knowledge of the role of format attributes.

This study proposes a format-specific approach that is novel to international retailing research. The country comparison strengthens the study's implications, considers both a developed and an emerging economy, and accounts for the preference of Western European retailers to expand into Eastern European countries. The paper concludes that format transfer and positioning decisions occur within the boundaries of core format attributes.

A self‐report questionnaire was used to discover key shrinkage, theft and loss prevention data from 476 major European retailers (23 per cent of West Europe's retail turnover) in 16 countries for the financial year 2001‐2002. The response rate was 33 per cent. Shrinkage rates were found to vary considerably between countries with a weighted average of 1.45 per cent (1.42 per cent in 2000/2001), equivalent to €30,310 million (or $27,582 million). A total of 18.3 per cent of shrinkage was perceived to be caused by “internal error” rather than crime and this estimate is deducted from shrinkage to derive the crime figure. Retail crime cost retailers €30,407 million ($27,670 million). In contrast to US data, customer theft was seen as the most important crime cost, followed by employee theft, security costs and supplier theft. Stores apprehended more than 1.2 million thieves in 2001/2002, but passed only 25.7 per cent to the police.

The internationalisation of retailing has been a facet of retail developments in recent years and will continue to be of importance to companies in the 1990s. The forces which encourage retailers to “go international”, the scale of international presence and the strategies employed to enter new markets are identified. Finally, possible trends in the future are discussed.