With 2009 annual results flooding in, the overriding opinion of last year is that it was one when retailers cut back on expenditure and scaled back store openings. The outlook now is for conservative store growth through smaller footprint stores.
This message is underpinned by retailing information provider Planet Retail’s global forecasting tool. Analysing every market from Albania to Zimbabwe, and every grocery format from bakeries to warehouse clubs, some 24,700 stores are forecast to open globally in 2010 – equivalent to a net new sales area of 263.5 million square feet.
In terms of markets that are expected to see the most store growth, it is no surprise to see China at the top of the ranking, followed by the US and then South Korea. Quite surprisingly neither Brazil nor Russia make the top 10, and India, the other member of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries sits in seventh place. China has emerged as the priority growth market for almost all of the world’s leading grocers, while the fragmented nature of the market is also providing exciting opportunities for local players as well.
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(Source: Retail Week )