Western retailers including companies such as Walmart, Carrefour, Auchan, Casino (yes 3 French companies that thrive abroad, cocorico), Tesco or Costco are looming on new markets to develop in order to maintain high growth rates.
A lot of them have bet on China, and they bet right. Indeed, China will soon become the largest retail market in the world. China has allowed international retailers to grow fast while their domestic market was remaining steady. And despite the last years issues, like higher legislation and slower growth, China is still a great market for the years ahead.
There are still a lot of room for opening new stores, launching new categories and innovations.
But now, what will be the next markets? Indeed, India has a great potential but has been struggling with its politics, which cooled off most of retailers. Philippines, which is also one of the most populated country, has also been a question, mostly due to its corruption. This is the reason why Carrefour took off not so long ago.
But the next real playground to those retailers will be the digital one. For sure, retailers will invest hard online, and this is a matter of time when Carrefour, Walmart or Tesco will make a significant move online. And this will be an interesting story to follow.
