Remember when global retailing was hot? Overseas expansion was going to be the panacea for an industry gripped by excess capacity, slow growth, regulatory restrictions, and a fickle price-conscious consumer. Of course many retailers did globalize, and some succeeded. Yet many more retailers, especially US-based retailers, struggled and failed to find the holy grail of globalization.  Indeed the retailing industry is littered with the charred remains of investments that drained cash from the bottom line.  

So why talk about global retailing now? The answer is that, despite the many failures, there are also many successes. The factors that drove enthusiasm in the past have not disappeared.  

On the other hand, risks remain. Financial markets can still wreak havoc with an emerging economy, local customs can still bewilder the most knowledgeable investor, and local governments can still place unreasonable obstacles to success. 

In this report Deloitte Research considers the issue of retail globalization and offers useful lessons that can be gleaned from the experiences of the past.

To read the full report see the pdf file attachment below.

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