rising brands
Posted by Abe Sauer on October 28, 2009 01:01 PM
With the molasses-paced US economy continuing to disappoint, Wal-Mart is the latest brand to look to boost its bottom line by growing internationally. Wal-Mart isn't the only brand finding a little good news outside the U.S. of A: Coca-Cola's saw third quarter growth in India (+37%), China (+15%) and Brazil (+3%).
Wal-Mart plans for more than two-thirds of its new square footage growth to occur outside the US. Its stores can be found in 15 countries, including the Japan, China, the UK, Brazil and Mexico. In fact, 2009 was the first year in which the retailer added less square-footage in the US than abroad.
Another benefit of growing abroad for Wal-Mart is that it's actually welcome, and not derided at every turn, as it often seems it is in the US. Wal-Mart, and big box retailers in general, as wildly popular overseas, where low prices and large selections get appreciation from shoppers who have not been spoiled by drunken consumer culture.
In Iran, the recent opening of a Hyperstar "hypermarket," the nation's first such big box retailer, has drawn monstrous buzz. And while there is some debate about the original plan to open the hypermarkets under France's Carrefour brand, the result is the same: Hypermarket is wildly popular, with the brand planning on opening 15 branches by 2015.
With that kind of reception, is it any shock big box retailers are seeing their future overseas instead?
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