by David Pinto
Virtually overnight, mass retailing, until recently a U.S.-dominated business, has acquired a global initiative, the result of which has been a partial eclipse of America’s unquestioned position as the world’s retail leader. Want some examples? Consider the following:
In Japan, 7-Eleven’s parent company is busy planning an extensive upgrade for its U.S. stores, a redesign, already begun, that will ultimately have the U.S. convenience store retailer offering such amenities as in-store dining and an expanded product assortment that will include many of the private label favorites that have become must-buy items at the retailer’s Japanese stores. The renovation, overseen by the retailer’s chief executive, who at one time worked for Walmart, promises at the least to give its U.S. competitors an additional rival to attract, or distract, them.
In Mexico, Ulta, once an exclusively American retailer, has just opened its first Mexican outlet, while signaling the company’s plans to quickly add others. The new store raises more questions than it answers. The most immediate one is: Why? Why has this U.S. retailer determined, at this point in time, that it has a future beyond the U.S. border? Equally perplexing, where and when does Ulta plan to go next? And why? Does the planet’s most populous Western nation no longer offer the opportunities it once did? Conversely, why are other nations becoming more appealing in terms of success? Stay tuned.
Last month, the National Retail Federation, that quintessentially American trade organization, held its second show outside our borders, this one in Europe (the initial convention was held in Asia). Under the theme Retail Together, the three-day meeting, held in Paris from September 16 to September 18, offered its attendees — more than 12,500 from 58 countries — 200 “high-profile” speakers, 500 exhibitors, and “thousands of global retail leaders and solution providers.” Billed by the association as the “inaugural NRF Retail’s Big Show Europe, the event has already been trumpeted as a great success. Here again, the remainder of the U.S. mass retail community are curious: What does NRF know, see or expect that remains unknown, unseen or unexpected by the rest of us? And when will we learn?
Other events or happenings outside American borders are proceeding apace. In Australia, that nation’s leading beauty retailer has begun opening stores in Melbourne, the country’s second-largest city, adding to a store count that already exceeds 100. In the United Kingdom, Amazon appears ready to shutter its significant store presence, determined that its financial commitment could be more productively executed elsewhere. In that same country, Tesco, England’s leading grocery retailer (and one of the world’s most innovative and creative), is busily searching for a new chief executive after the sudden departure of its current CEO, an individual universally respected as a retailer of vision, experience and accomplishment.
Meanwhile, what’s going on in the U.S. retailing community? If you discount Chapter 11 filings, wholesale store closings, top-management changes (this columnist particularly bemoans the stepping aside of Walgreens’ experienced and talented chief executive, a man who had held the top spot for only two years) and other nonproductive activities, the answer is … not much.
Or, put another way, not nearly enough to keep pace with a newly hyperactive global retail community.
