Magazines Archives - 2007 April

Developing economies spearhead retail sales growth in the region
Cover Story

2007 Asia-Pacific Retail Market Report

In this much-awaited annual update on the retail industry — The 2007 Asia-Pacific Retail Market Report — Euromonitor International* provides a round-up of the key retail developments in the 14 leading Asia-Pacific economies:Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

An overview on the Asia-Pacific retail scene:
 

Overall, the retail industry across all 14 economies in the Asia- Pacific region ended on a positive note in 2006. This was in spite of uncertainties and instability ranging from man-made ones such as the coup d’états in Thailand and the Philippines to natural disasters running the gamut from earthquakes to typhoons in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Not all was bleak in 2006, however. Notably, Japan was invigorated by its economy returning to the pink of health finally. Vietnam experienced robust economic growth as did Thailand, alongside countries that are typically hailed as economic powerhouses, namely China and India.

Shopping proved to be a form of therapy across both developed and developing markets, as evidenced in the positive gains experienced by the retail industry in these countries. Not surprisingly, developing markets such as Thailand, Malaysia, China, Vietnam, India and Indonesia spearheaded retail-sales growth in the region.

With the retail industry being underdeveloped in these countries relative to developed markets such as Japan, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore, these developing countries showed huge potential for growth especially for global retailers such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Tesco, whose home markets are increasingly saturated.