Ikea Deutschland, the leading player in homewares and home furnishing stores in Germany in 2016, has maintained its leading position by continuing to focus on its distinctive outlet concept and a good price-quality ratio. However, to move with the times and maintain its position, Ikea has adopted a multi-channel approach, also offering its products online. Furthermore, its existing stores are regularly modified to meet consumers’ changing demands, while the company constantly alters its…

Due to ongoing negative results, Auchan France is likely to accelerate the major reorganisation plan it announced in 2015. For the new management team, the priority will be to improve in terms of flexibility and competitiveness, notably by returning to its original governance rules. Auchan France also has to reorganise its offering, mainly in fresh and chilled processed food and non-grocery products, accelerating its multi-channel strategy (Auchan is one of the best performers in…

Electronet plans to continue its network expansion by focusing on rural areas and islands in the short term. Its main strategies also involve the development of its product range and price offerings, while a continuous focus will be placed on online sales and attracting demand to its online store.

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After a successful change in ownership in August 2014, Karstadt implemented a 3-year turnaround programme called “Focus”, with the main short-term goal being a return to profitability. In order to enhance its appeal among the wider public and focus more strongly on the individual needs and demands of consumers from different regions in Germany, a more decentralised approach to organising stores and portfolios has been adopted. An enhanced omni-channel strategy additionally offers up- and…

Nalsani SA is a leading company, which with its brand Totto, has as its main strategy expansion, the offer of variety and technology in suitcases, backpacks, messenger bags and purses; this positions it as a bags and luggage specialist retailer in the country and projects it as a multinational fashion leader that has stores globally and a presence in different countries. This has also allowed it to venture into clothing and accessories. Its consolidation is based on the offer of products…

Charles Vögele Holding experienced a number of challenges in 2015 and 2016 including the abolition of the minimum Euro exchange rate, which severely affected results in its Swiss home and caused negative conversion effects in the other sales regions. Despite a difficult competitive environment, the company is expected to pursue its strategy by focusing on three core areas: product range, merchandise management and implementation of the new store format.

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JBY SA is one of the pioneers in internet retailing in Switzerland. The retailer is expected to continue to invest in attracting new users to its online platform and to boost the shopping experience of existing customers.

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Being present in a range of channels has enabled SMU to develop various strategies which help it to meet demand amongst various socioeconomic segments. The company undertook changes in its outlet formats in recent years, which boosted its sales and increased the profitability of its stores, due to the combination of formats which are suited to the needs of a specific consumer base, strong logistical support, and centralised company support services. 2016 brought new plans for restructuring…

Herbalife is expected to continue increasing its team of direct selling agents in Spain in order to have the widest possible coverage. Additionally, the company is expected to continue sponsoring world-class athletes, teams and events in order to increase consumer awareness of its brand.

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Amazon is expected to consolidate its leading position in internet retailing in France in 2017 by moving into new areas such as packaged food, fresh food, same-day delivery and fashionable local craft products. However, Amazon is in such position of strength in France that the real challenges for the US company will be mainly fiscal and logistical. At the current time, Amazon has only four logistics warehouses in the country and does not have an official French headquarters. This has enabled…

Otto has transformed itself from a leader in homeshopping to one of the most successful internet retailing companies in Germany. In future, Otto is expected to invest further in this digital transformation and focus increasingly on customer needs. By placing the customer at the forefront of its activities, Otto aims to embrace the challenges posed by digitisation to the economy and society. With regard to online sales, the company is expected to particularly focus on enhancing its m-commerce…

The economic deceleration that began in 2014 continued to impact the performance of mixed retailers in 2016, even though the channel showed signs of health during the year. Consumer confidence declined consistently over the course of the year, along with the slight increase in the unemployment rate and the aggressively increasing dollar exchange rate. This strongly impacted prices and the willingness to spend amongst consumers, because many of Chile’s low-income consumers were concerned that…

In less than a year after completing the liquidation process of Polar assets, the department store Ripley closed its operations, whose business plans did not materialise successfully and were well below the expectations along with the change in the macroeconomic scenario experienced in the country, which differed from what was expected at the time of the investment; this made the sustainability of its operation impossible. Although it had been expanding its operations with the opening of…

The company is expected to continue focusing its strategy on the sales of the TM5 Thermomix through its large network of direct selling agents, with the penetration of this product expected to reach 20% of Spanish households by 2021. Additionally, the company is expected to enter store-based retailing in the near future by opening some stores in Spain due to the extremely high success of its Thermomix brand.

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While 2014 was a year to forget for store-based retailers in France, grocery retailers witnessed signs of improvement in 2015 and 2016, according to most experts. Firstly, slightly stronger GDP growth in 2015 and 2016, the warm summer weather and the Rugby World Cup in 2015 and the European Football Championships and Olympic Games in 2016 served to support general consumption, notably of drinks and chilled processed food. Next, the end of a decline in sales through discounters was good news…

Vendomatica expects to continue to expand its national reach and incorporate new innovations in its vending system, as well as to improve the quality of the products it offers customers.

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Panamericana is an established chain and leader in stationers/office supply stores, whose central management strategy is to offer a broad portfolio of stationery for all ages, both for office and school activities. In addition to this, it offers technology products, furniture, art, decoration and toys, under the concept that all of them are a part of what is required to work in an office or are useful for school; therefore, it includes advice on the purchase and use of the products it sells.…

As an off-price retailer, TJX’s TK Maxx banner has a clear positioning in the German market, with no significant competitor. As German consumers are generally price-sensitive but still want good quality, TK Maxx’s unique off-price concept appeals to many. In this regard, TJX is expected to continue with its outlet expansion strategy in Germany as well as offer its customers a wide range of branded products at much lower retail prices than its competitors. Having increased the number of its…

The downward spiral of Vivarte, the leading player in apparel and footwear in France, is not at an end. In 2014, Vivarte was involved in a leveraged buyout and its debt restructuring came to an end as a new board and management team were installed. Thanks to a reduced debt burden and a fresh injection of cash, the company seemed set for a strong recovery. However, its endeavours to reinvent itself as a more premium retailer since 2012, notably via its La Halle outlets, proved to be a failure…

Yoox has announced that it will focus its growth strategy on improving conversion rates, as well as customer engagement to drive repeat sales. The company wants to grow at a faster rate than online luxury sales and will introduce a private label line to drive off-season sales. It expects that its private label will account for 10% of overall company sales by 2020.

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