| Global retail industry news |  |
- Analysis: Lululemon flexes its muscle
Michael Baker, a retail analyst and consultant, says that as people in Australia move past the festive season, they start to think about returning to a healthier lifestyle and retailers catering to that lifestyle pick up. Lululemon athletica is just such a retailer. "What's compelling about lululemon is that it demonstrates how brilliantly the physical store can be put to use in a country where the major retailers are running scared from the Internet," Baker writes in this analysis. The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) (28 Jan.)       - Shares in Turkey's Kiler gain 20% on stock market debut
Umit Kiler, chairman of the Turkish retail group Kiler Holding, said that the company's stock remains undervalued despite surging 20% from its debut on Istanbul's stock exchange. "We expect the share price to rise further as bookbuilding was four-times oversubscribed by foreign investors, and 12-times oversubscribed by locals," Kiler said. ForexYard/Reuters (27 Jan.)  | Drive company revenue by simplifying IT strategies.
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 - IKEA keeps consumers in store, spending with maze-like layout
A scientist at the University College London has studied IKEA, its layout and product placement to determine that it's all a very strategic approach to keeping shoppers in the store and increase their spending. The path is "effectively their catalog in physical form," said Alan Penn of the Virtual Reality Centre. "You're directed through their marketplace area where a staggering amount of purchases are impulse buys, things like light bulbs or a cheap casserole that you weren't planning on getting." TIME/NewsFeed blog (24 Jan.) - CBI reports drop in Britain's retail-sales index
The Confederation of British Industry said that, for the first time in three months, a retail-sales index for the UK has dropped. Merchants and industry observers expect spending weakness to continue after the sales tax increase. "Retailers can expect a challenging period ahead," said Ian McCafferty, chief economic adviser at CBI. "Consumer demand is expected to be weak in coming months as the spending power of households is hit by a combination of sharply rising prices and weak wage growth." Bloomberg (27 Jan.) - Estonian retailers say spending steady after euro adoption
Retailers in Estonia were concerned that consumer spending would cool after the country adopted the euro at the start of the year, but they are reporting that shoppers haven't significantly reined in spending. Officials at the country's largest grocery chains said that consumer spending in 2011 has been equal to or surpassed levels seen last year. "We were prepared for the possibility that the euro entry would make consumers more cautious," said Annika Vilu, a representative of Tallinna Kaubamaja subsidiary A-Selver. Bloomberg (27 Jan.)  | Unsure how to respond on Facebook?
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 - Official says India should lift FDI restrictions
Jyotiraditya Scindia, corporate affairs minister for India, expressed concerns about a steep drop in foreign direct investment last year and suggested it is time for the country to lift its restrictions on FDI in sectors such as multi-brand retail. The move would allow Tesco, Wal-Mart and other foreign supermarkets to help India resolve its food issues. Telegraph (London) (27 Jan.)  | Improving Productivity Collection
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 | E-commerce Spotlight |  | | | - Investors express interest in Australian e-commerce site
OfferMe.com.au could be the latest Australian e-commerce site to secure investment as the online sector transforms the country's retail industry. "A number of potential overseas investors, including US-based private equity and venture capital fund firms, Insight Venture Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners, have approached OfferMe in the past year," said Bekim Ahmedi, marketing manager at the group-buying site. The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) (28 Jan.) | Spotlight on Fashion | | | | - H&M plans to open 250 stores despite drop in profit
Hennes & Mauritz, the Stockholm-based fashion retailer, said that quarterly profit dropped as cotton prices rose and the Swedish krona gained. However, the company plans to continue with its expansion efforts. "Naturally, H&M has to adapt to changing conditions but always in a way that is in accordance with our business concept -- to offer customers fashion and quality at the best price -- and in that way increase the opportunities for us to continue to take market share," said CEO Karl-Johan Persson. Google/The Press Association (U.K.) (27 Jan.) , The Wall Street Journal (27 Jan.) , Bloomberg (27 Jan.) | NRF News | | | | - How retailers can make the most of video
"One of the biggest challenges retailers face in today's technology tsunami is knowing which technologies are worth investing in, and which are today's version of the Betamax," writes Shop.org interim Executive Director Joan Broughton. And a technology worth exploring is video, according to Eric Mahlstadt, online general manager at Golfsmith, who saw a 35 percent conversion rate on product pages that feature the technology. Read more.
| SmartQuote | | | |  | Whenever people say we mustn't be sentimental, you can take it they are about to do something cruel. And if they add, we must be realistic, it means they are going to make money out of it."
--Brigid Brophy,
British writer  |
| | This SmartBrief was created for cpgbrokers.data@blogger.com
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