After developing a wide network of stores in Italy and abroad for intimate apparel, Calzedonia has started to diversify its portfolio, acquiring Atelier Emé, a wedding dress chain with 29 outlets, as well as opening Signor Vino, a wine specialist with 14 outlets. With a sluggish domestic market, the company reduced its number of intimate apparel outlets in 2016 after years of expansion due to the fact that the channel is saturated and margins are shrinking.

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In 2014, Cnova was created as an alliance between Cdiscount (GBO Casino Guichard-Perrachon) and Nova Brazil in response to the seemingly relentless rise of Amazon. This new player will face two main challenges in the short term. Firstly, Cnova will have to find a solution to its strong losses in Brazil due to an economic slowdown in the country and a fraud-related accounting scandal. In France, where the Cdiscount web store fared much better thanks to strong growth in consumer electronics…

Leroy Merlin The company is planning to open 25 new outlets in Spain by 2020. Over the longer term, the company’s strategy is expected to be focused more on urban areas. Leroy Merlin is also expected to increase the size of some of its outlets, whilst refurbishing other stores. The company’s focus is also expected to be fixed on the widening of its product range and the improvement of its online retailing channel.

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El Corte Ingles is expected to continue making significant investment in its operations in the online channel with the aim of maintaining its status as an innovative leader and offering the best service possible to its customers. It is expected that the company will continue signing new agreements with different brands, offering them shop-in-shop outlets within its department stores in an effort to increase its product range and attract more consumers.

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Linio Colombia will continue to reinforce its leadership position within internet retailing, both as an internet retailer and as a marketplace platform. Linio is a pioneer in internet retailing by offering a wide selection and variety of products that have positioned it as a responsive online store of easy access, home deliveries within an agreed timeframe, and payment facilities such as cash on delivery.

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While in 2015 the Italian economy showed tangible yet modest signs of recovery, 2016 marked a slowdown due to several factors, including lingering political uncertainty due to the forthcoming constitutional referendum and fears of terrorist attacks, making consumers more cautious with their spending. At the same time, consumers’ willingness to lead more sustainable and healthier lives drove sales of more expensive organic and local produce. As a result, consumers purchased fewer products for…

Sklavenitis J&S made its biggest strategic move in its history during 2016 by proposing to merge with bankrupt rival Marinopoulos in a final attempt to save the debt-ridden group. If this transaction is given the green light, it will create the biggest grocery group in Greece, and it will result in Sklavenitis J&S using its banner outside of the capital Athens for the first time.

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The concept of Label’Vie in Morocco benefits mainly from the strong brand image of Carrefour and Atacadão hypermarkets, which offer an array of outlets which are always innovative. Carrefour Market offers its customers a very pleasant experience in its stores. The brand uses attractive lighting and furniture, along with the possibility for customers to use the traditional loyalty card, Carrefour. Its concept has proved to be a success, especially regarding the conversion of Label’Vie stores…

Rimi is expected to continue to lead the market and expand. There are two strategic directions apparent in the company's development. Firstly, Rimi is reducing its number of discounter outlets by changing them into regular Rimi outlets as the company is letting go of lowest-income customers in favour of the middle-income segment, which is associated with most of the disposable income growth. As Rimi is already located in the best locations, it is a natural move to change the outlets to a…

In 2016, CONAD launched its new Pet Store Conad banner in order to take advantage of Italian consumers’ increasing expenditure of pet food and pet care products in spite of economic uncertainty. The company ended the year with 15 stores, with the plan being to eventually have more than 100 outlets. The company also opened a new superstore concept in Naples called Fuorigrotta, which is a 1,650 sq m urban store which focuses on high quality fresh produce often bought on a daily basis.…

Bags and Luggage specialist Retailers: Bags and luggage specialist retailers has been influenced by the socio-political and economic turbulence and again recorded a decline in the average unit price in current terms in 2016. The category also posted a sales decline of 4% in current terms, which was despite demand from tourists for luxury brands. As Greek consumer confidence was influenced by new austerity measures introduced in 2016, consumers turned to cost-cutting techniques as they tried…

Hondos Bros has adopted a conservative strategy in terms of its expansion, as it prefers to invest in its range of products and pricing instead of planning to expand its store network. Its main advantage over competitors is that it manages to incorporate a wide range of branded and unbranded products under its well-recognised brand name.

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Hondos Bros has adopted a conservative strategy in terms of its expansion, as it prefers to invest in its range of products and pricing instead of planning to expand its store network. Its main advantage over competitors is that it manages to incorporate a wide range of branded and unbranded products under its well-recognised brand name.

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Jumbo Hellas plans to invest in renovating its existing network of stores, but also in the opening of 1-2 stores over the first two years of the review period. Furthermore, the company will place an additional focus on its e-shop in order to expand its product range to more categories. Its brand Jumbo will continue to introduce new products to its range as it is changing identity from a toyshop towards a store-based and online variety store.

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Integral Plus aims to increase its customer base in Azerbaijan in 2016 and in the future, and increase retail sales by integrating different retail channels – internet retailing and store-based retailing. The company is searching for new effective marketplaces in Azerbaijan, and aims to increase its sales by working domestically in the future. With the development of high technologies, sales of consumer appliances and consumer electronics are expected to increase further in Azerbaijan.…

Mixed retailers in Germany saw value sales remain flat in current terms in 2016, with this being a better performance than the previous three years when the channel recorded declines of 3%, 2% and 3%, respectively, mostly due to a consumer switch towards internet retailing and department stores not being quick enough to adapt to changing trends. The channel’s recovery in 2016 was linked to stronger performances from department stores but particularly variety stores. The latter channel…

With a population of over 81 million price-conscious and quality-demanding inhabitants, German grocery retailing was already one of the most competitive and challenging channels in the world. Now, grocery retailers are also having to adapt to demographic shifts, modern lifestyles and changing values. Furthermore, changes in eating habits and consumption behaviour, particularly the continuous volume decline of food products, are additionally challenging the margins of grocery retailers and…

At the end of 2016, Galeries Lafayette faced both opportunities (the possibility that Sunday trading will be allowed in France in the near future) and threats (a ceiling on cash payments and a drop in consumer footfall after the terrorist attacks). Therefore, Galeries Lafayette has adopted an audacious growth plan. The company will seek to strengthen its position in flagship locations such as tourist areas of Paris while reviewing underperforming outlets in second-tier cities as well as…

In spite of ongoing strong growth in 2015 and 2016, Decathlon will face numerous threats over the forecast period, such as the growing dynamism of franchised competitors such as Intersport, the increasing importance of more specialised retailers in high added-value niches, such as Endurance Shops and Foulées, which focus on catering for specific sports such as running, and the competition posed by multinational apparel and footwear specialist retailer chains such as H&M. Thus, over the…

The forecast period is expected to see Mercadona invest strongly in internet retailing, with its new website expected to be ready by 2017. Mercadona has not been able to take advantage of this channel in the past years and it is now trying to catch up. The company is expected to continue expanding its outlet network, which has formed the basis of its main strategy in recent years. Additionally, the company recently announced its intention to enter Portugal in 2016, with up to four outlets…