International Strategy

A report by Barclays says that Germany figures as its favorite site for overseas expansion, beating China and Australia. Also, two-thirds of British retailers expect their overseas sales to increase in the coming five years. Richard Lowe, head of retail and wholesale at Barclays, said that most British retailers favor Germany because the climate is much similar to Britain, so money or energy need not be spent on reinventing designs. Another possibility also cannot be discarded, that in the recessionary environment the German economy is doing comparatively better.

Amazon.com today announced the launch of its Amazon Appstore in the U.K., Germany, France, Italy and Spain, giving European consumers access to Amazon's broad selection of quality Android apps with the convenience of shopping on Amazon from their Android phones and tablets. The Amazon Appstore includes popular features like personalized recommendations, customer reviews and one-click payments.

Uniqlo is exploring building an online store for the U.S., according to a document obtained by Ad Age. The request for proposal indicates the retailer is looking for partners to help build the e-commerce site, which, if it goes according to the document's timeline, would go live in October. The Japanese retailer, in the midst of a global expansion as growth slows at home, is searching for an agency to build what it's calling a "digital flagship" for the U.S. market. It hopes to push Stateside sales to $10 billion with 20% originating online by 2020, according to the document.

Wal-Mart has received conditional approval from Beijing to acquire a majority stake in a Chinese e-commerce company. Wal-Mart will increase its stake in the Yihaodian holding company to approximately 51 percent, from a little more than 17 percent. Yihaodian has been in business for less than four years. It sells more than 180,000 products ranging from groceries to electronics to clothing. Wal-Mart is seeking more access to Chinese consumers, who are increasingly shopping online. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. 

Specialty retailer Express expects to have its first stores in Latin America open by year end. The operator of 600 U.S. stores catering to customers in their 20s and 30s has identified international expansion as a key growth driver. The company, through one of its subsidiaries, entered into a franchise agreement with Fastco Commercial S.A. to open more than 30 stores during the next five years in markets that include Panama, Peru, Costa Rica, Colombia, The Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Apple has more retail stores in Pennsylvania than in all of China — where it earns a fifth of its revenue — and a slow pace of expansion may cost the firm more than just sales.

Earlier this year several major retailers, including Marks & Spencer, J Sainsbury and John Lewis earmarked the first Olympics on U.K. soil for 64 years as a major opportunity for a fillip to sales. Yet the financial stresses of recession, coupled with an absence of public holidays and unhelpful weather patterns, mean any boost may be muted.

Retailers are increasingly taking advantage of the global reach of the internet to sell to international consumers. Along with that growth opportunity comes the challenge of making sure your packages get to your international customers. An international order not reaching its final destination not only means the loss of the goods but also a chargeback fee (i.e., loss of money) and, worst of all, a very upset customer.

China may have the largest online population in the world, but a much smaller country south of the equator could also offer an interesting opportunity to expand online.

The Children's Place announced that it's signed a 10-year franchise agreement with Fawaz A. AlHokair & Co. SJSC, known as "Fashion Retail," to open stores across Saudi Arabia. The first two stores are scheduled to open during the second quarter of 2012. Jane Elfers, president and CEO of The Children's Place, stated, "We are very excited to begin our international expansion beyond North America with a number of stores opening in Saudi Arabia this year."