International Strategy

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."

Large emerging markets with an active online user base and solid infrastructure offer retailers the greatest e-commerce potential in the near term, according to a new study by A.T. Kearney’s Global Consumer Institute. The study ranks the 10 countries with the greatest potential for e-commerce growth, and China tops the list, followed by Brazil, Russia, Chile and Mexico. 

The world’s virtual flea market, eBay, has set up shop in Russia. The Russian subsidiary will be headed by Vladimir Dolgov, a former Google manager in Russia, Vedomosti daily reported. eBay has been considering the Russian market since 2010, when its international shopping system eBay International Market (eIM) was launched. The platform allowed people living in Russia to search for products around the world, compare them with other products and buy them through the eIM Russian interface. 

Costco may expand its operations to Europe soon, and is mulling opening stores in Germany, Italy, France and Spain. Bloomberg reports James Murphy, international executive vice president for the Issaquah,Wash.-based retailing giant, said the company hasn't decided which European country will be first for its expansion there, and the first European store won't open for the "next couple of years."

The Wall Street Journal reported that Swedish fashion giant Hennes & Mauritz is looking into sourcing its clothes in yuan payments to protect its purchasing costs from further strengthening of the U.S. dollar. "A lot of our rivals have already begun paying directly in yuan," H&M's Head of Investor Relations Nils Vinge told the newspaper. Vinge added that doing so will become easier as China loosens its tight grip on the currency. The Swedish retailer sources the majority of its clothes in Asia, and about 80 percent of its total purchasing costs are in dollars.