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Macy's Is Closing Stores. Carrefour Is Opening in Africa. What's Really Happening in Global Retail | World Retail Signals · The Retail Podcast

• 0:21
  And welcome back to another fabulous edition of World Retail
• 0:25
  Signals with my Co host Ian and Neeve.
• 0:28
  Neeve is there. Trust me, we're putting it to
• 0:30
  the cloud gods that her video will upload to the cloud.
• 0:33
  If it doesn't, we'll still start with Neeve, and hopefully we'll
• 0:38
  capture what's top of mind for you this week.
• 0:40
  Neeve. Hi Alex, yes, I'm here.
• 0:42
  Hopefully my video does come through, but if not audience
• 0:45
  Prime today, I really wanted to talk about this growing issue of
• 0:50
  shop crime, which continues to escalate across a number of
• 0:53
  major markets, particularly here in the UK and and across Europe.
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  And we're seeing more and more news stories coming out about
• 1:01
  that at the moment. And what's notable now I really
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  think is that it's not just being talked about as shrink or
• 1:07
  loss, but increasingly we're hearing retailers talk about
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  this is a serious safety issue for for retail workers.
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  And we're seeing retailers respond in a few key ways, which
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  I think it is really interesting in terms of a signal from from
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  the global retail community and many more investing in store
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  level security and technology, rolling out more AI enabled
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  monitoring and but also importantly pushing for stronger
• 1:33
  collaboration with governments and law enforcement.
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  And I really think it's, it's indicative of the how retailers
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  are rethinking the in store experience itself, balancing
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  that openness and accessibility with safety and control.
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  So it's really becoming a defined operational challenge
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  for the next few years. And how retailers are responding
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  to it is also coming up more and more in, in these news stories.
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  And is it correct for the shop staff to, to target and, and to
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  confront shoplifters and, and gangs of youth?
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  So or, or should they rely on the police presence?
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  So yes, definitely a key top of mind point for retailers.
• 2:15
  Why don't we move on to, I don't know how much of that will
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  capture or not, but Ian, why don't?
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  Why don't we move on to you, Sir?
• 2:20
  Tell me what? Top of mind, Yeah.
• 2:22
  Hi Alex. Yeah, something a front of mine
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  for me. I was really interested last
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  week in EU kao.com which is a specialist online retailer in
• 2:32
  home appliances and electronics posted some really, really
• 2:36
  strong figures that surprised in a very good way the the city and
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  and investors. I mean they grew profits by 35%
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  for the full year and revenues by 7%.
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  So that kind of that conversion on that revenue growth is
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  really, really impressive. And you know, it's, it's had a
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  bit of a a chequered sort of recent performance.
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  So that turn around is good. And on top of that, Currys again
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  in the UK, which operates through Europe, the the CEO Alex
• 3:02
  Baldock, who's been there for eight years, announced that he's
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  moving on in the summer. But but I think he leaves it in
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  a really, really good place. Again, it's been really tough in
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  the whole sector. And so it just struck me as, you
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  know, how competitive the retail is that this kind of really
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  consumer goods LED sector is performing quite strongly.
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  I think that's through the resilience of those retailers.
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  And then I think also, you know, the World Retail Congress being
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  in Berlin and Germany this year, the news from a few months back
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  was Chinese pureplay, giant.jd.com bought economy in
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  Germany, which is the media Mart Saturn business.
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  So I just thought it's really, really interesting that suddenly
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  there's a focus on this, you know, very, very competitive
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  sector that's being really challenged.
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  That's, you know, I think the retail leaders have really
• 3:54
  grappled with and in a positive way the, the issues that kind of
• 3:57
  deliver those kind of performances.
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  And I think going back to this economy in Germany, it's going
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  to be absolutely fascinating to see what jjd.com bring because
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  they, they do have physical retailers in this space in, in
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  China. So it's going to be fascinating
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  to see what they do to really shake up the the sector.
• 4:13
  Yeah, I find it. I mean, we can actually see you.
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  We get I, I think it's jd.com also launched Joy.
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  I think it's in the, which apparently was a failed attempt
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  that they came back and tried to re enter the UK market with Joy,
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  which we'll see. Time will tell if that's a
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  success or not. Neva, do you have another one?
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  We got the UK crime one. Did you have another theme that
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  you want to talk about? Yeah.
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  And interestingly, Alex, it's linked to what you just brought
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  up there about retailers who potentially had challenges
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  entering a market and are trying again.
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  And we've seen that a few in a few news stories this week as
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  well. Uniqlo is a great example and
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  they've had a mixtrack record and some Western markets in the
• 5:00
  past, but they're coming back with clearer brand positioning,
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  better real estate choices and a much stronger understanding of
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  local consumers. And we're also seeing something
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  similar with Sephora after stepping back from certain
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  markets where they where they had some challenges, they're
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  again re entering with a really strong Omni channel model, more
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  emphasis on experience and services and a really confident
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  brand proposition. And I think that's super
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  interesting that, you know, even if retailers haven't got it
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  quite right in the past, that they can re enter markets and
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  rethink where it went wrong in the past.
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  And I'm really correct. And then interestingly in the
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  news this week, noticing that gym shark opening in a Miami
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  gym, which is really exciting. So really expanding their US
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  presence, but also really focusing on that experiential
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  side of the brand, on the gym experience itself rather than
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  just a store transactional location.
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  Yeah, I mean, I, I guess I love Gym Shark's Regent Street store,
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  but I I can't, I can't always be.
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  I love, I love, I have to be on it.
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  I don't particularly love the New York store, but it's OK.
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  It's, I don't know if you ever went to show Fields.
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  It's a really awkward building with one lift that goes through
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  all floors. But anyway, but but I do love
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  the what they've done and how they've grown.
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  I think it's a phenomenal use case.
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  So it's really, it is really interesting and I love to see
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  how maybe your retailers at your show sort of talk about this new
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  entrance coming into the market, specifically from China, because
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  it feels like there's a bit of a a global movement.
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  Some UK brands are going to the Usus are coming to the UK real
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  going. Ian, how about you, Sir?
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  What's your second one? Yeah.
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  Well, it I was on from Neve's focus there on international
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  expansion because in a similar way I wanted to sort of pick up
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  on international, but more specifically around Africa.
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  And I was talking yesterday to the head of international for
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  CAR 4, which is interesting because they operate a franchise
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  model. And, and just as Neve said, you
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  know, they've had a pretty chequered very recent period
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  where they've been retrenching from market rethinking the whole
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  model. But, but, but, but still very
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  much focusing on franchising. But they had a big press
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  conference in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria yesterday, where they
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  had government ministers there and ambassadors and a really
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  high turn out because they have just announced a franchise
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  partnership with Hypercity, the Nigerian food retailer.
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  And with, you know, big ambitions for that huge market.
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  I think that will bring it to Italia, 15 countries in Africa
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  that CAR 4 is now in. So I think there's A and they're
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  opening in Ghana later this this year, which they announced
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  earlier this year. So, you know, Africa comes up in
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  many conversations when people are talking about which regions,
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  which markets to look at. And you know, you know, people
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  have been speaking about the Middle East until recently, but
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  you know, India, but Africa, you know, it's, it's interesting.
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  This is definitely seen as a really exciting market that's
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  that's opening up and modern retailing is, is really
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  developing fast in those vast countries That I think is just
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  just proves that it's one to watch.
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  But also, you know how, you know, retailers are just looking
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  around the world and, you know, seeing how they can bring their
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  formats and again, to nice point, you know, you have to
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  adapt and amend them to to fit to fit the the the market.
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  But no, I mean, I think Africa is, yeah.
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  No, no, sorry to interrupt you. No, I was just really finishing
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  off saying Africa is definitely I think a market increasingly to
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  watch. Yeah, I, I, I find that
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  fascinating because I know Carrefour quite well and I know
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  how well they dominate obviously France and and pocket Europe,
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  but how well they do in South America.
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  And so that's super fast. I can imagine people watching
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  that really closely to see will you will they be successful
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  expanding in the region, which I think, yeah, I've not heard that
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  anywhere else. Feels like a bit of an exclusive
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  you bought there. I've not seen that anywhere.
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  But anyway, OK, my point finally, I think I focusing on
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  the USI bring the same theme that we were all talking about,
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  which I think what executives are fingering and where we are.
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  There is a story of two halves in retail right now.
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  Some people are closing, some people are expanding, and mine
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  too are exactly that. You have on the on the negative
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  side, Macy's announcing 150 store closures, but companies
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  like TJ Maxx and Trader Joe's opening new stores.
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  I don't think they offset each other.
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  You know, Macy's 150. Trader Joe's is 18 in 12 and 12
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  states. So there isn't an offset in
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  terms of, you know, people unfortunately losing their jobs
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  and going straight to another retailer.
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  But from a retail industry perspective, the big middle
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  seems to be disappearing and value or all premium seem to be
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  growing. And so grocery is a really
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  interesting one to watch. But yeah, I think the reduction
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  in a lot of people who are commentators on department
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  stores in the US will put the argument, well, department
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  stores are in decline. People that want to go in them,
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  I don't know. I have, I have, I think, you
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  know, boring, badly crafted department stores are inclined.
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  People still do want to go to one place and get everything.
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  And so good department stores will, I think, you know, do
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  well. And I think even Macy's model,
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  they've got a few brands underneath their Macy's brand
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  that have done well. So I don't want to sort of broad
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  brush, all department stores are in decline and doing well
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  because I don't think globally that is true at all.
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  But Trader Joe's, again, you know, doing really well, growing
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  new fit. And and here's the other thing,
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  physical stores are growing, which I think testament to
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  people are investing in AI, people are investing in
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  technology, but the investment in store and all three of us
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  have spoken about store format investment in physical and
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  expansion. So the capital is still coming,
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  but capital allocation and what is being spent and what is being
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  a grown I think is the interesting one.
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  And we're almost in the middle of the year.
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  So it's one to watch as we go through the air.
• 11:16
  Yeah, definitely. Definitely.
• 11:18
  OK, well listen, we've done that as as always, straight on time
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  leave. Hopefully when we do your for
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  update, we'll see more of yeah, fingers crossed to the to the
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  clouds gods. Until next week, we've got one
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  more show and then it's your big show.
• 11:34
  I know, exciting. It's exciting we'll be able to
• 11:38
  poke each other in real life. Do it in real life.
• 11:43
  Anyway, until then, thank you so much.
• 11:47
  Thanks, Alex. Thanks.
• 11:48
  Bye now. Bye.