Retailers plan significant expansion next year, says CBRE

Research from the CBRE has found 40% of international retailers want to increase their geographical coverage next year, up from 28% last year.

Some 44% plan to open 10 stores or less and a third of retailers plan to open between 11 and 30 stores. A fifth of retailers want to open more than 30 stores next year, slightly down from a quarter of retailers last year.

CBRE head of cross-border retail for EMEA Peter Gold said research shows retailers believe store growth continues to be just as important as online expansion.

He added: “Multichannel will lead to greater investment in new and existing stores, as it is seen as something that enhances rather than replaces the idea of shopping as a social activity.

“The internet has been regarded in apocalyptic terms by many retail market-watchers; however, we believe these fears are overdone and multichannel should be viewed as complementary as well as in competition.”

Just 27% of retailers have no significant plans to enhance their transactional capability in 2013.

Germany has been identified by retailers as the most important location for retailers, “reflecting its strong economy within the eurozone area”, the CBRE explained.

Other countries in the EMEA region will be targeted by fewer retailers than in 2012, with the next most sought markets inlcuding Austria (25%), The Netherlands (24%), United Kingdom (24%), Poland (23%), Spain (23%) and France (22%).