Retailing

After two years of decline, health and beauty specialists in Taiwan experienced a significant resurgence in 2022, a trend that continued into 2023. With the easing of pandemic restrictions and the removal of mask mandates, consumers eagerly returned…

Health and beauty specialists saw fairly static outlet numbers in South Korea in 2023, after several years of decline, but saw a second year of growth in current value terms. The largest channel in value terms, pharmacies, maintained growth in South…

Similar to other retail channels such as apparel and footwear specialists, beauty specialists in Singapore benefited from the resumption of pre-pandemic lifestyles, such as a return to the office, social activities and international travel. With…

Guardian continued to lead health and beauty specialists overall in 2023, as well as health and personal care stores, with Watsons as its closest competitor at number two in both cases. These players are key contributors to the segment’s growth in…

On 8 May 2023, the Japanese government announced that it would reclassify COVID-19 as a class 5 infectious disease, which is the same classification as seasonal flu. As a result, decisions regarding infection control are now left to individuals and…

Health and beauty specialists saw current value growth in Indonesia in 2023. Beauty shops such as Sephora, Guardian and Sociolla have become well-recognised by consumers. Additionally, these retailers have an extensive omnichannel network through…

Health and beauty specialists maintained double-digit current value growth in India in 2023, with increases seen across all channels. The strongest value growth was seen by beauty specialists, with sales finally returning to the pre-pandemic (2019)…

Health and beauty specialists saw another year of current value growth in Hong Kong in 2023. One of the players driving growth was Sa Sa International, the leading player in beauty specialists in Hong Kong. It reported that its sales in Hong Kong and…

In 2023, overall health and beauty specialists saw a steady increase in current value terms and in terms of outlet numbers compared with 2022 in China. Positive current value growth was achieved across all channels, including pharmacies, despite the…

Although modern trade formats continue to increase their value share in 2022, bazaars are still the dominant grocery retailing channel due in part to the fact that bazaars have a well-established place in Uzbekistani culture, with consumers being…

In 2020, the IMF discontinued funding for Pakistan as the country failed to implement policies regarding taxes and price increases on energy, which worsened Pakistan's economic woes in 2022, resulting in unstable economic and political policies.…

Kazakhstan has strong trade links with Russia in particular and its war in Ukraine negatively impacted the economy and led to high inflation. While skyrocketing international oil and gas prices boosted the local economy, its usual outflow to the…

Modern grocery retailers continued to outperform traditional retailers in terms of growth in Azerbaijan in 2022, gaining value share in a trend that is set to persist. This expansion is supported by ongoing urbanisation and investment in the…

General merchandise stores in Vietnam benefitted from increased inbound tourist flows in 2023, with Vietnam’s tourism industry continuing to rebound post-pandemic and luring millions of international visitors within the year’s first nine months.…

The general merchandise stores channel in the Philippines, which is dominated by department stores, saw buoyant growth in current value terms in 2023. An increase in mobility, including the return of consumers to their physical offices, contributed…

Variety stores in Thailand saw positive though slowed growth in terms of current value sales in 2023. The segment was hit hard by the pandemic and its economic fallout; many local consumers remained reluctant to shop from variety stores as they…

Following two years of economic downturn, general merchandise stores in Taiwan experienced a remarkable resurgence 2023, witnessing double-digit growth in retail sales. Surpassing the convenience stores channel, general merchandise stores reclaimed…

General merchandise stores maintained growth in both outlet numbers and current value sales in South Korea in 2023, with increases seen for both variety stores and department stores, although the latter remained by far the larger channel. Department…

Variety stores in Singapore continued to record solid growth in 2023, driven by the rising cost-of-living pressures, which were a key area of concern for local consumers. Amid a muted economic climate, and rising prices as a result of inflation and…

In line with global trends, department stores in Malaysia are losing appeal due to growing interest in fast-fashion retailers such as H&M, Zara, Uniqlo, and Padini which offer the latest fashions at relatively affordable prices. Small boutique stores…