The Internationalisation of Retailing in Asia

Retailing in Asia is currently undergoing a major process of internationalization. Retailers from Europe and North America are entering the Asian market and stimulating changes to the traditional retail structures: public policy agencies are considering what types of intervention are appropriate; and all of this is affecting fundamentally the managerial culture of retailing in the region. This book brings together a range of experts in retail research, mostly drawn from across Asia, who provide origingal, in-depth, analysis of this key development. It explores the conflicts and benefits that arise as retailing is Asia becomes internationalized.

European retailers have successfully internationalised their activities in Europe but have been less successful in North America. American retailers have been successful in their home market but less so in Europe. The major European and American retailers are now entering Asia and competing directly with each other in a substantive way fort he first time. These Western retailers, using modern managerial methods, are entering markets typified by more traditional managerial approaches. Western managerial cultures and values are interfacing with Asian ones. The results of these moves are new stresses for Asian retail structures that bring a new dynamism to Asian retailing. The contributions in this book explore the conflicts and benefits that arise as retailing in Asia becomes internationalised. The contributions are provided by experts in retail research from across Asia and for the first time in depth analyses are provided of the ways that Western retailers are provoking change in Asia. The book results form a seminar held at the University of Marketing and Distribution Sciences, Kobe, in November 2001 under the auspices of Society for Asian Research in Distribution. Scholars from across the region presented research results of their analyses of the New Commerce now appearing in Asia.

List of figures, List of tables, List of contributors, Acknowledgements, Introduction, 1. International retailing in Japan, 2. The development of foreign retailing in Taiwan: the impacts of Carrefour, 3. Moves into the Korean market by global retailers and the response of local retailers: lessons for the Japanese retailing sector?, 4. Structural changes in the retail industry: the Korean government’s industrial policy subsequent to opening the domestic market, 5. The impact of World Class Distributors on the retail industry in Thailand, 6. Globalising retailing in Singapore:cultural commodification and economic change, 7. Internationalization of retailing in China, 8. International transfer of retail know-how through foreign direct investment from Europe to China, 9. The reform of the distribution system in China: opening the system to the outside world, 10. The role of government in creating competitive advantage in the globalized economy: the case of Shanghai, China, 11. Towards a model of the impacts of retail internationalisation, 12. Conclusion: the direction of future research on the internationalisation of retailing, Index

John Dawson, Masao Mukoyama, Sang Chui Choi and Roy Larke