Expansion of Japanese Retailers Overseas

Abstract

There have been a number of studies of foreign retail entry into Japan but few that consider the moves of Japanese retailers to other Asian countries. Nonetheless expansion into Asia of Japanese retailers, notably since the early 1990s, has been considerable. Many have been attracted by the large size of several national markets. Large Japanese trading houses have played a significant direct and indirect role in the international moves of Japanese retailers. China has become the major place of investment for Japanese retailers with 21 retail companies established by Japanese firms. The history of the internationalisation of Japanese retailing shows three phases of development. A first phase is characterised by department stores, a second phase is a slowing of activity in the late 1990s and a third phase of rapid expansion is presently evident. The key to the current phase is the establishment and strength of non-retail supply firms in the same East Asian region into which retailers wish to expand.     

Japanese retailers in Southeast Asia: strong local partners,shopping malls,and aiming for comprehensive internationalization

Japanese retailers have a long and mixed history in Southeast Asia with a period of expansion in the 1980s and 1990s being followed by a long period of decline and stagnation. Recently, some Japanese retailers have renewed their interest in Southeast Asia. Based on an overview of the major retail trends in Southeast Asia and identification of those Japanese retailers that are currently expanding in the region, this article develops propositions about the underlying factors and processes. It argues that the interest in Southeast Asia, while being mostly justified by retailers through reference to the growing middle-class populations in host countries, is as much based on developments in Japan itself, such as the saturation and stagnation of markets and the emergence of exportable, flexible, and comprehensive business models. Japanese retailers are intensifying activities at a time when strong domestic companies with retail interests have established themselves in host countries and therefore partnerships with them seem to fulfill more than the need to comply with investment regulations or deal with complex environments. Shopping malls play a role as locations for specialty stores but are also transplanted from Japan. Companies are making efforts toward more comprehensive internationalization and this involves human resources in headquarters in Japan as well as working together with other Japanese companies, thus satisfying the need for local embeddedness but at the same time maintaining corporate identity and advantages.     

Retail corporate groups: Challenges of omnichannel management in Japan

Abstract

The omnichannel varies across countries due to different retail environments and retailers’ growth strategies. The Japanese big retailers’ omnichannel can be characterized by having multiple retail formats, such as department stores, general merchandise stores, convenience stores, specialty stores, Internet stores, and so on. They have grown by multiplying retail formats to appeal to different customer segments, and they have unique challenges in managing an omnichannel with many retail formats. These are (1) extremely wide variety of merchandise, (2) enormous quantity of data from transaction, inventory, logistics, and customers, (3) different organization structures and management, and (4) unique organizational capabilities in each retail format. From these challenges, we could propose further research issues as follows: (1) theoretical consideration of boundary-spanning functions among retail formats, (2) international comparative analysis reflecting the different conditions in each country, and (3) clarifying the characteristics of the omnichannel shopper in the Japanese omnichannel environment.     

Business model innovation: How the international retailers rebuild their core business logic in a new host country

Although research into the business model has received increasing attention, few studies have so far been conducted on business model innovation in an international context. The purpose of the study is to identify different patterns of business model innovation which enables international retailers to rebuild their core business logic in new host countries. On the basis of comparing and contrasting the business model changes of 15 international retailers from various home countries to one single host country (China), our study provides an in-depth understanding of business model innovation in the context of international business. By looking at the firms’ capabilities in rebuilding their core logic in the setting of a host country, we reveal six routes of retail business model innovation. Utilizing the lens of organizational learning theory and internationalization, we identify three patterns of resource deployment by international companies in the process of developing business model innovations. Our study, therefore, provides insights and guidance for multinational companies in general, international retailers in particular, as for how to successfully adapt their business model from home country to host country.     

Segmenting the growing UK convenience store market for retail location planning

Branded convenience grocery stores have become commonplace in UK retailing, increasingly adopted by retailers traditionally associated with superstore retailing. This paper initially explores the conditions in which this shift has occurred, looking at supply-side changes, planning policy, and changing demographics and consumer behaviour. Subsequently, this paper quantifies the geographical market share of a number of prominent convenience grocery retailers at the postal area level across the UK in 2012. Finally, the paper offers a segmentation of the convenience market into a series of clusters by location type. By understanding the drivers of trade in different locations, through the cluster analysis outlined in this paper, a more powerful set of location strategies can be adopted by companies expanding in this market.     

Towards a framework for the study of franchising as an operating mode for international retail companies

In recent years franchising has become a popular operating strategy for companies competing in the global marketplace. In particular, international retailing companies have increasingly been adopting franchising as a marketentry mechanism. While this growth in the popularity of franchising has led to increased research interest in the topic, there has only recently been a recognition of the need to consider franchising within the wider context of retailer internationalization activity. This paper attempts to provide a framework for the study of franchising as a strategy for retailers expanding into international markets. The discussion examines key findings to date from the established literature on international franchising concerning the motivations underlying internationalization, the internationalization process itself and the operating problems encountered. It is argued that a careful examination of findings from the international franchising literature can provide further development of retail internationalization conceptualization.     

Corporate Social Responsibility and Marketing Communications Within Stores: A Case Study of U.K. Food Retailers

ABSTRACT

The U.K. Government has argued that more transparency in the ways that companies address and manage environmental, economic, and social issues can help improve relationships with employees, customers, and other stakeholders and U.K.'s large food retailers are increasingly keen to report their commitment to CSR. This paper offers a preliminary examination of the extent to which the U.K.'s major food retailers currently use CSR as a means of communicating with customers within their stores.     

Smartphones and the reconfiguration of retailscapes: Stores,shopping, and digitalization

The aim of this paper is to examine and conceptualize how the integration of smartphones is reconfiguring the retailscapes of stores and the implications that this has for retailers and consumers. Departing from an understanding of retailscapes as socio-material assemblages and drawing on an ethnographic study of mobile shopping, this paper shows how the integration of smartphones into the activities of in-store shopping is reconfiguring how store space is enacted. The integration of this digital device reorganizes the activities of shopping, and new informationscapes, socialscapes, and experiencescapes unfold as a result. In the process, stores are reconfigured, agencies change, and the relationship between consumers and retailers is remade.     

中外零售企业中国市场的跨区域扩张——基于58家连锁企业店铺布局的比较研究

本文应用35个中国跨区域经营的零售企业和23个在中国市场跨区域经营的跨国零售企业店铺布局的调查数据对中外零售企业在中国市场的跨区域扩张战略进行了比较研究.研究结论表明,中外零售企业都选择了大型超市和超市作为跨区域扩张的主导业态,而本土企业的业态组合更加复杂;本土企业的市场覆盖率高于跨国企业,但其店铺网络呈现出"广泛覆盖,局部密集"的特征;跨国企业在跨区域扩张过程中的战略布局意图比本土企业更为明显.     

The role of business support organisations in the process of retailer internationalisation

In the field of international retail research, there has been little attention paid to the role of business support organisations in the process of internationalisation. Given the barriers to foreign market expansion, the focus of this study is to investigate the importance of facilitating factors, in the form of business support organisations, which can assist retailers in the process of international expansion. A qualitative research methodology was employed and the findings provide evidence relating to three important areas: firstly, the types of business support programmes available to retailers seeking to internationalise from the UK, secondly, the barriers encountered by retail companies expanding overseas, and thirdly, how government and private organisations can assist in helping retailers overcome these hurdles.     

The expansion of modern trade food retailing in Thailand

With a population of nearly 70 million people, Thailand is a large and attractive emerging market, drawing investments from various foreign food retailers since the 1980s. An economic crash and currency devaluation in 1997 brought both new challenges and opportunities, and led to a renewed wave of expansion, but also calls for regulation, which had not been strictly enforced. Thailand has been host to transnational retailers from many countries, several of which ultimately withdrew. The competitive landscape has continued to evolve, with a range of new store formats, expanded services, smart phone applications and online shopping, and a push to expand both private label brands and ready-to-eat foods. However, some of these offerings appear to have potential conflicts in terms of Thai consumer behaviour. Thai culture places low importance on time; few shop online, and the majority of consumers have low incomes, and thus may not be attracted to visit modern trade retailers for the same reasons as customers in the retailers' home markets. Despite this, Thailand is currently the second largest global market for 7-Eleven and Tesco's number two international market. This presents a paradox in that Tesco operates hypermarkets, while 7-Elevens are convenience stores. Do Thais want hypermarket style volume discounts, or higher priced convenience, or both? Thais traditionally have shopped in wet markets and enjoy fresh foods, which contradicts attempts by many retailers striving to sell ready-to-eat foods. Many Thais are concerned about face and status, which may be a barrier towards buying private label brands. This paper describes the history and expansion of food retailing in Thailand and also highlights how cultural differences may affect consumer behaviour. As the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) aims to open borders more broadly, there will likely be more expansion of stores and potentially more cultural differences. Whether transnational or domestic, food retailers may need to further consider aspects of culture and consumer behaviour to determine whether to adapt their strategies, rather than copy and paste formats from abroad.     

The crisis of Japanese retailing at the turn of the millennium: a crisis of corporate governance and finance

The year 2000 saw a sudden rise in failures of prominent Japanese retailers. With problems of corporate finance and governance being pointed out as early as the 1970s, the recent problems as well as the continuous rise of companies up to then have to be explained. This article contends that a major explanatory factor is the weakening of the existing stable relationships between retailers and financial institutions. Banks functioned as lenders, shareholders and providers of management resources. Changes in the banking sector led to changes in the relationship at the end of the 1990s. Problems in corporate governance surfaced that might result in a major reorganization of the Japanese retail scene.     

Determinants of switching intention from web-based stores to retail apps: Habit as a moderator

Online retailers seek to motivate their customers to switch from web-based stores to retail apps as using the latter as a shopping channel has many benefits for retailers compared to web-based stores. This study aims to examine the drivers of customers' intention to switch from web-based stores to retail apps by applying the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S–O-R) model. The moderating role of habit was investigated. Data were collected from 389 Malaysian individuals through an online survey and analysed using the partial least squares technique. The results indicated that performance expectancy has a significant influence on switching intention and is driven by mobile characteristics. Furthermore, effort expectancy has a positive effect on both performance expectancy and switching intention and is triggered by visual complexity and aesthetic quality. The moderating effects of habit on the associations between performance expectancy, effort expectancy and switching intention were not supported. The findings extend the literature on retail apps by exploring the switching intention drivers and testing the moderating effect of culture, which have received less attention. The results enable retail apps' developers and marketers to strategise retail apps development and marketing activities in a way that encourages current web-based stores’ customers to use retail apps as a better alternative.     

Japanese Professional Business Services: A Proposed Analytical Typology

This paper explores certain characteristics of Japanese professional business services (PBS). The aim is to develop an analytical typology consisting of the three dimensions – organizational linkage, service market, and competitive situation – for analysing the obtained empirical data. This typology has been developed in order to increase the understanding of how Japanese companies operate within this sector and also to examine the reasons behind the fact that Japanese business services seem to be marginalized in an international context. This typology could serve as a theoretical frame for comparing Japanese companies with western companies in future research. This research is based on empirical material collected in Japan in the spring of 2001, covering research institutes, general trading houses and insurance companies. Using the constructed analytical typology, the findings reveal that strong organizational linkages have generated a business service market where diversification of service supply within companies is common. However, there are strong indications of a changing business environment with increased competition and further specialization among business service firms. Furthermore, the findings indicate that Japanese companies have difficulties competing with highly-specialized and reputable western business service firms.     

Market and Product Diversification: The Evidence From Retailing

This study explored the number of international regions in which retailers operate, the assortment of product categories they offer their customers, and the effects of these market and product category diversification strategies on retail sales volumes. The analysis used sales data about 246 global large-scale retail stores from diverse industries and countries of origin. We found that both strategies have positive effects on retail sales volumes. The two strategies interact such that the positive effect of market expansion on retail sales volumes is larger for retailers who also follow a strategy of greater product category diversity.     

The Temporal Context of UK Retailers’ Motives for International Expansion

This article re-examines the motives for retailer internationalisation with the aid of a survey of UK retailers with international retailing operations. The survey results are grouped according to the number of years companies have been operating in international markets. This facilitates a comparison of their views on internationalisation according to the different points in time that internationalisation is initiated and within the context of contrasting economic conditions. Overall, the survey results indicated that UK retailers remained strongly influenced by growth-oriented or proactive factors in their decision to internationalise. However, those retailers moving overseas for the first time, within the context of the rather severe operating conditions of the early 1990s, were in fact more likely to cite reactive factors as important influences. The article identifies a number of key issues for further research into the motives for retailer internationalisation and outlines the methodological implications.     

Virtue in small business in small places: Organisational factors associated with employee dishonest behaviour in the retail sector

The organisational factors associated with employee dishonest behaviour are understudied because dishonesty is sensitive topic and organisations are not willing to reveal misbehaviour to the wider public. This paper addresses this research gap by providing an empirical study on reporting of dishonest behaviour of retail employees in Estonia and Latvia. The aim of the paper is to find out how organisational factors affect the reporting of dishonest behaviour in retail sector. Local vs international retailers and rural vs capital city stores characterise organisational factors and these are analysed in different hypothetical scenarios: low wage, perceived injustice and boredom. The sample consists of 781 retail employees from six retail organisations. The study employed a survey with manipulated questionnaires. Some of the main findings are the following: employees in international retail chains and in stores located in capital cities deem dishonesty more prevalent compared to domestically owned shops and stores situated outside metropoles. However, employees outside capital cities were more sensitive to the motives, especially perceived injustice. Implications for retailers are discussed at the end of the paper.     

Retailer internationalization: overcoming barriers to expansion

This paper develops an understanding of the barriers to retailer foreign market expansion focusing on SME retail firms. A qualitative methodology was adopted to obtain a holistic understanding of the key barriers to international expansion experienced by retailers from both the firm and industry-level perspectives. In light of the findings from the case companies and industry organizations in this study, the paper concludes that the main barriers to foreign market expansion experienced by SME UK retailers, both at the entry and growth stages, comprise internal and external factors. This paper not only provides an understanding of the barriers encountered by SME retailers but also considers how such problems may be overcome.     

Shutting up shop: understanding the international exit process in retailing

Internationalisation is a much-studied phenomenon. Exit from international markets has been less analysed. Where it has been studied, most work has been on motives and causes, with relatively little on processes. This article explores the process of international exit in a retail context. It examines the run-up to, announcement of and fall-out from the decision by Marks and Spencer (one of Britain's leading retailers) to close its French stores. The article concludes that understanding the process of market exit is at least as important both for theoretical and practical reasons as understanding the decision to exit or divest. Further research needs to be undertaken on market exit and the processes involved, in order to contribute further to the theory and practice of internationalisation.