HONG KONG: Even as global consumer brands grow more dependent on Asia for sales of everything from fancy handbags to baby formula, European retailers keep retreating from the world’s fastest-growing markets.
The UK’s Tesco Plc, which said this month that it’s weighing a sale of its Thailand and Malaysia operations, is just the latest.
While producers of mainstream goods such as baby formula makers Danone and Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc have reported hiccups in China, they’re also increasingly reliant on Asia. While western big-box retailers have mostly avoided political pitfalls that have ensnared some luxury brands and the National Basketball Association, they’ve struggled to differentiate themselves in a market where local rivals such as Yonghui Superstores Co. are expanding.
Starting in the 1990s, Carrefour opened more than 200 so-called hypermarkets selling everything from food to hardware in China before reversing course. In June, it sold 80% of its Chinese operations to local rival Suning.com Co., marking the latest Asian exit for the company after India, Japan and South Korea. Carrefour five years ago pulled out of India, a market where burdensome regulations have kept many foreign retailers at bay.
A few western retailers are bucking the trend and expanding in Asia -- often with the help of local players with critical market expertise. France’s Auchan Retail SA, for example, boosted its stake in Sun Art as Alibaba invested in the Hong Kong-listed retailer.
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