Retail planning for the next ten years

Retail planning is more complex than some retailers imagine; its success depends upon policies about goods, prices and peole. Strategies such as store location, market segmentation, shop design or format innovation are only the means to the end. And how does UK retailing compare with its counterpart on the continent? The last few years on the continent have seen the rapid growth of hypermarkets, novel formats, multi‐national networks, and town centre redevelopment. Yet UK retailers are still, broadly speaking, much more profitable. Jan de Somogyi presented this paper to the Chief Executive Meeting of the International Association of Department Stores in Rapallo earlier this year.