BRITISH RETAIL ACQUISITIONS IN THE US

Despite the euphoria surrounding 1992, the recent international expansion of British retail organisations has been oriented mainly towards the US. Such expansion has predominantly taken the form of the acquisition of US retailers, rather than through the establishment of greenfield stores. As a consequence of their US acquisitions, a number of British retailers are now well established across the Atlantic. Some reorientation of the geographical focus of British retail acquisitions abroad, however, may be necessary to reap the expected benefits of the Single European Market. British retail acquisitions in the US are examined in the years between 1984 and 1989 with particular emphasis on acquisition strategy, motivations, performance and the impact of 1992.