China, UAE and Chile top A.T. Kearney Retail Apparel Index

19 Jul '13

4 min read

However, an issue for Brazil is that 80 percent of luxury purchases are made outside of Brazil due to import challenges, including high tariffs that increase the cost of imported products by almost triple relative to the United States and France, according to the study.

Making a mention of aggressive expansion plans of apparel retailers in the Latin American region, the study says Gap, which currently has 36 Latin American stores (including 28 in Mexico and four in Chile), plans to open 30 more by 2014, including its first Brazilian store in 2013. Similarly, Zara built 12 new stores in 2012 taking its tally to 150 stores in Latin America (including 56 in Mexico and 39 in Brazil).

The Middle East region also remains an attractive retail apparel market with the UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia ranking in the Index.

Many retailers are testing their operations in the UAE before expanding to other Middle East countries due to its ease of doing business, sizeable retail segment, large expat community, and tourism. Several notable apparel openings occurred in the UAE in 2012, including Level Shore District, Prada, Muji, COS, Gap, Pomellato, Calvin Klein, Juicy Couture, and Destination Maternity. Bvlgari and Bloomingdale’s plan new stores in 2013 in Abu Dhabi.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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