Asia Pacific’s traditional retailers have seen their sales drop, while online retailers’ are rising.
According to Euromonitor International and Retail Asia, the retailers on the Retail Asia Top 500 Ranking had total combined revenue of $1.035 trillion, down nearly three per cent.
The decline was caused by the weakening exchange rate of major Asian currencies against the US dollar, which was the common denominator used for the Top 500 ranking.
Japan still dominates the top 10 positions in the Retail Asia Top 500 Ranking, but China has officially overtaken Japan with the overall highest number of entries. China’s share of the Top 500 list has continuously grown from 19 per cent in 2009 to over a 31 per cent share in 2013.
“The top 10 Japanese retailers’ total sales turnover increased a creditable 3.1 per cent year-on-year in domestic Yen currency term. When denominated in US dollars, the same turnover figure contracted a harsh double-digit 14.5 per cent. The scenario practically held across the board among other major Asian economies as well,” says Steven Goh, executive chairman of Retail Asia.
While the Top 500 Retailers in Asia-Pacific registered a drop in retail sales, internet retailers have enjoyed double digit growth, it says.
In 2013, the top 10 internet retailers in Asia-Pacific had sales totalling $110 million, up 23 per cent from the previous year, according to Euromonitor. This channel has strong potential as store fronts carry high rental fees and additional labour costs with internet retailing offering consumers more convenience, greater product availability and competitive prices. Of the top 10, the leading six players are pure Internet retailers that operate in multiple markets in the region.
Euromonitor International’s head of retailing, Daniel Latev says while growth is not expected to be as dynamic as before, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific will generate the highest amount of new sales worldwide.
“In the next five years, those regions will account for more than half of all new global sales, offering enticing opportunities for retailers of which 500 retailers have already made it to this list,” he said.
