Retail

Rising incomes among the growing middle class are feeding optimism in retail property in Ghana, which currently has one of the continent’s fastest-expanding economies. Ghana’s GDP is expected to grow by 7.3% this year in real terms, thanks in part to the continuing influx of capital associated with the burgeoning oil and gas sector.

The decision by yet another major player in Thailand’s retail industry to go ahead with an initial public offering (IPO) has fuelled speculation that the sector could be bouncing back from a challenging year, although smaller, independent stores are still struggling to overcome a slump in sales.

Stimulée par une demande intérieure en hausse, l’utilisation de la carte de crédit – y compris les transactions effectuées en ligne- affiche une croissance à deux chiffres, contribuant ainsi à consolider les bases du développement à venir du secteur du commerce de détail marocain.

The retail sector appears set for an extended period of solid growth, thanks to Saudi Arabia’s expanding economy and higher domestic spending power. The industry, however, may have to act quickly to redress a few challenges, such as staffing shortages and the need to broaden the appeal of some of the Kingdom’s large shopping complexes.

The completion of a sizeable local tower project, continuing expansion of the country’s largest mall and moves by a major Kuwaiti retail firm into the UK market have underlined the rising growth and confidence in the domestic retail sector. This confidence is being seen in new investment and projects, with Kuwait’s largest mall and shopping centre, The Avenues, building a $500m extension scheduled for completion by September 2012.