Globalization in the Retail & Consumer industry

Competitive pressures, an aging domestic population, maturing markets, an overabundance of retail sites, margin pressures and a need to grow top-line revenues are all encouraging R&C companies to pursue opportunities in the global market. The availability of new technologies has also fueled this trend and allowed companies to easily handle operations on a global scale that were once thought to be too complex. Additionally, companies are looking to achieve efficiencies through sourcing and local market investment, but are often faced with market entry issues, supply chain, political, and cultural risks — not to mention a myriad of compliance risks. In order to succeed, companies must gain an understanding of a region's social, cultural, and geopolitical climate, as well as being well-versed in regional pricing and tax structures. Companies must be able to think and act locally, while operating globally.

The growing global marketplace, especially the growing middle class in emerging countries, represents a significant growth opportunity for consumer goods companies and retailers across many developing and emerging markets. As consumers around the world shift to greater acceptance of consumer goods, retailers and suppliers will need to manage the complexities associated with the trends in markets less sophisticated than the US market. Additionally, since today’s consumers are more discriminating and informed about products they "consume" and want to feel good about what they purchase, R&C companies will have to embrace CSR and sustainability practices on an accelerated basis. Embracing these consumer desires and combining their company expertise in product innovation, brand positioning, new social media networks and e-commerce should afford R&C companies significant opportunities to realize new revenue growth and higher profitability.

How we help clients

Our R&C practitioners can help companies navigate the realities of today’s changing world and can help companies drive growth through expansion — expansion to new markets and expansion/realignment to address today’s new consumer:

• Drive global growth through a strategy that captures the benefits of global markets by choosing the right market and implementing the appropriate business models for these new markets
• Assess company strategy on operations, products and vendors
• Embed the consumer/customer behavior/wants into organizational strategic plans
• Evaluate product portfolio to evaluate opportunities for innovation and realignment
• Establish proper KPIs/measures and tracking mechanisms to provide visibility and assess ongoing performance against objectives; report progress
• Perform a readiness and risk analysis and a project plan for execution

How clients benefit from our work

• Leverage "focused" strategy to capture benefits of new markets
• Optimize global procurement
• Execute the appropriate tax, IT, HR planning/labor strategy and planning across international borders
• Effectively manage significant change events that could otherwise seriously impact business operations
• Leverage product portfolio that meets shifting consumer needs
• Generate revenue through premium and incremental sales