Retailers’ Global Expansion Cools As Businesses Get Smart About Opening New Stores

Many retailers are being smarter today about opening new stores across the globe, precipitating in a cooling off of international expansion, according to a new report from CBRE. In surveying 47 countries and 123 cities globally, the commercial real estate service firm determined retailers’ growth across boarders into new markets fell 2.9 percent in 2017 from the previous year. “You have to start with … because of the demographic shifts around the world, there is less need [for new retail] based on population growth,” where populations have steadily become more dense, Spencer Levy, head of research at CBRE’s Americas division, told CNBC. “Second, yes, there is some e-commerce disruption in the space,” which has prompted companies to be more “cautious” about opening new stores. Still, just because businesses are being more deliberate about their growth doesn’t mean they’re not growing at all. Read more at CNBC.