“There is enormous variation between countries in the development of department stores. At one extreme there is Spain, where the only department stores is the country’s leading non-food retailer. At the other extreme there are countries like Austria, where the sector scarcely exists. Italy has a couple of high profile businesses, but the sector is tiny in the retail context. Spain aside, the best developed sector is in the UK, where the leading department stores are among the country’s major retailers. In Germany and France the sector is struggling, but especially in Germany, there are some early signs that may point to a recovery. The UK and Spanish leaders demonstrate clearly that there is long-term potential for department stores and that they can be reinvented to be major players in the internet era.”

– Richard Perks, Director of Retail Research