GHANA is Africa’s new “bright spot” in the retail space, as more international retailers view the country as the next go-to market, the 2019 Kearney Global Retail Development Index (GRDI) has revealed.
The Index, which is the result of a bi-annual study of the global retailing landscape, said Ghana had in the last few years been driven by increased foreign and public investment as well as urbanization of the population.
It projected that “department stores/shopping store spaces are set to grow by 15 per cent per year and many international retailers are taking notice.”
The Index also revealed that South African retailers, Pick ‘n Pay and Massmart Holdings were expanding into African retail markets, particularly “Ghana which is now ranked as the top African country on the index.”
The 2019 GRDI ranks 30 developing countries, selected from a list of 200 nations – based on three criteria: achieving a “Country Risk” score above 35; having a population of at least five million and enjoying a per capita GDP of more than $3,000.
Retailers, consumer goods manufacturers, and international service providers rely on the GRDI as the definitive source for understanding which economies are growing, stagnant or declining, and why.
Apart from Ghana, which is now ranked in 4th place for the first time on the index, other notable countries include; Senegal, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Tanzania and Nigeria.
Sporting goods retailer Decathlon opened a store in Ghana in 2017—its largest in West Africa—and hopes to expand with 50 more stores across the country. International supermarket chain Pick & Pay plans to open a store this year, and Massmart has opened three outlets since 2017. There are new shopping malls, primarily in big cities such as Sekondi-Takoradi and Accra.
The findings revealed further that Africa had shown considerable growth and improvement, with seven African countries now ranked in top 30 in the Index.
It reported that Egypt (debut on A.T. Kearney’s GRDI) had seen retail sector growth of 25 per cent between 2017 and 2018 on the back of economic and fiscal reforms – and was “open” for business – as many regional and international retailers were aggressively entering the market and transforming the landscape from traditional to modern trade.
The Index revealed that economic development and trade policy remain the largest factors in shaping retail growth in consumer markets.
While social media and e-commerce fuel the evolution of global consumers, national, regional and local realities, such as internet connectivity and the availability and cost of labor, continue to shape retail development globally.
A key theme in this year’s findings is the “Arrival of the Middle East and Africa” – 10 of the top 30 countries fall into this bucket, suggesting that emerging economies are maturing, and the next wave of retail development and growth will certainly be in the broader region.
“Driven by government-led economic reforms, a large & digitally connected youth consumer segment, and growing purchasing power, economies in the region have made significant gains in our rankings and have caught the attention of leading retailers,” A.T. Kearney stated.
In addition to local retailers investing in-country, many regional and international retailers were investing in both brick-and-mortar and digital across these markets.
A.T. Kearney is an American global management consulting firm that focuses on strategic and operational CEO agenda issues facing businesses, governments and institutions around the globe.
Source: Isaac AIDOO, thefinderonline.com
