General Merchandise Stores

2022 proved to be another tough year for China’s general merchandise stores, as the ongoing spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 resulted in tightened pandemic restrictions and reduced foot traffic. The decrease in customer visits had a direct…

The general merchandise stores channel includes department stores and variety stores, as both are characterised by selling a wide range of non-food products and to which consumers turn to buy various items in the same place, and to look for novelties…

Department stores registered a contraction in value sales in 2021, and also in 2022, with Falabella having closed its stores and left the country in 2021. As a result of Falabella’s departure, the Mexican player, Coppel, is the only department store…

Department stores was one of the hardest hit retail channels by the pandemic with sales suffering due to a sharp drop in tourism, reduced store traffic and declining discretionary spending. Furthermore, unlike other channels many department stores…

General merchandise stores saw continued decline in the Bulgarian market in 2022, falling further below pre-pandemic levels because shoppers’ patterns have changed ever since the outbreak of COVID-19. Increasingly consumers have shown a focus on…

As a result of the Yen depreciation, and the rising costs of imports and raw materials, the prices of many items available at general merchandise stores rose by approximately 10% in 2022. Isetan Mitsukoshi Holding is the leading player in department…

General merchandisers saw positive growth in 2022, thanks to department stores recording growth, although variety stores saw a contraction in constant value terms. The pandemic and the subsequent lockdown measures significantly impacted department…

General merchandise stores (department stores and variety stores) suffered during the era of COVID-19, as the channel was deemed to be non-essential, and outlets were required to close due to pandemic restrictions. Even if such stores were still…

General merchandise stores in Italy fully recovered to pre-pandemic value sales levels in 2022, driven by variety stores. The channel benefited from the greater willingness of Italians to return to physical shopping as restrictions eased, with…

Jumbo continued to lead variety stores category in Greece in 2022, holding almost 80% of retail value share. Despite facing a decline in sales during the pandemic, Jumbo managed to bounce back and come close to 2019 sales. The company began as a toys…

In India, the general merchandise stores channel is made up solely of department stores, as there are no variety stores in this country. After seeing double-digit current value growth in the earlier years of the review period, in 2020 department…

Department stores recorded a decline in current value terms in 2022. In recent years, there has been a trend towards the integration of online and offline retail, with many department stores offering both in-store shopping and online shopping…

Following a negative performance in 2020 due to mandated stores closures, and mobility and social life restrictions, the channel recovered partially in 2021 thanks to the gradual recovering of footfall during the year. In 2022, retail value sales in…

The use of strict lockdown restrictions in Malaysia during 2020 and 2021 to control the spread of COVID-19 presented a significant challenge to many department stores. This was due to these retail outlets typically being located in busy city centre…

Sales from department stores saw strong growth in 2022 thanks to a significant improvement in footfall to bricks-and-mortar outlets in the first half of the year, following temporary store closures during the same period in the previous year. The…

Department stores were late to e-commerce, finally starting to get aggressive around 2014, introducing free shipping and returns to better compete with specialists. However, as more Australians moved online, and as social media platforms rose in…

El Corte Inglés remained the dominant player in general merchandise stores in 2022, accounting for more than two thirds of value sales. It is synonymous with the term “department store” in the minds of local consumers, and is the major showcase for…

There are relatively few variety stores in Morocco, but their number increased steady throughout the review period. Most of the products sold by variety stores are relatively low priced, so many consumers continued to buy them – even in a difficult…

TEDi Betriebs sro, with a majority of standalone outlets, remained the leading player in general merchandise stores in 2022 and was followed by Tchibo Slovensko. The latter focuses on marketing and promotions and runs weekly discounts on a limited…

In keeping with its performance throughout the review period, the variety stores channel recorded high double-digit growth in current value sales in 2022. The wide assortments and competitive pricing strategies of these retailers became more…