Retail Market 2012: Crisis or Revolution?
Published 1/9/2012

The Czech retail market, after a brief recovery, returned to decline in the middle of last year again. However, rather than the next crisis, this is a new revolutionary leap in the retail trade development. Therefore key question for the management of retail companies is not, how to keep the turnover or how to secure least percentage fall, but how the move to a higher retail business league or how to survive in the market at all.  Retail Summit taking place on 31st January and 1st February 2012, is ready to help in the search for answers to these difficult questions

The Czech retail market, after a brief recovery, had returned to decline in the middle of last year, and the total turnover of the industry dropped again. More detailed analysis of the situation however indicates that it is about far more than just another crisis. It would be a big mistake "to overlook through bushes of crisis the huge forest of new opportunities and threats". What's going on? Nothing less than a new revolutionary leap in the retail trade development, the main driving force being expansion of technologies, high penetration of the Internet and the rapid increase in ownership of smart phones. Mangers of retail companies more and more believe that only with representation both in traditional and new on-line distribution channels you can win. Walmart has recently promoted this strategy even by opening several small shops in shopping centres, whose main purpose is to attract more customers to the company's online store.
The above mentioned trends have been fully reflected on the Czech market, too. Just started on-line sales of TESCO  or  alza.cz and mall.cz extension to off-line activities are the best proof of it.  It seems that 2012 will therefore be not so much a year of crisis in the retail trade, but rather a year of revolution. The key question for the management of retail companies therefore is not, how to keep the turnover or its least percentage fall, but how to move to a higher League of retail business or how to survive in the market at all. Retail Summit taking place on 31st January and 1st February 2012, is ready to help in the search for answers to these difficult questions.
For more information on this summit of the Czech and Central European retail, visit www.retail21.cz. Summit will be held with the support of many important partners, Platinum partners being Postovni sporitelna, part of the CSOB, Plzenske pivovary and Telefónica.

For more detailed information about the Retail Summit 2012:
Barbora Krásná, Partner, Blue Events
e-mail: barbora.krasna@blueevents.eu

Media contact:
Zuzana Mračková, Office Manager, Blue Events
Tel.: + 420 222 749 841, e-mail: zuzana.mrackova@blueevents.eu

Contact for parties interested in the partnership:
Petra Veselovská, Account Manager, Blue Events
Tel.: + 420 737 250 356, e-mail: petra.veselovska@blueevents.eu
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