Last week when I was in London, the city was in the grip of an unseasonable cold snap. Retailers there were complaining about the impact of the cold weather on their sales. The prime retail precincts such as Oxford Street didn’t seem to be much affected though, with plenty of shoppers walking the pavements.

It’s interesting to compare the retail offer in London with that in Hong Kong, my home town, and Sydney, where I used to live.

Shoppers are spoilt for choice in London with a wide range of both domestic and international retailers. Home grown brands such as M&S, The Body Shop and Burberry compete side by side with luxury and mass market retailers from overseas. As discussed in our recent European research publication Destination Europe 2013, London has long been a magnet for international retailers attracted by the size, maturity and transparency of the market.

Hong Kong is some way behind London in terms of international retailer numbers. However in recent years it has seen a surge in new entrants, many hoping to profit from the huge growth in Mainland shoppers visiting the city. In the last year, Abercrombie & Fitch, Breitling and Forever 21 are just a few of the new retailers who have set up shop in Hong Kong.

Sydney has historically been dominated by domestic retailers, but it too is finally seeing increased interest from overseas. Retailers including Samsung, Topshop and Marimekko have recently arrived Down Under and expansion plans by other international retailers are sure to make for a more diverse and competitive retail environment.

To find out more about the latest trends in Asia Pacific’s retail hotspots, please take a look at our second edition of Retail Cities in Asia Pacific, released this week.

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