Saudi Arabia has witnessed the highest number of new retailers that opened in the past year, attracting 37 new retailers, CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) - world's leading commercial real estate services firm - said on Saturday. The report noted that some of the world's best known brands were among the new retailers entering the Saudi market. By sector, Saudi Arabia had the following new openings: 16 for clothing, footwear and accessories, three department stores, one furniture and textiles, two grocery and food and beverage, 12 luxury stores and three others. Saudi Arabia also leads the luxury sector openings last year. Several global retailers such as Geant, and Carrefour, both from France, entered the Saudi market over the past five years. However, Aziziya Panda of the Savola Group takes the bigger share of the Saudi retail sector, representing 30-35 percent of the market. Abdullah Al Othaim Markets Company owns the second largest retail chain in the Kingdom, coming next to Panda. The company has unveiled plans to expand its activities outside the Kingdom, and its first target would be Egypt. Yousuf M. Al Qaffari, CEO of the company, announced that it will open 20 new branches in the Kingdom by the end of 2010. “Our supermarkets represent 20 per cent of the retail market in the Kingdom,” he added. The report said countries in the Middle East have seen a marked increase in the number of new retailers entering the region and dominated the top five countries with ranking, with Kuwait in second place and UAE in fourth. Serbia and Indonesia ranked third and fifth respectively. CBRE's annual study mapped the global footprint of 280 of the world's top retailers across 67 countries, exploring the globalization of the retail industry and highlighting differences between sectors and regions. The CB Richard Ellis 2009 report also analyzed for the first time the retail globalization at a city level. Retailers have continued not just to internationalize, but to globalize, with over 40 percent of all new openings during 2008 taking place outside the retailer's home region.
