Search results for 'Ireland'

Mintel European Retail Intelligence provides independent, expert coverage of the major retail sectors throughout Europe. Each title in this series analyses retailing trends in up to 19 European markets, including the Scandinavian nations and Eastern European countries such as the Czech Republic and Poland as well as the major Western European markets.

The coverage provided by each report is as accurate, relevant and up-to-date as possible, combining in-house sector expertise with retailer performance data, taken directly from industry and trade sources....

This report looks at clothing retailing in Europe. As in previous years, the focus of the European clothing report is the clothing specialists, because these are the dominant players in the sector. Nevertheless, for each country in this report we provide total consumer spending data for clothing – which includes expenditure through all channels. And we include Mintel’s Channels of Distribution estimates for each European country (Poland excepted), which indicates how this spending is distributed by type of retailer....

This report series covers the 19 leading economies of Europe. In total these countries account for around 95% of all European retail sales, excluding Russia. The remaining ten countries are either too small (eg Luxembourg) or are not sufficiently well developed to warrant detailed coverage (eg Romania and Bulgaria). Many of these developing countries plus Russia and Turkey are to be covered in the Mintel report "Retailing in Emerging Markets – Europe, June 2011".

This data in its entirety is contained in the single copy 19-country report, which gives a full overview of electricals retailing in Europe. Single country reports are also available for the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.

The focus of the report is the electricals specialists, and they are generally the dominant players in the market.

But the electricals sector faces some major challenges:

• The lingering economic hangover.
• Wavering consumer confidence and a slow recovery in discretionary spending.
• Competition from non-specialists and in particular internet pure players and supermarkets.
• Continuing pressure on prices and sales volumes.
• Product convergence, which could put further pressure on sales volumes.
• Multi-channel development, which is fast becoming the option of choice for consumers but is costly for retailers to implement.
• Customer service, which is the new battleground for specialists and inextricably linked to multi-channel development, but represents another major investment for retailers.

The European DIY market is largely a tale of two halves, with mature Northwest European markets showing little potential for significant growth:

• Declining or stagnating property markets in Ireland, Spain and the UK.
• An ageing population is less willing and less able to undertake DIY.

However, there are opportunities elsewhere:

• Major retailers are moving beyond mature and declining markets to stimulate demand in underdeveloped markets in Eastern/Southeastern Europe. ...

This report series covers the 19 leading economies of Western Europe. In total these countries account for around 98% of all European retail sales, excluding Russia. The remaining ten countries are either too small (eg Luxembourg) or are not sufficiently well developed to warrant detailed coverage (eg Romania and Bulgaria). More information on these smaller retail markets, Russia and Turkey can be obtained from the European Retail Handbook, 2010....

• The European clothing market was worth an estimated €301.4 billion (including VAT) in 2009.
• Compared to 2008, spending on clothing declined by 4% in 2009.
• As a discretionary area of spend, it comes as little surprise that clothing has been heavily impacted by the recessionary climate across Europe. Nevertheless, it has proved more resilient than other discretionary categories, such as furniture and electricals.
• In 2009 value growth was hampered by low inflation or even deflation, in many markets. Indeed in the UK price deflation was around 8% or more throughout the year. ...

This report discusses how, as the price comparison and aggregator market is rapidly approaching maturity, an established group of market leaders has emerged, the proportion of consumers prepared to use the sites has steadily grown how people are now showing signs of a fairly sophisticated understanding of how the sites work and how best to use them. Although still dominated by general insurance, consumers are showing a growing willingness to turn to the comparison sites to research the likes of credit cards and savings accounts.

Aggregators do, though, face a number of challenges. The sites struggle to achieve differentiation, meaning that they are locked into a constant and expensive, advertising-led battle to maintain market share. Mintel’s research shows that each of the leading sites has carved out a distinctive brand identity, but the difference is relatively superficial, and loyalty remains low.

Some factors discussed in the report include:

• What opportunities exist for attracting new customers in the price comparison market?
• What are the latest consumer trends in comparison site usage?
• How can non-users and consumers opposed to using price comparison sites be converted?

The focus of the report is the footwear specialists, and they are the dominant players in the market.

But the footwear sector faces some major challenges:

• The lingering economic hangover.
• Wavering consumer confidence and a slow recovery in discretionary spending.
• Competition from non-specialists, in particular clothing specialists.
• Continuing consolidation of a very fragmented sector.
• Online development, which players have been slow to adopt, but presents good opportunities for the future....

This report series covers the 19 leading economies of Europe. In total these countries account for around 91% of all European retail sales, excluding Russia. The remaining ten countries are either too small (eg Luxembourg) or are not sufficiently well developed to warrant detailed coverage (eg Romania and Bulgaria). These developing countries plus Russia and Turkey are covered in the Mintel report “Retailing in Emerging Markets – Europe, May 2009”....

“As consumers take extra care in keeping their teeth in tip-top condition to avoid the financial sting of dental treatments, this is helping to support oral care sales. Marketing messages which focus on ‘prevention rather than cure’, encouraging consumers to invest in their oral health to minimise the chance of needing expensive remedial work, will help to boost oral care usage and sales further”.

– Ricky Lakhani, Personal Care Analyst

Some questions answered in the report include:...

“Gaining a competitive edge through the wealth of customer data derived from a loyalty scheme is easier said than done. Moreover retailers must then deliver relevant and useful incentives to shoppers if they are to succeed in generating those all-important repeat purchases. Getting it right procures good value from the marketing budget but getting it wrong is a wasted investment”.

– Hilary Monk, Senior Retail Analyst

Some questions answered in this report include:...

“The ‘staycation’ trend has now been firmly in place for three years. And given both the one-off events occurring in 2012 that are likely to reduce holidays abroad and the continuation of a difficult economic environment, the UK break looks likely to maintain market dominance.”

– Tom Rees, Senior Travel and Tourism Analyst

Some questions answered in this report include:

• What does 2012 mean for holidays – abroad and at home?
• Will the likely fall in inflation provide a significant boost to holidays? ...

“Today’s babies can have it all, and more. There is a plethora of goods and manufacturers continue to innovate, with plenty of activity in terms of new styling, new functionality and new equipment. Yet, this is set against a background where one in five shoppers buy most products online and the internet is increasingly used for seeking out the right prices and discounts. So today’s consumers are more demanding than ever, wanting the best for their babies, but at the best prices too....

“Price remains the main choice factor in 2011, with consumers increasingly looking to stick to tried and trusted brands and flavours. Keeping crisps affordable in the face of rapidly rising raw material costs is one of the most difficult, but important, challenges facing manufacturers and retailers today.”

– Chris Wisson, Senior Food Analyst

Some questions answered in this report include:

• How can the market arrest falling numbers of users?
• How can over-55s be encouraged to try new types of crisps and salty snacks? ...

“Although well-known brands dominate the market, shoppers are particularly price-conscious when buying hard surface cleaners and are reluctant to pay more than they need to for a particular brand or for environmentally friendly products. Special offers will remain one of the biggest factors determining choice during the continuing incomes squeeze, so brands need to look at more creative ways of encouraging repeat purchasing of particular products.”...

“In the long term, agents may have particular opportunities as a result of countries opening up to the advantages (ie revenue generation) of increased tourism. Destinations such as Libya where infrastructure is non-existent will give agents the chance to present themselves as the perfect ‘gateway to the new’.

– Tom Rees, Senior Travel and Tourism Analyst

Some questions answered in the report include:

• How can travel agents benefit from the ageing UK population? ...

“Innovation in the form of foam formats bolstered the colourants category in 2010 and underscored the importance of the new and pioneering products to buoy interest in the beauty market. To boost the somewhat flagging styling category, brands could perhaps look at adding treatment benefits – such as dandruff control or scalp conditioning - to formulations. In doing so brands may encourage increased and regular usage.”

– Bríd Costello, Senior Beauty Analyst...

It is dangerous to generalise about the DIY market across so many different countries. At present almost all share the problems of coping with the deepest recession since the war.

Other problems shared by many include:

• The population is ageing. Older people are less inclined to do DIY and more inclined to pay others to do it for them.

• In some countries there is a fall off in interest in the home and in doing DIY.

• The boom saw a general increase in paying others to do DIY work, particularly in the more developed economies. The recession has reversed that trend, but probably only temporarily....

“These are tough times for the food retailers. For the first time trading down is becoming a big issue, thanks to their own success in building premium ranges in the good times.

There’s a real scrap developing at the lower end of the market, but Sainsbury’s seems relatively immune, though it is doing the right things as well.

And there’s little prospect of any improvement. The food retailers are going to be squeezed by high levels of inflation and falling disposable incomes....

“The aviation sector’s forthcoming inclusion in the Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) presents a further opportunity for train operating companies. Mintel’s exclusive consumer research consistently shows that while people often feel concern over the environmental issues around travelling, they are unwilling to pay some sort of charge as a result. So as airlines increase ticket costs to offset the EU-ETS, train operators can promote the fact that their passengers not only escape the environmental charge but do so by travelling greener anyway.”...