The news that toy retailer The Entertainer had chosen Pakistan to locate its first store overseas came as a surprise.

The news that toy retailer The Entertainer had chosen Pakistan to locate its first store overseas came as a surprise.

The 78-store retailer has enjoyed strong growth in the UK, pushing the business forward despite the tough climate. Until now the retailer’s dalliances with trading overseas had been online in Europe, so a sudden move into the Souther Asian market appears a very different path.

Pakistan has some big attractions for UK multiple retailers. It is definitely an emerging market, its GDP rose 3.7% last year and a rise of 3.3% is forecast for 2013, while its retail offer remains very immature.

The Entertainer managing director Gary Grant simply says kids out there still need toys, but it appears a big project for the retailer to get to grips with. Its second planned overseas launch, in Dubai, will be a breeze in comparison where many Western brands have thrived.

Few Western retailers have made the jump over to Pakistan because of the political and economic risks in the volatile region. Even worldwide rival Toys R Us has not yet invested in stores there.

The biggest concern is the negative attitude towards the US and Europe in the country, says Planet Retail senior retail analyst Milos Ryba. “There are religious groups that might target stores from Western countries because they are anti-America or anti-Europe and attack them,” he explains.

To avoid this some retailers that have opened stores in Pakistan such as Carrefour - the second largest retailer in the world – have decided to trade under a different brand name, namely its Hyperstar fascia.

Ryba adds that the distribution network is also very different in the country, which tends to work at a local, rather than a national level, making it difficult for a retailer to expand quickly. “The country is unstable and the infrastructure in the country is very poor,” he says. He adds that retail technology in Pakistan is not as advanced as in the UK.

And the polar opposites of the rich and poor in the country mean that any retailer venturing to the Asian nation will cater for the richer shopper, unable to create an offer for the masses. Indeed those shopping centres in the country, such as those in Karachi, are very similar to European malls, giving customers a luxury offer.

But there are some well-known brands that have successfully moved out there. Mothercare opened three stores in 2004 through its franchise partner A-Ventures, adding another five stores over the following years. Debenhams opened its first stores in the Dolmen City Mall in Karachi last year.

The Entertainer has chosen an undisclosed franchise partner that operates a 400-store fashion clothing chain in the country, which the UK retailer already does business with. It appears a shrewd move as, in a country which presents significant challenges for international retailers, local knowledge may prove vital.