Homegrown retailers are expanding rapidly in many Asian countries.  We highlight 10 companies to watch as they extend their reach.

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With swelling middle classes, fast-growth economies and unsaturated retail sectors, Asia is a retailer’s playground.

The continent is full of momentum and an exciting place to be, and some UK retailers have certainly had their interest piqued. China has proven the most popular, and Tesco, B&Q and Marks & Spencer have all tried their luck in the country, but it’s wise to avoid having tunnel vision and focusing only on the biggest territory. Markets such as South Korea, Indonesia and Thailand all have their attractions too.

And while conversation often centres on what Asia could do for UK retail, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on what Asian retailers are up to as well. For a start, some countries in Asia are technologically more advanced than the UK.

Retailing in South Korea and Japan, for instance, might give us an idea of where we could be headed, with contactless payments and clever use of digital technology now the norm in these countries. And secondly, some of the retailers highlighted in this feature are likely to be the size of Tesco and Walmart in the future. The scale of retailing in China alone is phenomenal, and it won’t be Western retailers that end up commandeering that market.

Homegrown Chinese retailers are aggressively pursuing growth - they know what the consumer wants and are keen to expand into other markets.

As Monica Lucas, director of consultancy Pragma, says, retailing in Asia is sophisticated. “International retailers will have some success because of the sheer numbers and spending power [in Asia], but in many ways the run of the mill UK retailers don’t really have any point of difference against this huge variety of other, very well presented retailers,” she says.

There’s a lot happening in Asia - here, we outline some of the region’s most noteworthy businesses.

One

Aeon, Japan

This Japanese retailer has 19,000 stores across Southeast Asia and is on a determined push to open more. It already has a presence in Malaysia, where it acquired 26 Carrefour hypermarkets, and will open a shop in Cambodia in 2014. Aeon is also reported to be mulling a bid for Matahari Department Stores in Indonesia.

Milos Ryba, a senior retail analyst at Planet Retail, says it’s an international expansion strategy UK retailers would do well to watch. “It does it by going through mergers and acquisitions,” he says. “It relies on the knowledge of the local player. It knows the company it has acquired has strong market share and it knows what the customers want.It’s a smart way to do it.”

Two

Alfamart, Indonesia

It’s a common strategy for Asian retailers to pursue rapid growth with as little investment as possible, and Indonesia’s Alfamart is no exception.

The convenience store group has achieved an impressive 20% annual growth, and is one of two major convenience players in the country. Its stronghold is in Java, but it is keen to expand into other Indonesian areas such as Bali and Makassar where growth potential is high. The convenience sector is fast-growing in Indonesia, where sales from supermarkets and traditional grocery stores have slowed recently. “It’s doing well and gaining market share quickly in its domestic market,” Ryba says.

Three

China Resources Enterprise, China

This Chinese giant already has 4,000 stores across the country, and 780 opened in 2012 alone. Its store estate includes everything from hypermarkets and chemists to coffee shops and convenience stores, and its forward march is apparently unstoppable.

The retailer plans to open another 800 stores this year, including 80 hypermarkets. Milos says: “This is one of the leading players in China and it is expanding very fast.”

Opening different store formats helps it to target a range of consumers, with the added benefit of diversified risk. “If hypermarkets go out of fashion the retailer can just change its strategy,” Milos says. It seems to be working - while others have faltered in the economic slowdown, China Resources Enterprise is still going strong.

Four

Lotte Shopping, South Korea

Lotte Shopping is one of the largest and fastest-growing retailers in Asia, according to Deloitte’s Hidden Heroes report on emerging markets.

Lotte Shopping in South Korea operates department stores and hypermarkets

Lotte Shopping in South Korea operates department stores and hypermarkets

The South Korean retailer runs hypermarkets and upmarket department stores and has shops in countries including China, Russia, Vietnam and Indonesia. It is following a multiple-format strategy that tends to be fairly common among Asian retailers - while some UK retailers generally stick to the same format, many Asian businesses are less afraid to experiment. Lotte has more than 8,000 stores and achieved a whopping 62% growth in sales in 2012, according to Planet Retail.

Five

Bosideng, China

This fashion company is one of the largest in China - it now houses seven brands and has almost 12,000 stores.

Bosideng’s core business is outdoor clothing but it has recently expanded into high-end and casual womenswear and luxury formal menswear.

Bosideng is one of the few Asian retailers to have opened a store in the UK

Bosideng is one of the few Asian retailers to have opened a store in the UK

It’s perhaps the name on this list likely to be known to UK shoppers - Bosideng is one of only a few Asian retailers to have tried its luck in the UK. It opened a flagship menswear store on South Molton Street in May 2012.

Pragma says the retailer hopes to establish a firm European presence. But director Monica Lucas says this isn’t something many Chinese retailers will rush to duplicate. She explains: “Generally people have this idea we’re going to be overrun by Chinese retailers but economically they’re much more interested in their own country. There is so much market in Asia and the Far East - why would you come over here?”

Six

BreadTalk, Singapore

Bread is not traditionally a part of Asian cuisine, but bakery chain BreadTalk is testament to the way Asian retailers often take a Western idea and make it their own. The business was founded in Singapore in 2000 and has expanded throughout Asia and into the Middle East. It now has more than 600 bakeries, and its ‘see through’ kitchens show bakers at work and give BreadTalk a unique selling point.

BreadTalk now has 600 bakeries

BreadTalk now has 600 bakeries

It is still expanding rapidly and reported a 22% year-on-year increase in revenue in the second quarter of 2012.

Lucas says chains such as this appeal to the middle classes, although she adds that the Asian palette means local tastes are completely different to those in the UK. Restaurants such as Jolli Bee in the Philippines have taken the Western-style fast food model and adapted it for a local market, selling noodle and rice dishes. “What Asians are really good at is taking ideas and customising them,” Lucas says. “They might mix meat with something sweet, for instance - to us it might seem odd.”

Seven

Qeelin, China

European luxury brands have done well in Asia - names such as Louis Vuitton and Burberry are popular among the monied classes keen to show off their social status. But high-end, homegrown Chinese brands are making their mark as well.

Jewellery business Qeelin was launched in 2004 and combines its Chinese heritage with French craftsmanship. It only has 14 stores so far, with 11 of them in China, but it has plans for up to 100 and has a presence in Harrods and Selfridges in the UK.

Gucci and YSL owner PPR bought a majority stake in the retailer in December 2012. There is clearly an appetite for luxury products in China and shoppers are not limiting their spend to Western brands.

Eight

Meters/bonwe, China

Lucas describes Meters/bonwe as a Chinese version of H&M - the clothing retailer is aimed resolutely at youngsters.

The value fashion group has 4,000 stores, targeting aspirational 18 to 25 year olds. In 2011 revenue rose 32% to $1.6bn (£1.06bn) and the retailer has ambitions to move into Europe and the US.

Meters/bonwe is a successful young fashion retailer with more than 4,000 stores

Meters/bonwe is a successful young fashion retailer with more than 4,000 stores

Its marketing has certainly struck the right note in China - it is seen as young and up-to-date with low prices. Lucas says: “It’s great. The clothing is as good as anything we get here. In China they’re making so many of the garments that we see in Europe that they pick up the trends immediately.”

Taking a Western idea and adapting it is something that happens a lot, Lucas says. Who A U for instance, another successful Chinese retailer, is similar to Abercrombie & Fitch.

Nine

Anta Sports, China

If Meters/bonwe is the Chinese H&M, Anta is the country’s very own Nike. It’s a trainer, footwear and sportswear clothing retailer with a huge estate of 10,000 stores across the country.

If anything demonstrates the scale of China, it’s this business - the group has grown to such proportions without anyone outside of the country really noticing its success. “The scale of China is just phenomenal, when something as big as that can grow under our radar,” says Lucas.

Anta has remained low profile in the West because it largely has a presence in smaller cities that are rarely frequented by Europeans. Beijing and Shanghai are usually the primary targets for overseas retailers, but Anta’s network of stores is spread across second-tier and third-tier cities.

Ten

Lane Crawford, Hong Kong

One of the most venerable names in retail in the Far East, one-time department store business Lane Crawford has been reinventing itself in recent years to become a fashion and lifestyle specialist and is pushing into mainland China from its Hong Kong base.

Lane Crawford has reinvented itself in recent years to become a fashion and lifestyle specialist

Lane Crawford has reinvented itself in recent years to become a fashion and lifestyle specialist

Founded in 1850, Lane Crawford was forced to change its name during the Japanese occupation in the Second World War, and after the liberation in 1945 was started up again with HKD1,000 (£85).

Today the retailer, under the leadership of president Andrew Keith, a former Marks & Spencer executive, is focused on categories including designer fashion, accessories and cosmetics. As well as five stores in Hong Kong, Lane Crawford opened in Beijing in 2007 and another shop will debut in Shanghai in August.

The retailer is also pursuing an omnichannel strategy to cater for its high-end customers. “This is the most exciting chapter in our brand’s history,” says Keith. “We’re the first to be selling in China in a completely synergised way.”

The retailer’s fashions are all own-bought, meaning they are exclusive - an increasingly important factor in the eyes of upscale Chinese shoppers.

Keith says: “The customer wants to show their sophistication, so the ubiquity of some brands is not as appealing as it once was. That’s playing to our advantage.”