‘Retail business success in global cities depends on tailored approach’

 The company explains that how retail occupiers can make the most of the increasingly global market will be determined by four key options for entry, including  organic expansion,  acquisition of a local operator,  collaboration with a local player  or franchising.

Knight Frank LLP, the world’s largest independent residential and commercial property consultancy, is the parent company of Knight Frank Nigeria Partnership which has grown to be one of the largest firms of estate surveyors and valuers in Nigeria and across Sub-Saharan Africa with very strong footprints in property management, estate agency and valuation in both residential and commercial property.

In line with the dynamics in the Nigerian property market, the company, which opened for business in Nigeria in 1965, also offers property development and planning services which are growing part of its business in which they meet national and international developers’ needs through specialist advice on issues such as demand, supply, investment returns, values, funding and design.

Albert Orisu, the Senior Partner at the company, disclosed to BusinessDay in an interview that the company has grown its branches to a point where such branches control some zones, explaining that  the Lagos branch  controls the whole South West, Port Harcourt branch controls the South South and the South East, while the entire North is controlled by Abuja branch.

“Knight Frank is a large global family and we have benefitted from our link with other members of this family, especially in the area of valuation; we have 21 offices in nine countries in Africa, and 370 offices in 55 countries of the world”, the senior partner disclosed, explaining that the branch network was meant to add value to their clients investment.

“Our shared goal lies in improving operations, maximising returns on investment and adding value throughout long-standing partnerships”, he added, pointing out that  “working closely with owners, occupiers, developers and investors, our commercial and residential specialists are members of Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) who adhere to the highest levels of industry code of conduct at all times”.

The global realtor, in its 2016, report notes that, although each of the entry options comes with its own level of financial risk and reward, “failed international ventures invariably stem from a retailer rigidly trying to impose its domestic values on its new market, rather than tailor its proposition to meet local demands.”

 The key incentive for retailers to make the global transition is growth, the report says, adding however, that the global playing field is anything but even.  It shows that of the major global economies, the US holds the largest retail format sales per capita at $11,687 million, whereas India sits at the other end of the spectrum with just $793 million.

 Similarly, the UK is the most structurally favourable market, with the proportion of modern versus traditional retail space split 97 per cent to 3 per cent.  In contrast, traditional retail trade  such as markets  still dominate China’s retail landscape, accounting for 78 per cent of retail trade and only 22 per cent made up by modern channels, for instance, unit shops, food stores, malls and online.