The Ghosts of Retail

This was the heading to an article written by Sada Ayupova in the Budapest Business Journal while I was in Hungary last week. GfK Hungaria, a research company was commenting on the retail scene in Hungary. The retail scene in this country is healthier than many companies and I admire the initiative of young Hungarians at present. But ,this report could have been written in any country. Quote from a retailer” If I lower my prices any more, I will end up paying the difference from my own pocket”. What did interest me was two trends in retailing that are a message for all of us Clothes buyers are favouring buying clothes from Hypermarkets and not buying clothes from cheap markets that were selling inferior far eastern clothing. An indicator the market is changing Customers are prepared to pay more as long as they perceive it to be better quality. The overall message of the research was “Made in China” cheap products are losing ground in the economic crisis to better quality local products