Report Sees Soft Demand in Europe

New York City, Intense competitive pressures in European retail are creating a race to countries with bright growth prospects, according to New York City-based Standard & Poors. Chains with an attractive price image, solid international operations outside Western Europe and a presence in the fastest-growing formats will weather soft demand and deflationary trends in Europe, according to the report, “Industry Report Card: European Retail,” published yesterday by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services. “Given the challenging conditions prevailing in mature Western European markets, retailers are likely to allocate a generous slice of capital investment to emerging markets,” said Nicolas Baudouin, credit analyst of Standard & Poor.