Country Report Sweden

The Swedish retail landscape is undergoing changes manifested through, for example, an increasing degree of international retailer entries, an increasing concentration of retail supply and changing demographics of retail consumers. Sweden is indeed an interesting context for retail research, as with the exception of the past few years, the Swedish retail sector has experienced significant growth for more than a decade and in this respect outperformed most other Western European countries. Sweden is also the country of origin of two well-known and globally omnipresent consumer and retail brands H&M and IKEA. This report aims at providing a broad description and analysis of the Swedish retail sector, and at highlighting and discussing some of the managerial challenges that lie ahead for retail management in Sweden. In addition to describing the general structure of the retail environment, the report aims at providing a broad overview of inward and outward internationalization and a discussion of managerial practices in the wake of an increasing degree of international sourcing practices.