INTERNATIONALIZATION IN THE PROCESS OF THE CZECH RETAIL DEVELOPMENT

The retail internationalization has accelerated dramatically over last years and has made retailing a global industry. Originally internationalization activities represented moves among developed economies; however, later retailers shifted their retail expansions to developing economies. This paper does not attempt to bring a comprehensive review of the theory on retail internationalization. The objective of the paper is to contribute to the present knowledge of the retail internationalization by describing the entry of the international retailers into the Czech market in the context of the retail development after 1990. The transition process that started in 1989 began the qualitatively new period in the development of Czech retailing. Soon after 1990, retailing became the most dynamic sector of the Czech economy in which decentralization, demonopolization and privatization were completed in a very short time. In any case, the foreign retailers in the Czech Republic have significantly influenced the retail development in the Czech Republic.