The rain in Spain falls mainly on... the Retail Congress

"Things have only just kicked off," says James Hall in the Daily Telegraph(UK), "but we've already had the boss of the world's second biggest retailer – Carrefour, the French supermarket – saying that the industry is facing its toughest challenges for a generation."

Not to be outdone, Paul R Charron, the senior advisor to Warburg Pincus and chairman emeritus of US fashion retailer Liz Claiborne, told the gathering that by the time the retail sector recovers, "many many chains will have gone bust."

A former US naval officer who served in Vietnam, Charron went on to say that retail management teams would need to be as organised, agile and responsive as the US boat crews on the Mekong River, says Hall. "In the current environment there is simply no place to hide," he said.
And on that "current environment", the Financial Times's chief economics commentator, Martin Wolf, had this to say: "We are in a period of revulsion and financial collapse – which we are only part-way through." Oh dear.

In fact, the general consensus is that the consumer economy will take at least 18 months, possibly two years to return to anything resembling vaguely normal, says Hall.

"Never before has the retail industry faced such significant challenges at the same time," said Carrefour CEO Jos Luis Duran, who pinpointed the huge confusion surrounding retailers and their supply chains due to rising commodity prices as one of retail's biggest issues. "There is confusion for our teams, confusion for our customers and confusion for our partners," said Duran.

Even the after hours chit-chat is bleak, says Hall. "Some property boys were telling me last night that many retailers have frozen their roll-out plans. Others are trying to wriggle out of taking space that they were previously interested in."

But not all the 1,100 conference guests – hailing from 90 countries – are gloomy, he adds. Dr Pei Liang, from the China Chain Store and Franchise Association, provided a ray of sunlight by highlighting the huge opportunities for growth in China, both for international players and smaller local businesses. But even this was tempered by warnings of rampant food price inflation in China.

And, despite his company becoming the latest big-ticket retailer to feel the pinch of the global credit crunch, Ikea chief Anders Dahlvig was looking on the bright side: "The downturn of the economy is an opportunity not to be missed. You can rally around your cost-effectiveness and it becomes more easy to focus on the right things."

And that's just day one!

Retail industry facing toughest challenges in a generation, James Hall, Tales from the High Street, The Daily Telegraph

Quote unquote: World Retail Congress, Day one, Just-Food.com

Ikea feels the pinch of slowing market, Sarah Arnott, The Independent