Study of market valuation of retail chains

Abstract

The study aims at analyzing the retail sector across the top 5 countries in the world by retail sales – USA, Japan, China, France and Germany and comparing retail stock performance across these countries. The study intends to

* Gain a comprehensive understanding of the factors that drive growth in the Organised retail industry across the world. * Compare and contrast market retail valuations(M/B ratios) in relatively mature markets like the United States with India and China where organised retailing still nascent. * Perform market efficiency tests based on 5 year retail data across 5 countries. * Compare financial characteristics across 5 countries across 6 years and derive conclusions.

The countries that have been chosen for the study are based on the total Retail Sales in Billions of Dollars, and the top 5 countries have been selected. These are USA, Japan, China, France, Germany as highlighted in the table shown. These have been compared with India.