Saturated home markets, fierce competition and restrictive legislation have relentlessly pushed major food retailers into globalization mode. In 2003, the top 30 food retailers had extended their empires into 85 different countries - several times the 15 countries where they had a presence a decade earlier. But global expansion does not guarantee an easy harvest. Two out of three retailers fail to meet their initial financial targets when they enter developing countries. Despite the challenges, going global is an essential element of top retailers' growth strategies.

To help retailers maximize their return on international expansion, A.T. Kearney has conducted research on which emerging countries represent the best opportunities and what actions foster success. The findings reveal that although retailers rightly focus on store format and method of entry when they create expansion plans, they often neglect two equally important factors: timing and flexibility. To address the timing of international expansion, A.T. Kearney developed the Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), which ranks emerging countries based on economic and political risk, the level of retail saturation, and the difference between gross domestic product (GDP) growth and retail growth.