Small-medium sized manufacturers' internationalization through retail store openings abroad: A study of the Italian fashion industry

This paper deals with the international expansion of manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through the opening of retail outlets in foreign countries. The paper develops and discusses five research questions. The paper discusses emerging data from the analysis of a database set up in recent years. In particular, it deals with 1,419 retail operations regarding 246 Italian fashion brands in 77 foreign markets during the period from 2005 and 2010. The paper points out that retail operations are largely used by Italian fashion SMEs to internationalize. This form of entry in foreign markets is used to develop in both mature and emerging markets and it seems related to the brand potential of Italian fashion SMEs abroad. The paper is limited to the case of Italian fashion brands and to the period 20052010. The paper considers an unexplored area of the internationalization theory of SMEs, that of the development abroad through retail store openings. The paper offers insights on the extent to what this strategy is used by Italian fashion brands.