Assesses the evolution of retail brands within British grocery retailing over the past 25 years. Highlights key issues in defining retail brands which contribute to our understanding of their role and impact upon company strategy, and then explores how British retailers have managed the evolution of these product ranges. Identifies key factors as the changing basis and use of retail power in the distribution channel, the centralisation of management activities, and the appreciation of what constitutes retail image. Argues that British grocery retailers have successfully managed these factors to create a retail brand which is now regarded by customers as being at least equal to, if not better than, the established manufacturer brands.

Addresses an area which has been neglected in the international retailing literature; the internationalisation of the fashion designer’s brand. Initial exploratory research revealed that there were 114 international fashion design houses competing for a global market of around £24 billion. Further research by postal questionnaire to entrants into the UK market, in addition to semi‐structured interviews with European and US designers, confirmed that this market was buoyant, fuelled by the development of diffusion lines for the mass market. Identifies four stages of market development: wholesale channels to department stores; the creation of ready‐to‐wear flagships; large diffusion flagships; the opening of stores in provincial cities. In order to acquire capital to enable this expansion, over 60 per cent of all fashion designers are now public limited companies. Even then franchising of stages 3 and 4, diffusion line development, is often franchised to third parties with the designer maintaining control over the product and its brand image. Between 20‐30 per cent of gross margin is spent on advertising support to create global campaigns to enhance brand image in foreign markets. However, there is increasing tension between the desire to be exclusive yet becoming involved in product line extensions and widespread distribution which could ultimately dilute the brand’s value.

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Recent work on the internationalisation of retailing has focused on a number of themes such as the motives for internationalisation, the geographical flows of investment, the impact of internationalisation upon host environments, and methods and typologies of investment. Less attention has been paid to the process of internationalisation per se. This paper argues that for many retailers, competitive advantage in the home market has been based upon the development of strong store and corporate images as retailers strive to develop themselves as brands in their own right. The construction of store image, comprising both tangible and intangible dimensions, compounds problems of moving into international markets-as consumers in the host environment are less familiar with the intangible dimensions of image, which have been built up over time with exposure to the retail company. Retail companies therefore need to fully understand the importance of image in competitive positioning and the components of store image before attempting to replicate this image and positioning overseas. This paper explores these issues with reference to Marks and Spencer and the company's entry into the Spanish market. A survey of customer perceptions of a range of store image attributes in the UK and Spain, reveals differences and similarities in perceptions, which must be managed if a standardised position is to be sought in the host market.

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