...Dedicated European Retail Handbook: In this report Fitch Ratings focuses on the main credit factors affecting investment- and speculative-grade credits in European food and non-food retail, and the main challenges lying ahead for the market constituents in a sector undergoing transformational changes. The report serves as a reference guide for investors in European retail assets. Structural Sector Challenges: Digitalisation, the growth of millennials as a new customer group, sector polarisation between premium and value, and waning customer loyalty are forcing retailers to reassess conventional business models, distribution strategies and network management. These structural sector changes bring both opportunities and risks. Winners and Losers: A company's ability to recognise these trends early and address them with a view to enhance, or at least, protect business value is of prime importance, and is reflected in our ratings. The majority of Fitch-rated sector constituents have embarked...
