LA DISTRIBUCIóN COMERCIAL EN EUROPA: SITUACIóN ACTUAL Y TENDENCIAS

Retailing industry in EU is currently experienced deeply changes. Environmental forces are pushing a new organization of the retailing in the world: economic crisis, competence between channels, formats and groups, changing patterns of consumer behavior, or technology evolution (Internet and the Web 2.0). This paper makes a diagnostic of the retailing industry in the EU-27, by analyzing the evolution of both wholesale and retailing activities. In particular, it is considered in detail features as the structure of the sector, the state of private brands, the evolution of retailer companies, the concentration of selling in retailing, or the payment periods. Finally, some conclusions about the evolution of the sector are depicted.