Wal-Mart, a US-based hypermarketgiant, currently works with Mindshare on mediabuyingandplanninginChina. Otherindustry playersincludeCarrefour, TescoandMetro AG.
Among other innovations, it set up Tesco Express, combining convenience stores and petrol retailing, TescoMetro, the small, urban stores and a small number of much larger stores on the hypermarket model including its flagship Tesco Kensington store.
"The likes of Tesco, Carrefour and Metro would see themselves as chasing hard in the pack behind Wal-Mart, " said Richard Lloyd-Owen, Deloitte's head of consumer business.