Ever since International Retailing started getting recognition in the industry, several academicians as well as Industry experts have tried to come up with exact definition.

The attempt to define International Retailing raised a legitimate question as to what exactly the retailers were internationalizing. Unless the correct fact was established, there could be no right definition. Some asked if the Companies internationalised their management systems, management expertise or the brands.

The famous International Business researchers Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul who had studied the growth of Swedish Companies suggested that the term ‘International’ can be attributed to the Business orientation, the management style and orientation. They further elaborated that in the first instance the Companies began exporting products to other countries and further growth of business entailed setting up manufacturing facilities in the foreign countries. Though this might have been the trend seen in manufacturing organisations, the same has not been totally accepted in the retail sector.