The Israeli market is indeed a bizarre animal with respect to the adoption of international brands. In the past, Starbucks, Wendy's, Dunkin' Donuts, Pizza Hut, Mövenpick and many others have failed to penetrate the food and beverage market, closed their businesses pretty fast and never came back again. Success is not guaranteed at all even for top-tier brands.
However, only recently, H&M and Gap launched their first stores in Israel and shocked the local clothing sector with an aggressive campaign. Anxious and obsessed consumers waited hours in the queue outside the stores in the main shopping malls as if it was the new exhibition at the MOMA and even in the first week an employee was hit by an enraged customer in the store. Industry specialists claim that it will be hard for incumbents to keep up with international players looking to capture large market share in that sector. Is it so? Judging by the absolute success of IKEA in Israel, local fashion retailers will perform worse than ever in the upcoming years.
Why should we as consumers care? Here is one good rational for Haim Cohen from Jerusalem and for Dana Levi from Haifa to prefer their local chains over stores that belong to international corporations. A recent research published by Civic Economics points out that out of every 100$ spent in a local store 45$ stay in the local economy as opposed to only 13$ left from buying at an international retailer's store.
In the US and Europe, NGOs focused on directing customers attention to local brands is strengthening. They claim that directing even a mere 10% of your shopping to local brands could make a difference by stimulating the local economy, creating more jobs, and improving local facilities. Think about it!
