The Brits are coming as retailers set their sights on expansion to Germany

The study indicates that two thirds of British retailers (66 per cent) expect their overseas sales to increase over the next five years.

Nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of retailers said Germany was their number one choice for overseas expansion in the next five years, closely followed by China and Australia.

Richard Lowe, head of retail and wholesale at Barclays, said: “British retailers haven’t ventured in to Germany for a very long time and it is only in the last few years, as the economy has strengthened, that it has come to the fore again.

“The beauty of Germany, for clothing and footwear retailers in particular, is that it has a similar climate to the UK so there is no need to spend time and money adapting lines”.

More than two thirds (68 per cent) of British retailers generate at least some of their sales from outside the UK, however, the percentage of sales made abroad remains relatively small, with nearly 80 per cent of retailers generating less than a quarter or their turnover overseas. However, as trading conditions in the UK continue to be tough, the number of retailers looking overseas for growth is on the rise.

Mr Lowe added: “The retail history books are littered with stories of British retailers who bravely planted flags on foreign high streets only to beat hasty retreats. The US, in particular, was notorious for being a graveyard for many a retailer.”

According to Barclays, international expansion is now no longer the preserve of the retail giants.

The borderless retail landscape created by e-commerce means it has never been easier for smaller British retailers to expand overseas swiftly without the associated overheads of opening physical stores.

Sixty two per cent of retailers said they would use a transactional website as their preferred method of entry to new mar- kets.

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