LONDON-From the pitiful to the sublime. In a phrase, that's theretail sector's trajectory over the next 10 years, according to thefolks of Jones Lang LaSalle. Calling it the nextwave of globalization, JLL researchers peg a huge boost for theformer poster child of the recession, especially on theinternational front.

In fact, in it's Redefining Retail Investments, the firmprojects that “annual investment volumes of retail property areexpected to rise to US$160-180 billion by 2020, representing a30-50% uplift on current levels. Cross-border activity is expectedto account for half of this total, as global and regional playersassert their dominance.”

The footing for this expansion has already been poured. From2004 through 2012, direct investment in retail has slowly grown inthe EMEA region as well as in Asia Pacific, while the statewideactivity has remained relatively flat (see chart).