Present theories of retail strategic planning and retail evolution are unsatisfactory in explaining the dynamics of retail competition. Strategic planning procedure, it is argued, follows models such as the product-mission matrix and the generic strategy. However, these theories are limited to the corporate level and do not model either the complex market situations influencing the retail industry is getting complicated, the studies of retail development need a theory to explain both retail strategic analysis and planning and the dynamics of retail competition. Theories of retail evolution, or theories of the retail institutional change, e.g. the wheel or retailing, the retail accordion theory and the retail life cycle, are more appropriate for capturing the dynamics of retail competition. These theories of retail organisational, or format, change have been developed to model the retail development in Western countries but may be not suitable for explaining retail development in Western countries but may be not suitable for explaining retail development in Western countries but may be not suitable for explaining retail development in other countries, e.g., East Asian countries. An example of these East Asian countries is Taiwan. Since the 1970s, modern retail formats, such as the large-scale department store, the supermarket, the convenience store and the hypermarket, have transformed Taiwanese’ shopping behaviour and retail operation. However, there are few English language studies related to the changes and performance of the retail industry in this market. Resource-Advantage theory proposed by Hunt may offer an alternative framework of retail competition analysis, especially in non-Western societies. Thus this research has three main purposes: 1). To explore the applicability of Resource-Advantage theory to explaining retail competition and development; 2). To provide empirical evidence for Resource-Advantage theory; 3). To provide detail analyses of the convenience store development in Taiwan.