In this study, we propose a holistic framework of a brand's hierarchical motivations for retail internationalization (RI) in order to understand motivational levels for RI and interpret how their interrelationship leads to the success or failure of brands in RI. The framework was derived from Maslow's hierarchy of needs and demonstrates different levels of RI motivations including economic, competitive, psychological, and brand actualization which build upon one another towards an all-inclusive RI strategy. This framework also discusses the mediator of cultural intelligence and moderator of cultural convergence, which influence the significance of each motivation on brand success. The hierarchical predictors of success in this proposed framework can help retailers and academic researchers understand the potential benefits of growing retail internationalization and necessary areas for further attention, allowing brands to better evaluate international growth decisions, pre-empt large-scale loss, and fine-tune long-term succession strategy.