Comparison of Retailers

Sales and Retail Management

Assignment # 2







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Table of Contents
Introduction: ............................................................................................................................................... 2
D-Watson: .................................................................................................................................................... 2
Supply Channel ......................................................................................................................................... 2
SWOT ....................................................................................................................................................... 2
Strengths .............................................................................................................................................. 2
Weaknesses .......................................................................................................................................... 3
Opportunities ....................................................................................................................................... 3
Threats ................................................................................................................................................. 3
Store Layout .............................................................................................................................................. 3
Point of Purchase and In-store Promotions ............................................................................................... 4
Punjab Cash n Carry .................................................................................................................................. 4
Supply Channel ......................................................................................................................................... 4
SWOT Analysis ........................................................................................................................................ 5
Strength ................................................................................................................................................ 5
Weakness: ............................................................................................................................................ 5
Opportunities: ..................................................................................................................................... 5
Threats: ................................................................................................................................................ 6
Floor Layout.............................................................................................................................................. 6
In-Store Promotions .................................................................................................................................. 6
Madina Cash and Carry ............................................................................................................................. 7
Supply Channel ......................................................................................................................................... 7
SWOT Analysis ........................................................................................................................................ 7
Strengths .............................................................................................................................................. 7
Weakness ............................................................................................................................................. 7
Opportunity ......................................................................................................................................... 8
Threats ................................................................................................................................................. 8
Point of Purchase Displays and In-store Promotion ................................................................................. 8
Store Layout .............................................................................................................................................. 8
Return Policy ............................................................................................................................................ 9
Comparison ................................................................................................................................................. 9


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Introduction:
The purpose of this assignment is to do a comparative analysis of three different retail stores in
the territory of Islamabad and compare their offerings. The retail stores selected for this purpose
include D-Watson, Punjab cash n carry and Madina cash n carry. We will first discuss all these
stores one by one in terms of supply channel, SWOT, store layout, point of purchase, in-store
promotions and then compare them with each other on the whole.
D-Watson:
D-Watson is very well known for its chemist business over a period of time. But slowly it
transformed into a superstore. It deals in different types of products which include grocery items,
beauty and personal care, daily usage item and medicines. The outlet selected for the analysis is
situated in G-11 Markaz.
Supply Channel:
D-Watson mainly deal in quality products. Its target market is very different as compare what
normal super stores deal in. It offer a wide variety of imported products. The main suppliers for
imported products are Shafi and sons. Apart from that they obtain products of Unilever, P&G
and others from their authorized distributors in the city.
SWOT:
Strengths:
Strong brand name which enjoys trust of its customers
Store layout with well spread aisle with enough space in between.
Parking facility
Separate space for chemist section which stands out from other stores
Customer services

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Weaknesses:
Not all outlets are of same standard size as the one in G-11
Lack of complete variety availability in all outlets
Support staff in grocery section lack complete knowledge about the products availability and
position in the store
Opportunities:
Development of loyalty programs to lock in customers
Should offer more substantial promotions to attract customers
Threats:
Increasing competition in the market
Increase in price sensitivity on part of customers
Located on the opposite side of Main market which can make it less visible to the customers
Store Layout:
The store layout of D-Watson G-11 Markaz branch is the best among all two other retailers
under comparison. The store front is designed with see through glass. It has one gate which is
used both for entrance and exit. On entering the store, the cash counter is present on the left hand
side on which 3-4 people are present. The store has been divided into three parts. On the extreme
left, there exist aisles of daily usage items mainly food, snacks, crockery, juices, confectionary
and other items. At first, there are aisles for milk, snacks, jam and other food items whereas one
can find out non-food items like crockery, cooking oil, surf, cleaners and others at the back end
of the left sections. On the right hand, there is a section for beauty and personal care. The
sections includes sun glasses, beauty products, perfumes and others. Both of these sections are
separated by the presence of Chemist section in between. Because of its niche image, the
management has given special importance to beautify the store in such a manner that it attracts
customers. The major benefits for setting sections in this manner is that while entering the store,
customers can have clear idea about where he will move in order to get the desired stuff. The
spaces between the aisles are very wide which makes it easy to move through and shop.

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On the negative side of it, having customers to use same door for enter and exit make is difficult
for customers especially at peak times. There is no door for emergency exit. For a store of such a
large scale, the cash counters are not sufficient. The wide spaces also signal that the main
emphasis for store is to provide customers with experience to shop rather than having more items
to utilize more than necessary wide spaces.
Point of Purchase and In-store Promotions:
D-Watson does not have extensive point of purchase like Punjab cash n carry. There are some
POP at the start of aisles on the grocery side and also on the personal and beauty care. It mainly
offers discounts on the items placed in shelves. It do offer in-store promotions just to attract
customers and increase store traffic. Recently for the month of May, they have given discounts
on all the items in the store in the form of price-offs.
Punjab Cash n Carry:
The outlet selected for the analysis is located in G-9 Markaz. It is well known for its discount
prices among its customers.
Supply Channel
Main Suppliers of Punjab Cash& Carry are as following:
Abu Dawood Supplier mainly supplies the products of P&G and few other companies.
M&Psupplies the products of Unilever
Seith Suleman and Shafi and Sons are suppliers of Imported Goods
Haidri beverages is the supplier of PEPSI
Generic goods suppliers supplies their non-branded products to Punjab Cash & Carry

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SWOT Analysis
Strength:
Punjab Cash & Carry has well planned and organized staff. To give their customers better
shopping experience and customer services, instead of hiring few staff members, they have
hired 30 staff members
They do cost cuttings through which they provide products to their customers at lower prices.
Sometime their prices are lower even than the wholesalers
The layout design of the store helps customer to easily find the products
They have ample space of parking for their customers, even in rush hours of stores,
customers do not find problem in car parking
They have well established R&D department which helps them to come up with new
innovations in-store promotions, in-store layout design and helps to enhance customer
experience and convenience.
Weakness:
In terms of in-store space, Punjab cash and carry has limited store space. Store is highly
congested with stock which makes them unable to store products of new company
They have not fully utilized the space of their 1
st
floor
Only one side of cash counter is used by customers to pay their glossary bills, this causes
inconvenience to customers as they have to stand in queuefor longer period
Cleanliness is poor in some sections of the store
They have only few branches present in Islamabad, thus considering the demand they are
lagging behind
Opportunities:
They can come up with Loyalty Programs to lock-in and retain the existing customers and
attract the new ones
They can open new branches of Punjab Cash & Carry in Islamabad but they need to make
sure that no mismanagement takes place in their new stores

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They should concentrate on branding and advertising of their store as this would definitely
contribute in increasing sales
They should introduce different forms of promotions and try to maintain position as a market
leader
Threats:
Fierce competition is present in this market
Parking space can be commercialized in future and will leave Punjab Cash & Carry with no
parking space for their customers
Opening of new hyper stores can increase the intensity of price war.
Floor Layout:
Punjab Cash & Carry is a double story building; on ground floor they have placed shelves of
glossary items while on 1
st
floor they have placed crockery, female beauty products and clothing.
As you enter in Punjab Cash & Carry you will find the cash counters on your left side, total 5
cash counters are present with computerized operations. On both ends of shelves you find point
of purchase promotion of different companies. Overall, they have given to much attention on
display of different companys point of purchase promotions which is an attraction for
companies looking for branding and marketing of their products in stores as well as for
customers. They have used sign boards mentioning the type of products present in different
sections of the store. These sign boards are placed at the top of shelves. So that customer could
easily find the products they are looking for. They have used price tag pasted on the bottom of
each aisle of product shelves .They have quite limited store space. Store is highly congested with
stock which makes them unable to store products of new company.
In-Store Promotions:
It consists of all the incentives offered to customers and channel members to encourage product
purchases. It is of two forms: consumer promotions and trade promotions. However, the scope
of our study is limited to the consumer promotions being offered by retail stores to attract
customers.

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As a new entrant in retail industry, Punjab Cash & Carry store has kept on offering different in-
store consumer promotions. This includes premiums in the form of prized and gifts for shopping
up to certain amount, on package premiums like giving away Pepsi 1.5 liter along with purchase
of cooking oil, special contest for customers, bonus packs, price-offs and others.
Madina Cash and Carry:
The outlet selected for the analysis is located in G-9 Markaz Islamabad. This store offer a one
stop shop for its customers.
Supply Channel:
MCC has a host of local and foreign suppliers .Suppliers include Abu Dawood, Muller & Phipps,
Allied marketing, Seith Suleman and Shafi and Sons
SWOT Analysis:
Strengths:
Prime location that facilitates customer traffic and attracts huge number of customers
Ample parking space is available which is an added advantage and grants access from all
four sides
Wide range of products at competitive prices
One stop shopping experience
Weakness:
Lack of focus on customer service and building strong relationships with them
Do not offer any loyalty programs for customers
Customer service level not good
Store ambiance is not good
Store staff do not have knowledge of store layout
Brand recognition of MCC is also not quite good in the market.

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Opportunity:
New store in other prime locations of Islamabad
Backward integration
Use of advanced technology
Loyalty programs to lock in customers
Threats:
Presence of competition in the market such as Punjab cash and carry
Increased cost of imported products
Rented store space can be damaging for store in long run
Point of Purchase Displays and In-store Promotion:
POP implies marketing materials or advertising placed next to the merchandise it is promoting.
These items are generally located at the checkout area or other location where the purchase
decision is made and at MCC they are set at the end of each aisle and near the cash counter.
Point-of-purchase displays such as end caps promoting a single product, candy and magazines
placed at the checkout, posters, signs or specially created shelving and other product displays and
are intended to promote new products, make special offers, and/or capitalize on special events,
such as Eid, Ramazan etc. Images of some POP at MCC are as follow:
Store Layout:
The store lay out is as follows:
Ground Floor: Variety of Ladies & Gents Fabrics
Basement: Groceries, Toys, Crockery, Electronics, Garments, Cosmetics and complete range
of everyday utilities - all under one roof. Grocery items have been stocked in the basement in
order to avoid rush on the ground floor. All products in the grocery section are displayed in
the aisles/racks/ gondolas according to their categories

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Return Policy:
MCC has a return policy however they do not have refund policy which implies that the
customer can only exchange the product for another one of the same or greater price range
(within the stipulated period) but they will not be given any refund.Payment through cash and
debit and credit cards is acceptable at MCC.
Comparison:
In order to summarize the comparison of all three stores explained above, these are some of the
differences in few areas:
D-Watson Punjab Cash n
Carry
Madina Cash n Carry
Excellent ambiance and
store layout
Lack store ambiance and very
compact layout
Lack ambiance and presence in
the basement
No loyalty programs Extensive use of in-store
promotions, POP and loyalty
programs
Lack extensive in-store and
consumer promotions. Very
limited POP
Product variety limited Extensive variety of products Extensive variety of products
Strong brand name and
equity
Strong brand name and
associations
Does not enjoy a strong brand
name
Customer service excellent Customer service very good Lack customer service
More branches Just 2 branches Just one branch
Does not use POP
extensively
Extensive use of POP Mediocre use of POP