Retail Management

Lecture 2
 Attributes of Successful Retailer
• Clear Vision:
A good retailer should have strong and clear vision about the offering, the identity
of the target group and the value plan.
• Evolve the Offering:
A good retailer should experiment, try out many concepts with modest investments,
and wait until one hits. With different locations, experiments are achievable not
only to refine the concept but to squeeze it, keeping it fresh and ahead of
competition.
• Execution:
A good retailer should be excellent in execution means that needed resources in the
form of people and capital have been accessed and that capabilities and process
have been put in place to achieve the desired result.
• Develop Strong Culture and Sets of Values:
Successful new retail concepts are almost always accompanied by extraordinarily
strong culture and values that provide energy and direction in the early years and
support the vision and its execution as the business matures.
 Attributes of Successful Retailer
• They deliver emotional and self-expressive benefits:
Go beyond functional benefits to deliver emotional or self-expressive benefits and
be simple and natural, will be much easier in accomplishing their objectives.
• A good retailer must possess sound character. 
Honesty and integrity are essential in all businesses, including specialty apparel
retail. Customer loyalty is tied more to a store‘s character than the merchandise
presented.
• They Scale:
A successful retail concept needs to scale. Expanding the footprint is difficult
because it is costly, because it can involve adapting to a business with added
complexity, and because a good concept is visible and others can run with it in
different geographies.
• They integrate social and environmental programs into the brand:
Successful new concepts fit in social or environmental programs into their offering.
They, of course, have the advantage of creating a brand rather than adapting an
established brand and thus can credibly build this dimension into it.
 The Impact of Retailing on the Economy
• Retailing is a major part of U.S. and world commerce. Retail
sales and employment are vital economic contributors, and
retail trends often mirror trends in a nation’s overall economy.
• According to the Department of Commerce, annual U.S. retail
store sales exceed $4 trillion, representing one-third of the total
economy.
• Telephone and mail-order sales by non store retailers, vending
machines, direct selling, and the Web generate hundreds of
billions of dollars in additional yearly revenues.
• Personal consumption expenditures on financial, medical, legal,
educational, and other services account for another several
hundred billion dollars in annual retail revenues.
 The Impact of Retailing on the Economy
• The world’s 100 largest retailers generate more than $2.4
trillion in annual revenues. They represent 17 nations.
Forty-three of the 100 are based in the United States, 12 in
Great Britain, 9 in France, 9 in Germany, and 9 in Japan.2.
• Retailing is a major source of jobs. In the United States
alone, 25 million people—about one-sixth of the total
labour force—work for traditional retailers (including food
and beverage places). Yet this figure understates the true
number of people who work in retailing because it does not
include the several million persons employed by service
firms, seasonal employees, proprietors, and unreported
workers in family businesses or partnerships.
 Retail Functions in Distribution
• Retailing is the last stage in a channel of distribution—all of the
businesses and people involved in the physical movement and
transfer of ownership of goods and services from producer to
consumer.
• Retailers often act as the contact between manufacturer
wholesalers, and the consumer. Many manufacturers would like
to make one basic type of item and sell their entire inventory to
as few buyers as possible, but consumers usually want to choose
from a variety of goods and services and purchase a limited
quantity.
• Retailers collect an assortment from various sources, buy in large
quantity, and sell in small amounts. This is the sorting process.
 Retail Functions in Distribution
• Another job for retailers is communicating both with
customers and with manufacturers and wholesalers.
Shoppers learn about the availability and characteristics
of goods and services, store hours, sales, and so on from
retailer ads, salespeople, and displays.
• Manufacturers and wholesalers are informed by their
retailers with regard to sales forecasts, delivery delays,
customer complaints, defective items, inventory
turnover, and more. Many goods and services have been
modified due to retailer feedback.
Channel of Distribution