Advantages and Disadvantages of Retailer Types Consider the number of formats within the retail industry selling food: club and warehouse mass merchandisers / supercenters / superstores convenience and drug dollar and discount natural and organic specialty .com and at-home delivery traditional grocers Each of these formats and the retailers within them are targeting a distinct consumer or shopping occasion. They’ve developed their retail environment to reflect that, in order to… Read More »Advantages and Disadvantages of Retailer Types

Retailer Classification What you’ll learn to do: list the classification characteristics of various types of retailers by ownership A retailer is the last step of the supply chain. It is where consumers go to obtain goods and services. Without retailers, consumers cannot get what they want, where they want it, and when they want it. To best meet consumers’ needs, there are many types of retail formats, reflecting different scopes… Read More »Retailer Classification

Why It Matters: Retail Environmental Analysis Why evaluate different types of retail institutions? Think about your local grocery store or supermarket. You probably enter into the produce section or perhaps the deli or bakery departments. The milk, butter, and meat sections are probably located at the back of the store, while the center of the store is filled with several rows of packaged items like soup, cereal, and peanut butter.… Read More »Why It Matters: Retail Environmental Analysis

Putting It Together: Introduction to Retailing Do you remember identifying your favorite retailer on the first page?  Hopefully you can now think about them in a different way or give you some insight as to why your favorite pair of jeans in your size are sold out at your local GAP?  If you will recall we discussed inventory as a key challenge in retail.  Adequate inventory levels are imperative to… Read More »Putting It Together: Introduction to Retailing

The Retailing Concept Now that you have a better understanding of the retail marketing strategy and how the retail mix supports the strategy let’s round out our Introduction to Retailing by discussing the Retailing Concept. There are most certainly a number of environmental, political, economic, and social factors that affect all segments of the retailing industry. In addition, there are also other factors such as customer demand, new technologies, and competition… Read More »The Retailing Concept

The Retail Mix So how do we take our retail planning strategy and put it into an actionable plan?  Part of the success of any retailer is taking that strategic plan and breaking it apart into actionable and meaningful steps that will lead to success.  A well thought out and planned retail mix provides the retailer with a focused position and helps differentiate them from the competition.  A retail mix,… Read More »The Retail Mix

Strategic Planning in Retail In most organizations, “strategic planning” is an annual process, typically covering just the year ahead. Occasionally, organizations may look at a practical plan which stretches three or more years ahead. To be most effective, the plan has to be formalized, usually in written form, as a formal “marketing plan.” The essence of the strategic planning process is that it moves from a general goal to the… Read More »Strategic Planning in Retail

Strategic Planning in Retail Management What you’ll learn to do: Explain the concept of strategic planning within the retail management decision process Even the best laid out plans can fail with the absence of a well defined roadmap.  Strategy is a vital component of any retail organization for several key reasons.  First, it allows you to understand your company as well as your history, your company’s history, and your overall industry. … Read More »Strategic Planning in Retail Management

Skills of a Retail Manager Robert Katz identifies three critical skill sets for successful management professionals: technical skills, interpersonal (or human) skills, and conceptual skills. Successful managers must possess certain technical skills that assist them in optimizing managerial performance. While these three broad skill categories encompass a wide spectrum of capabilities, each category describes the way in which these skills interact with management at various levels. Technical Skills of Successful… Read More »Skills of a Retail Manager

Retail Management Requirements Middle-Management Roles and Functions As discussed earlier in this module many retail manager positions fall into the Middle-Management level. Middle-level managers can include general managers, branch managers, and department managers. They are accountable to the top-level management for their department’s function, and they devote more time to organizational and Middle managers’ roles may include several tasks depending on their department. Some of their functions are as follows:… Read More »Retail Management Requirements