Retail Management Basics

Site Selection Criteria in Retail

There is no such thing, such as a  “Perfect site” in retailing. Retailers must decide which attributes are the most important to  their business.  Let’s summarize the key criteria critical to the site selection decision in retailing.

  1. Sales potential for the site. The demographic, economic, and competition  factors and strategies by which management hopes to create a competitive  advantage determine the estimate of sales for a site. Growth potential  should be a basic consideration in the evaluation of the sales potential.
  2. Accessibility to the site. Automobile and public transportation access to  the site and adequate parking may well be defining criteria.
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What is Retail Advertising?

The manufacturer has little concern where its product is purchased. The goal of the retail advertiser differs from that of national advertiser. The retailer advertises to encourage patronage by consumers and build store loyalty among them. The retailer is not particularly concerned with any specific brand. In case the retailer shows some concern (the retailer wants to clear stocks of a particular brand), then the message in effect is “buy brand ‘B’ at our store.” General approach in retail advertising is “buy at our store.” The sale of any specific brand is not the concern of retailer unlike the national advertiser.… Read the rest

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Category Management Concept in Retailing

Retail is often termed as a business of responding to change. Today‘s retailer is faced with a rapidly changing and demanding consumer, intense competition, and pressures on costs. The combinations of the business condition that exist today and the advances in technology have created an opportunity for the development of new management approaches. One such approach is that of category management.

The need to reduce costs, control inventory levels and replenish stock efficiently, led to the concept of Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) taking shape in the grocery retail industry in Europe and America. By focusing on a superior understanding of consumer needs, category management provides renewed opportunities for meeting consumer needs, and at the same time, for achieving competitive advantage as well as lower costs through greater work process efficiencies.… Read the rest

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Margin Turnover Model of Retail

Successful retail operations depend largely on two main dimensions: margin and turnover. How far a retail enterprise can reach in margin and turnover depends essentially on the type of business (product lines) and the style and scale of the operations. In addition the turnover ,also depends upon the professional competence of the enterprise. In a given business two retail companies may choose two different margin levels, and yet both may be successful, provided the strategy and style of management are appropriate.

Margin Turnover Model

Ronald R. Gist “Suggested a conceptual frame work, using margin and turnover, for understanding the retail structure and evolving a retail strategy.”… Read the rest

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Retail Investment in India – Retail as an Investment Option

Despite the huge presence of the unorganized sector, the Indian retail industry is attractive for international players (Read: Unorganized Retail in India). It is favored over China’s among the developing countries due to a slew of laws in the communist country at various levels. Though the market hasn’t seen big time players of the developed nations yet, the fact that Indian per capita retail space is among the lowest, is expected to provoke people to look at retail as a potential business arena.

The growth of integrated shopping malls, retail chains and multi-brand outlets is evidence of consumer behavior being favorable to the growing organized segment of the business.… Read the rest

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Unorganized Retail in India

Retailing in India is predominantly unorganized. According to a survey by AT Kearney, an overwhelming proportion of the Rs. 400,000 crore retail market is UNORGANISED. In fact, only a Rs. 20,000 crore segment of the market is organized.

We are known as a nation of shopkeepers with over 12 million, the highest outlet density in the world in the world with an estimated turnover of $ 200 billion. However a disturbing point here is that as much as 96 per cent of them are smaller than 500 square feet in area. This means that India per capita retailing space is about 2 square feet (compared to 16 square feet in the United States).… Read the rest

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