Retail chain A firm that consists of multiple retail units under common ownership and usually has some centralization of decision making in defining and implementing its strategy. Services retailer Organization that offers consumers’ services rather than merchandise. Examples include banks, hospital, health spas, doctors, legal clinics, entertainment firms, and universities. SKU (stock keeping unit) The […]
Conventional supermarket A self-service food store that offers groceries, meat, and produce with limited sales of nonfood items, such as health and beauty aids and general merchandise. Department store A retailer that carries a wide variety and deep assortment, offers considerable customer services, and is organized into separate departments for displaying merchandise. direct-mail retailers A
Scrambled merchandising The offering of merchandise not typically associated with the store type, such as clothing in a drugstore. variety The numbers of different merchandise categories within a store or department. vertical integration An example of diversification by retailers involving investments by retailers in wholesaling or manufacturing merchandise.
Breaking bulk A function performed by retailers or wholesalers in which they receive large quantities of merchandise and sell them in smaller quantities. Intertype competition Competition between retailers that sell similar merchandise using different formats, such as discount and department stores. Intra-type competition Competition between the same types of retailers (e.g., Kroger versus Safeway). retail
Global retailers like Wal-Mart and Tesco do it all the time. Now it’s the turn of Indian retail chains, who’re exploring ways to step up global sourcing of merchandise for shoring up margins and offering the best price to consumers. These days, the likes of Big Bazaar, Ebony, Shoppers’ Stop, Westside or even Subhiksha are
As discussed above, inventory can be seen as an asset or a liability. Bankers and accountants typically view it as an asset. A merchant, however, may see the same stock as a liability. Age is the key. As mentioned above, leading retailers have a monthly review process to understand the age of their inventory. Age
Adding new stores is an important way of growing a retail business. However, it is important to realize that new stores take three to five years to reach maturity and in their first year or two, they may be unprofitable. Hence the rate at which new stores are opened requires very careful planning. In addition,
Adding new stores and the implications for profitability, cash flow Read More »