Retail Management

1. What can an independent retailer learn from this case?

Clear Vision

To connect to a core customer group, one of the characteristics a retail company must have is a clear vision. What the company is offering, who their target market is and the value of the product or service to the customer must be clear. 

Value

A retail business that sells products or services that appeal to customers' needs has the ability to stand up against competition. Physical facilities, pricing, products and customer service differentiate a busy retail store from an unnoticed one. 

Functional

Price, convenience and store experience are functional characteristics that make up a strong retail brand. 

Concept

A retail business aims to conceive an idea and deliver consistency, profitability and integrity from concept to execution. 

traits that most of them currently share:

1. They are localising. They practice localisation of both their physical formats and merchandise assortments. 

2. They don't equate hiring more people with better service. One of the biggest hoodwinks in modern retail is when a retailer tries to con the public that service will improve because it increased the number of salespeople. 

3. They are investing heavily in e-commerce and also in stores – but more strategically and selectively in the latter than they did in the past

4. They are closely integrating their online and offline sales channels to present customers with a seamless shopping experience.

5. They are leveraging social media for direct sales. Facebook, for example, is becoming a powerful new sales channel for major retailers.

6. Private label merchandise accounts for a high and often increasing proportion of sales. This protects margins and offers a natural differentiator in a world where brands have become ubiquitous and, to many, boring.

7. They don't suffer from psychic geographic barriers. International growth is a given and can be accomplished even before domestic saturation has...