INTRODUCTION TO THE
WORLD OF RETAILING
By Duane Martenson
What we are going to cover
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

What Retailing is
The importance of retailing
Career opportunities in retail
What is retailing to you?

Retailing – a set of business activities that adds
value to the products and services sold to consumers
for their personal or family use
The Four P’s of Marketing
Product
Distribution
Price
Promotion
How do Retailers add value?
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Provide Assortment
Buy other products at the same time
Break Bulk
Buy it in quantities customers want
Hold Inventory
Buy it at a convenient place when you want it
Offer Services
See it before you buy; get credit; layaway
What do Retailers do for Corporate
Social Responsibility



McDonalds Houses
Starbuck fair trade coffee
Target community Give Back
Retail has changed! So has the career
opportunities!
To
Mom and
Pop
Store
Store Design
Today’s
Retailer
Operations
Human Resources
Loss Prevention
Real Estate
MIS
Finance
Promotion/Advertising
Misconceptions
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College not needed
Low pay
Long hours
Boring
Dead-end job
No benefits
Everyone is part-time
Unstable environment
No opportunity for women and minorities
The Retail Management Decision Process
The World of Retailing (chapters 1-4)
 Environmental Factors
 Macro–
technology, social, ethical, political
 Micro– competition and customers
 Competition


–
Intratype competition– between same type retialer (supermarket
vs supermarket)
Greater Variety of products makes for scrambled
merchandising thus increased Intertype competition. (examples
of scrambled merchandising??)
 Customers
– Consumer Behavior
The Retail Management Decision Process
Retailing Strategy (chapters 5-11)
 How the firm plans to focus its resources to accomplish
objectives


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
Targets
Merchandise
Long term competitive advantage
Wallmart vs Toys R Us
Small towns -- big towns
Wide Varity shallow selection – every toy made
Low price — low price
Self service – Self service
The Retail Management Decision Process
Retailing Strategy (chapters 5-11) Cont.
 Strategic Decision Area
 Marketing
strategy
 Financial strategy
 Location strategy
 Organizational structure
 Human Resource
 Information systems
 Supply Chain Strategies
 CRM
Implementing the Retail Strategy
Chapter 12-19

Retail Mix – combination of factors used to satisfy
customer needs and influence their purchase
decision
 Types
of merchandise and service
 Pricing
 Advertising and promotion
 Store design and merchandise display
 Level of customer service
 Store location
Wal-Mart’s Retail Mix
1-12
Customer
Service
Store Design
And Display
Location
Retail Strategy
Communication
Mix
Pricing
Merchandise
Assortment
Wal-Mart’s Retail Mix
1-13
Location Strategy
Free-standing Stores
Customer
Service
Store Display
And Design
Communication
Mix
Merchandise
Assortment
Pricing
Wal-Mart’s Retail Mix
1-14
Assortment Strategy
Customer
Service
Location
Large Number
of Categories
Store Design
and Display
Communication
Mix
Pricing
Few Items
in Each Category
Wal-Mart’s Retail Mix
1-15
Location
Customer
Service
Pricing Strategy
Merchandise
Assortment
Store Design
and Display
Communication
Mix
Low, EDLP
Wal-Mart’s Retail Mix
1-16
Customer
Service
Communication Mix
Store Design
and Display
Location
Merchandise
Assortment
Pricing
TV and Newspaper
Insert Ads
Wal-Mart’s Retail Mix
1-17
Store Design and Display
Customer
Service
Basic, Special
Displays
for Products
Location
Merchandise
Assortments
Communication
Mix
Pricing
Wal-Mart’s Retail Mix
1-18
Customer Service
Limited
Location
Merchandise
Assortment
Store Design
and Display
Communication
Mix
Pricing
Checklist for Making Ethical Decisions
Rubric For Assignments
Points--Assignment
posted to
Wiki by Due
Date
Points--Assignment
met your
requirement
s
Points--Quality of
Assignment
0
10
15
20
3 days late
with no
communicatio
n on progress
3-5 days late
and the
group kept
you updated
on their
Progress
1-2 days late
with no
communicatio
n as to the
groups
progress
1-2 days late
and the
group kept
you updated
on their
progress
0
20
30
40
50
Met most
requirement
s
Met all
requirement
s
40
50
Did not meet
requirements
0
Did not
complete
Met a few
requirement
s
20
Low quality,
didn’t
adequately
address
topic
Met some
requirements
30
Went into
great detail
but did not
apply all of
the concepts
correctly
Brief but
accurately
applied the
concepts of
the topic
25
On Time
Went into
great detail
and
accurately
applied the
concepts of
the topic
Assignment 1

Interview somebody that has a career in the retail field.

Ask questions in the following areas
What is an average day like for your position?
 What career opportunities in retail do they see for someone with
a degree in business?
 What are the benefits and draw back to working in retail?
 What does their business do for social responsibility
 Any ethical situation you have encountered.


Post the interview as a video or podcast to introduction
to retail wiki page. (YouTube, Blaberize…)
Assignment 2


Use Screencasting or Digital Storytelling that
illustrates the role retailers play in the distribution
chain. (Prezi or Photopeach, or Adobe would work well… others?)
Terms to use:
 Backward/Forward
Integration or Vertical Integration
 Breaking Bulk, Holding Inventory, Providing Assortment
and Services
 Supply Chain
 Anything else you see fit…..

Post to Introduction to Retail Wiki page.
Assignment 3

Retail mix

Go to two local retailers that are intertype Competitors and
compare their retail mix.
Examples (Walmart and Kmart) (Safeway and FTC) (Deer Mt. and Terry
Peak)
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Customer Service
Store Design and display
Communication mix
Location
Merchandise Assortment
Price
Use a digital story telling method or multimedia to illustrate
the comparisons to document that is appropriate.
(Blabberize, Comic Life, Prezi….) Post to wiki!