RETAIL IMAGE
1. WHY IS IT DIFFICULT FOR A RETAILER
TO SOMETIMES CONVEY ITS IMAGE?
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A retailers’ image is created
from its retail strategy mix
(product, price, place,
communication and operations
management), its positioning
and its target market.
It is difficult to convey an image
because
 Image is created by many
factors, both controllable
and uncontrollable.
Coordinating all the
controllable factors alone
can be difficult.
 Image relies on consumers’
perceptions.
 Uncontrollable elements
(like competition) can inflate
or deflate a store’s image.
2. WHAT IS ‘ATMOSPHERE’ IN A RETAIL CONTEXT? COMPARED
WITH BRICKS-AND-MORTAR STORES, IS ATMOSPHERE DIFFERENT
FOR ONLINE RETAILERS?
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Store atmosphere plays a large part in
establishing the retailer’s image
Atmosphere is the psychological feeling
a customer gets when visiting a
retailer. It refers to a store’s physical
characteristics that project an image
and draw customers.
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Exterior
Layout
General interior
Interior displays
Non-store retailers’ atmospheres are
created by the physical characteristics
of their tangible “face” (catalogues, web
sites, vending machines)
3. WITHIN THREE SECONDS A SHOPPER SHOULD BE ABLE TO
DETERMINE A RETAILER’S: NAME, LINE OF TRADE, ‘CLAIM TO FAME’ (I.E.
WHAT THEY DO BEST), ITS PRICE POINT AND ITS PERSONALITY. THINK
OF A RETAILER THAT DOES THIS EFFECTIVELY.

4. In the Leonard’s case assigned for discussion in today’s
class, you were asked to identify the retail value propositions
(RVP) of the community based pharmacy (such as Leonard’s)
and their cross channel competitors (like Wal-Mart and
Superstore). You should have come up with an answer similar
to this:

Community based pharmacy RVP (Leonard’s)
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Cross Channel competitor RVP
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Experience - Pharmacist competency
Selection
Convenience
Emphasis on price and convenience
Commoditization of pharmacist (which attacks core positioning of community
pharmacies)
If you were designing a new store for Leonard’s, what design
features would you use to convey each of its RVPs as stated
above?

Pharmacist competency
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Selection
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focus on pharmacist space, space for clinics, private rooms for
consultations, information displays
store layout and product display, signage
Convenience

Store layout (traffic flow), signage, parking, drive-thru, size of
entry/exit, number of cash registers
5. HOW WELL DOES THE PROPOSED EXTERIOR OF LEONARD’S
CONVEY THE ‘WHOLE LIFE HEALTH SOLUTION PROVIDER’
POSITIONING? APPLY THE THREE-SECOND TEST FROM
QUESTION #3 ABOVE TO THIS EXTERIOR AS WELL.
6. HOW WOULD YOU CLASSIFY LEONARD’S SELLING SPACE
GROUPINGS? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWER.
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Retail floor space:
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selling space
merchandise space
personnel space
customer space
Selling space
organized by:
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functional product
groupings
purchase motivation
product groupings
market segment
product groupings
storability product
groupings
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(see page 444 of your
textbook)
7. TRAFFIC FLOW PATTERNS CAN BE ‘GRIDIRON’ OR ‘CURVING’
(SEE P. 444-446). HOW WOULD YOU CLASSIFY LEONARD’S
TRAFFIC FLOW PATTERN? WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES TO THIS
PATTERN?
8. HOW WELL DOES THE NEW DESIGN MEET
THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES STATED IN THE
CASE?
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Objectives of new design:
 Customer centric shopping experience
 Integrated marketing communications
 Meet business goals and bottom line
profitability
 Create a proprietary brand aesthetic
 Accentuate convenience and service functions
9. IF YOU WERE MAC RAYMOND, WOULD YOU
PROCEED WITH THE PROPOSED DESIGN?