Page 168 - DMGT550_RETAIL_MANAGEMENT

Unit 9: Merchandise Management

perks by offering them discounts on merchandise buying or inviting them to buy merchandise Notes
before offering it to general public by the way of sales.

Task Conduct a few interviews of people residing in your locality to find out their views
on psychological pricing.

Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:
12. Retailers follow ………………… strategy to cover up initial costs before any competitor
enters the frame.

13. Market trends and purchasing power of the buyers are ……………. factors that affect
pricing decisions.
14. The conflict between manufacturer and middlemen on pricing or any other decision is
known as ………………. conflict.
15. …………………..determines the profits that accrue from various pricing approaches.
16. The policy of increasing prices would be profitable if the demand for the product is
………………..



Caselet Hughes & Hughes Merchandise Management System

he Company: Hughes & Hughes is Ireland’s fastest growing, most dynamic book
retailer, and the only Irish bookseller to expand into the UK. The company has 12
Tlocations in Ireland, one in London city airport and two at Terminal 5 at Heathrow
Airport, employing 260 people. The company has implemented a €600,000 Electronic
Point of Sales System (EPOS) Merchandise Management System in line with a change in
trading operation where they are moving to a complete central distribution model.

The Objective: “We are moving to a complete central distribution model where everything
is bought centrally, delivered centrally and fed to the stores from our warehouse, “explains
Tony Mc Entee, Managing Director at Hughes & Hughes. “We want to have a single
invoice point, single delivery point, reduced administration and the assurance that buyers
need to only make one buying decision. We also needed a system that would report
instantly on what is selling along with margin being generated.” Hughes & Hughes had
previously used a retail system but found that it was not cost effective nor could it expand
to keep pace with the company’s continued growth and expansion. “We needed a retail
solution that was very user friendly with a clearly defined development map,” continues
Tony. “The chosen retail solution had to benefit the business by providing sophisticated,
timely and accurate reporting from the till and delivering an integrated end-to-end
solution, ensuring the capacity of the business to react quickly to market conditions.”

Contd....

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