Page 65 - DMGT552_VISUAL_MERCHANDISING

Visual Merchandising

Notes customers. It’s no surprise that more than half of the malls report substantially poor
occupancies, resulting in a depression in rentals.
The investors are not the only cribbers. Town planners are at their wits’ end trying to
figure out where to fit in all the traffic and how to cope with the pressures on infrastructure
that is already under severe pressure. If power is a perpetual problem, then parking blues
refuse to go away, what with the addition of several thousand new vehicles adding to the
Indian roads each day.

These are the problems that any politician, economist or administrator laments about as
India drives along the development superhighway, punctuated with modern marvels –
designer glass structures that seem to touch the skies, and a dazzling display of the fierce
battle of brands.
Question

Do you think malls will dominate the retail scene in future in India? Are they the best
retail locations?

Source: www.chillibreeze.com

3.4 Summary

 Location decisions ultimately decide the future and overall profitability of the organisation.

 A good location may not always success, but undoubtedly it is a must for smooth flow of
goods and day-to-day operations, such as loading and unloading of goods.
 Traditionally, the retail community placed great importance on owning the place since
this was considered prestigious in the business community.
 There are many periodic retail markets in India, which operate on particular days of the
week.

 The retailers operating in these periodic markets keep shifting from place to place and do
not own any property; instead they pay a small rental for their set-up in each market.
 With the emergence of new forms of retail formats such as franchising, malls, and
department stores the dependence on rent or lease is increasing.
 Good store design creates the vital difference in today’s competitive marketplace.
 Successful companies use design as a powerful tool in their marketing strategy by making
better products and building a strong retail identity.
 Design creates a better environment at the workplace and projects the organisational
image.
 Good design offers many benefits – a vastly improved quality; a defined statement of
identity; an optimising of resources.

 A well-planned retail store layout allows a retailer to maximise the sales for each square
foot of the allocated selling space within the store.

 Store layouts generally show the size and location of each department, any permanent
structures, fixture locations and customer traffic patterns.
 Each floor plan and store layout will depend on the type of products sold, the building
location and how much the business can afford to put into the overall store design.
 There are a number of different types of layouts commonly found in retail stores.

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