Page 83 - DMGT552_VISUAL_MERCHANDISING

Visual Merchandising

Notes of consumers that are not willing to tolerate badly designed and poorly decorated space.
Competitive threats from home shopping means that the store environment has to have
something special to offer, and international competition can also force retailers to pay more
attention to their selling environments. Spanish fashion retailers Mango and Zara, who use
clean-cut and modern store interiors, have been able to threaten domestic retailers in the UK
middle-market women’s clothing sector.
Store design has always been used to reinforce other elements of a retail strategy. For example,
plush carpeting and marble used in a store denotes high-quality merchandise and may suggest
a high-price positioning. Strip lighting and dump bins for merchandise brings the word ‘bargains’
to mind. However, as retail markets mature, the design of retail space is increasingly being used
as a means by which strategic aims are reached. For example, in 2001 Safeway introduced a new
store design to reinforce their position as a good-value fresh and quality grocery retailer. Wood
panelling, slate tiling and pendent lighting were used in the wines and beers section to create
the impression of an upmarket wine cellar; baskets and barrels were used in the fruit and
vegetable section to give the impression of ‘market freshness’ and chalkboard signage to foster
the impression of good prices. It is these small details that help to refocus the attention of the
shopper onto revised core values, providing a struggling grocery chain with a new lease of life
to compete against other forceful players in the market (Atkinson, 2001).

Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:
16. The aromas of breads, pastries, chocolates, and coffee can be an extremely effective
................................ tool.
17. In AIDCS: Alphabet I signifies .............................., Alphabet D signifies ..............................,
Alphabet C signifies .............................., Alphabet S signifies ..............................



Case Study KB’s Fairprice

he new non-air conditioned, no-frills, retail chain, with each shop measuring an
average of 2,000 square feet retail space, will be based on neighbourhood,
Tconvenience, stores concept. Stocking only a limited variety of items required to
meet daily needs of its customers, the chain proposes to offer merchandise at 10% lower
prices than market for national brands and up to 20% lower than market prices for local
brands. Beginning with Mumbai and Delhi on a pilot basis, the chain plans to later on
spread out to other metro and mega markets of Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad,
Bangalore, Pune and Chennai. KB’s Fair Price Shops will bring the group into direct
competition with no-frills, small format player Subhiksha, which has already set up over
780 stores, and is well on its way to achieve the target of 1,200 stores by March, 2008.

This will also put KB’s fair price shops into competition among others with Ambani’s
Reliance ‘Fresh,’ RPG’s Spencer’s Daily Express, Birla’s More, Piramal’s Trumart, and
Wadhwan’s Spinach, which are also active in neighbourhood, convenience space, albeit
with more glitzy presentation. The cost of setting up KB’s fair price shops, which are
initially to be owned by the group, according to Baheti, would be around ` 280 a sq ft
against ` 2,000 a sq ft required for a modern super market store.

Contd...

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