Page 46 - DMGT553_RETAIL_STORE_MANAGEMENT

Unit 3: Pre-Store Opening

Notes
Table 3.1: Key Points
Marketing Store image, trading format, environment, retail
considerations proposition, fashion trends ,customer based, potential
buyers.
Merchandise strategy Availability based upon assortment profile and issues of
options choice, quality, estimated cost etc.
Type of customer base Items purchase, range purchased length of season,
frequency of visit and purchases.
Financial Profitability a sales performance projections, stock
considerations investment and stock returns, corporate objectives and
pricing.
Merchandise Ensuring merchandise meets criteria of: required range,
assortment search comparison, cost, brand policy, delivery, and financial
returns.

Task The customer will have expectations of an assortment profile with issues of choice
(width and depth), size, quality, exclusivity, availability and cost. Discuss.
The consequence of understanding the expectations is for these to be translated into a particular
structure for the buying organization.
Merchandise Presentation Techniques: There are essentially two ways of presenting merchandise
in a store. The first is to place or stack a product on some kind of fixture; stacked merchandise can
be neatly arranged or, as in the case of promotional items, it can be ‘dumped’. The second way
is to hang the product; either directly onto a hanger, or onto a prong, using some kind of
specially designed packaging. Having decided on the type of presentation to be used, it may
then be necessary to use a specific method of organizing the product presentation in order to
provide logic in the offering, or to enhance the visual appeal of merchandise. For example,
clothes are often presented according to colour themes, and greetings cards are presented
according to end use. Other techniques include grouping according to price, technical features
and size to make sure the customer has confidence in the outcome of the transaction and their
integrity.

3.2.2 Merchandise Offered

Following are the different offers being made with merchandise:

Convenience Stores: Convenience stores, as the name signifies, are stores that provide a
high level of convenience to their customers especially in terms of food and other essential
items. Retailers realize that certain convenience goods need to be given a special status
and consumers do not wish to waste time or go out of the way to buy such item. These
items are usually low in cost and easy to obtain. Hence convenience store offers a limited
variety and assortment of merchandise at a convenient location. Usually within a 1500 to
8000 square feet store with a speedy checkout.

Super Markets: Conventional super markets are primarily self-service food stores offering
almost all items of daily necessarily like groceries, meat products and fresh produce. The
annual sales of such stores normally exceed US $2.5 million and the stores are around

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