on February 5th, 2008 | Skip to top
Global industry-related facts:
- Worldwide retail sales are estimated at $7 trillion (USD).
- The top 200 largest retailers account for 30% of worldwide demand.
- The money spent on household consumption worldwide increased 68% between 1980 and 1998.
- Retail sales are generally driven by people’s ability (disposable income) and willingness (consumer confidence) to buy.
- Approximately 2,000 companies voluntarily report on their economic, environmental and social policies, practices and performance.
- The 1998 UNDP Human Development Report points to the fact that advertising has global expenditures (including in developing countries) increasing faster than the world
economy, suggesting that the sector is becoming one of the major players in the development process.
- An Arthur D. Little survey of 481 executives world-wide published in 1999 found that 95% of managers believed that sustainable development offered real business value and
75% said that companies would have to make the required adjustments in vision and strategy. But only 19% said that their companies were “well down the road” in making
such changes
Regional retail industry facts:
- Some two-thirds or $6.6 trillion out of the $10 trillion American economy is consumer spending. About 40% of that ($3 trillion) is spending on discretionary products and
services.
- Retail turnover in the EU was almost €2,000 billion in 2001 and the sector’s better than average growth looks set to continue in the future.
- Retail trade in Europe employs 15% of the European workforce (3 million firms and 13 million workers)
- The Asian economies (excluding Japan) are expected to have 6% growth rates in 2005-6.
- US retail CEOs and senior executives are not very optimistic about the short-term future, according to the results of the NRF-BTM (National Retail Federation-Bank of Tokyo- Mitsubishi) Retail Executive Opinion Survey, a new monthly survey that indexes key aspects of industry operations. According to this survey, despite price-cutting, customer traffic still falls below normal levels, however of customers that are buying, it appears they are spending more per transaction.
- Positive forces at work in the retail consumer market today (by Plunkett Research, Ltd 2001-2002) include a high rate of personal expenditures, low interest rates, low unemployment and very low inflation. Negative factors which hold retail sales back include weakening consumer confidence, slowly increasing unemployment, growing numbers of store closings, decreasing levels of consumer household wealth due to stock
portfolios and 401k plans that have seen huge losses in the past year, consumers with record high debt levels are defaulting on credit card balances at an alarming rate,
volatility in global markets and significant continued layoffs at larger corporations require job migration and lead to large numbers of consumers employed as temp workers.
Consumers Expectations and Consumption Figures:
- Time and quality of life are becoming relatively more important than money; 60% of Americans want to simplify their lives.
- Product performance was found to be the top purchasing criterion, while environmental features were a close second in a survey performed by the alliance for Environmental
Innovation in conjunction with SC Johnson Wax.
- The total of United States-managed investment assets grew 22% from 1999 to 2001; socially screened assets under professional management grew by 36% in the same period,
suggesting the growing importance of social issues in investment.
- Consumers are becoming more purposeful in their buying behaviour according to a 2001 Ernst & Young paper. Another change in the retail industry is a drop in the number of
casual shoppers in department stores and malls.
- “An overwhelming majority [of PR professionals] believe that clients tend to underestimate the importance of PR/Communications in CSR.” According to a 2001
survey.
Global Consumption Facts and Figures:
- The world’s population is poised to expand 50% by 2050. The world is currently 78% poor, 11% middle income and 11% rich.
- World economic output more than doubled in the past 25 years, to about $33 trillion USD by 1999.
- The number of NGOs recorded by the Union of International Associations has more than doubled since 1985 and is now over 40,000 organisations, indicating a growing interest in social and environmental issues.
Tags: Retail in india
on February 5th, 2008 | Skip to top
Power Center
Shopping center that is dominated by several large anchors, including discount stores (Target), off-price stores (Marshalls), warehouse clubs (Costco), or category specialists such as Home Depot, Office Depot, Circuit City, Sports Authority, Best Buy, and Toys “R” Us.
Regional Center
Shopping mall that provides general merchandise (a large percentage of which is apparel) and services in full depth and variety.
Shopping Center
A group of retail and their commercial establishments that is planned, developed, owned, and managed as a single property.
shopping goods
Products for which consumers will spend time comparing alternatives.More…
Strip Mall
A shopping center that usually has parking directly in front of the stores and does not have enclosed walk-ways linking the stores.
Super-regional Center
Shopping center that is similar to a regional center; but because of its larger size, it has more anchors and a deeper selection of merchandise, and it draws from a larger population base.
Theme/Festival Centers
A shopping center that typically employs a unifying theme that is carried out by the individual shops in their architectural design and, to an extent, in their merchandise.
Traditional Strip Center
A shopping center that is designed to provide convenience shopping for the day-to-day needs of consumers in their immediate neighborhood.
Tags: Merchandising, Retail in india
on February 4th, 2008 | Skip to top
| accrued liabilities |
Liabilities that accumulate daily but are paid only at the end of a period. |
| activity-based costing (ABC) |
A financial management tool in which all major activities within a cost center are identified, calculated, and then charged to cost objects, such as stores, product categories, product lines, specific products, customers, and suppliers. |
| bottom-up planning |
When goals are set at the bottom of the organization and filter up through the operating levels. |
| customer returns |
The value of merchandise that customers return because it is damaged, doesn’t fit, and so forth. |
| input measure |
A performance measure used to assess the amount f resources or money used by the retailer to achieve outputs. |
| productivity measure |
The ratio of an output to an input determining how effectively a firm uses a resource. |
| |
| retained earnings |
The portion of owners’ equity that has accumulated over time through profits but has not been paid out in dividends to owners. |
| top-down planning |
One side of the process of developing an overall retail strategy where goals are set at the top of the organization and filter down through the operating levels. |
Read the rest of this article »
Tags: Merchandising, Retail in india
on February 3rd, 2008 | Skip to top
|
retail market
|
A group of consumers with similar needs (a market segment)and a group of retailers using a similar retail format to satisfy those consumer needs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
retail strategy
|
A statement that indicates (1) the target market toward which a retailer plans to commit its resources, (2) the nature of the retail offering that the retailer plans to use to satisfy the needs of the target market, and (3) the bases upon which the retailer will attempt to build a sustainable competitive advantage over competitors.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
retailing concept
|
A management orientation that holds that the key task of a retailer is to determine the needs and wants of its target markets and to direct the firm toward satisfying those needs and wants more effectively and efficiently than competitors do.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
scale economies
|
Cost advantages due to the size of a retailer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
situation audit
|
An analysis of the opportunities and threats in the retail environment and the strengths and weaknesses of the retail business relative to its competitors.
|
|
|
Read the rest of this article »
Tags: Merchandising, Retail in india
on February 2nd, 2008 | Skip to top
|
direct investment
|
The investment and ownership by a retail firm or a division or subsidiary that builds and operates stores in a foreign country.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
diversification opportunity
|
A strategic investment opportunity that involves an entirely new retail format directed toward a market segment not presently being served.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
joint venture
|
An entity formed when the entering retailer pools its resources with a local retailer to form a new company in which ownership, control, and profits are shared.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
market attractiveness/competitive position matrix
|
A method for analyzing opportunities that explicitly considers the capabilities of the retailer and the attractiveness of retail markets.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
market expansion opportunity
|
A strategic investment opportunity that employs the existing retailing format in new market segments.
|
|
|
|
|
Read the rest of this article »
Tags: Merchandising, Retail in india
on February 1st, 2008 | Skip to top
|
bargaining power of vendors
|
A competitive factor that makes markets unattractive when a few vendors control the merchandise sold in it. In these situations, vendors have an opportunity to dictate prices and other terms, reducing retailer’s profits.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
barriers to entry
|
Conditions in a retail market that make it difficult for firms to enter the market.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
competitive rivalry
|
The frequency and intensity of reactions to actions undertaken by competitors.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
cross-selling
|
When sales associates in one department attempt to sell complementary merchandise from other departments to their customers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
customer loyalty
|
Customers’ commitment to shopping at a store.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
data warehouse
|
The coordinated and periodic copying of data from various sources, both inside and outside the enterprise, into an environment ready for analytical and informational processing. It contains all of the data the firm has collected about its customers and is the foundation for subsequent CRM activities.
|
Tags: Merchandising, Retail in india
