Nama : Fadel Hussen

Nim : 18059178

Prodi : Management Dual Degree

Resume Retail Management

An Overview of Strategic Retail Management

1) An introduction to retailing
Retailing encompasses the business activities involved in selling goods and services
to consumers for their personal, family, or household use. It includes every sale to the final
consumer ranging from cars to apparel to meals at restaurants to movie tickets. Retailing is
the last stage in the distribution process from supplier to consumer.
Retailing may be viewed from multiple perspectives. It includes tangible and
intangible items, does not have to use a store, and can be done by manufacturers and others
as well as by retailers.
Retailing encompasses all the businesses and people involved in physically moving and
transferring ownership of goods and services from producer to consumer. In a distribution
channel, retailers perform valuable functions as the contact for manufacturers, wholesalers, and
final consumers. They collect assortments from various suppliers and offer them to customers.
They communicate with both customers and other channel members. They may ship, store, mark,
advertise, and pre-pay for items. They complete transactions with customers and often provide
customer services. They may offer multiple formats (multi-channel retailing) to facilitate
shopping.
 retailer and supplier relationships
Retailers and their suppliers have complex relationships because retailers serve in two
capacities. They are part of a distribution channel aimed at the final consumer; and they are major
customers for suppliers. Channel relations are smoothest with exclusive distribution; they are
most volatile with intensive distribution. Selective distribution is a way to balance sales goals and
channel cooperation.
 strategic planning concepts and apply
A retail strategy is the overall plan guiding the firm. It has six basic steps:
1 defining the business
2 setting objectives
3 defining the customer market
4 developing an overall plan
5 enacting an integrated strategy and
6 evaluating performance and making modifications
 Target Stores’ strategy has been particularly well designed and enacted, even though it has
been affected by the tough economy in recent years.
 retailing concept is the foundation of a successful business
The retailing concept should be understood and used by all retailers. It requires a
firm to have a customer orientation, use a coordinated effort, and be value-driven and goal-
oriented. Despite its straightforward nature, many firms do not adhere to one or more
elements of the retailing concept.
The total retail experience consists of all the elements in a retail offering that
encourage or inhibit consumers during their contact with a retailer. Some elements are
controllable by the retailer; others are not. Customer service includes identifiable, but
sometimes intangible, activities undertaken by a retailer in association with the basic goods
and services sold. It has an effect on the total retail experience. In relationship retailing, a
firm seeks long-term bonds with customers, rather than acting as if each sales transaction is
a totally new encounter with them.
 To indicate the focus and format of the text
Retailing maybe studied by using an institutional approach, a functional approach,
and a strategic approach. Although all three approaches are utilized in this book, our focus
is on the strategic approach. The underlying principle is that a retail firm needs to plan for
and adapt to a complex, changing environment.
2) Building and sustaining relationships in retailing
 the important role of value in building and maintaining retailer relationships
Sellers undertake a series of activities and processes to provide a given level of value
for the consumer. Consumers then perceive the value offered by sellers, based on the
perceived benefits received versus the prices paid. Perceived value varies by type of
shopper.
The retail value chain represents a bundle of total benefits offered by distribution
channels. This consists of the location of the store, atmosphere, customer service, product /
brand carried, product quality, inventory position, shipping, price, retailer's image, Some
elements of the retail value chain can be seen by the buyer. The expected retail strategy
represents the minimum value chain elements expected by certain customer segments of
certain types of retailers. The expanded retail strategy includes extra elements that
distinguish retailers. Potential retail strategies include elements of the value chain that have
not yet been refined in the retail industry category.

Empirical research in relationship management has tended to take a snapshot of a

relationship at a given time and attempt to project its trajectory, despite agreement among
researchers that a longitudinal perspective focused on process models advances the
implications for practice. The authors use a field investigative approach to study, over
time, the evolution of three industrial buyer–seller relationships in mature industrial
markets. The relationships are characterized by various degrees of initial asymmetry and
 have evolved in dramatically different ways over time. Their findings suggest that weaker
firms can structure and thrive in long-term relationships with powerful partners because
initial asymmetries are subsequently redressed through the development of high levels of
interpersonal trust across the dyad, which in turn leads to increased levels of
interorganizational commitment.
 To examine the differences in relationship building between goods and service retailers
Goods retailing focuses selling tangible products. Service retailing involves
transactions where consumers do not purchase or acquire ownership of tangible products
There are three kinds of service retailing: rented-goods services – consumers lease
goods for a given time; owned-goods services – goods owned by consumers are repaired,
improved, or maintained; and nongoods services – consumers experience personal
services rather than possess them. Customer service refers to activities that are part of the
total retail experience. With service retailing, services are sold to the consumer.
The unique features of services that influence relationship building and retention are
the intangible nature of many services, the inseparability of some service providers and
their services, the perishability of many services, and the variability of many services.
 To discuss the impact of technology on relationships in retailing
Technology is advantageous when it leads to an improved information flow between
retailers and suppliers, and between retailers and customers, and to faster, smoother
transactions
Electronic banking involves both the use of ATMs and the instant processing of retail
purchases. It allows centralized records and lets customers complete transactions 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week at various sites. Technology is changing the nature of supplier-
retailer-customer interactions via point-of-sale scanning equipment, self-scanning,
electronic gift cards, interactive kiosks, and other innovations.
 To consider the interplay between retailers’ ethical performance and relationships in
retailing
Retailer challenges fall into three related categories: ethics, social responsibility, and
consumerism. Ethics relates to a firm’s moral principles and values. Social responsibility
has to do with benefiting society. Consumerism entails the protection of consumer rights.
“Good” behavior is based not only the firm’s practices, but also on the expectations of the
community in which it does business
Ethical retailers act in a trustworthy, fair, honest, and respectful way. Firms are more
apt to avoid unethical behavior if they have written ethics codes, communicate them to
employees, monitor and punish poor behavior, and have ethical executives. Retailers
perform in a socially responsible manner when they act in the best interests of society
through recycling and conservation programs, and other efforts. Consumerism activities
involve government, business, and independent organizations. Four consumer rights are
basic: to safety, to be informed, to choose, and to be heard.
3) STRATEGIC PLANNING IN RETAILING
Strategic planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy, or
direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy,
including its capital and people. Various business analysis techniques can be used in
strategic planning, including SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities,
and Threats ) and PEST analysis (Political, Economic, Social, and Technological
analysis) or STEER analysis involving Socio-cultural, Technological, Economic,
Ecological, and Regulatory factors and EPISTELS (Environment, Political, Informatic,
Social, Technological, Economic, Legal and Spiritual)
Strategic planning is the formal consideration of an organization’s future course.
All strategic planning deals with at least one of three key questions:
1 What do we do?”
2 “For whom do we do it?”
3 “How do we excel?”

Strategic planning may also be a tool for effectively plotting the direction of a
company; however, strategic planning itself cannot foretell exactly how the market will
evolve and what issues will surface in the coming days in order to plan your
organizational strategy. Therefore, strategic innovation and tinkering with the ‘strategic
plan’ have to be a cornerstone strategy for an organization to survive the turbulent
business climate.
Strategic management seeks to coordinate and integrate the activities of the various
functional areas of a business in order to achieve long-term organizational objectives. A
balanced scorecard is often used to evaluate the overall performance of the business and
its progress towards objectives.
 Micro Environmental Factors
Micro environments in retail is anything in the immediate environment including
suppliers, customers, competitors, and stakeholders. Any government and other
regulating body can be thought of as a stakeholder. Typically the micro environment is
local to the business and any business owner should be well aware of those factors
affecting the retail business.
 Macro Environmental Factors
Macro environments are often outside of the retailer’s control and are typically of a
larger scale and are usually of an economic and industry viewpoint.
 SWOT Analysis
In understanding micro and macro environments a SWOT (Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis is commonly used in retail. Strengths
and weaknesses are those internal factors impacting an organization while opportunities
and threats are external factors that are outside of the organization’s control.
 Some of the positive internal attributes are franchising opportunities and global brand
recognition. Strengths answer question such as:
o What value do we bring to the customer?
o What do we do well?
o What is making a difference?
Some of the weaknesses include a dependence on outside vendors as well as long term
debt. They also have a dependence on an older consumer. Weaknesses address
questions such as:
o What needs improving?
o What isn’t working?
o What do our customers dislike?
In looking at those external opportunity factors affecting Gap that are positive you can
see they have a market for plus size women’s apparel and they are growing the online
business. There is also an opportunity for growth in Asia. Opportunities address the
following questions:
o What should be changed?
o What should the company start or stop doing?
Finally, threats are those external factors that can’t be controlled but are still a
consideration. The Gap has strong competition, slow economic recovery, and increased
labor costs. Threats answer the following questions:
o What are the threats to the business?
o Are there any economic, political, or customer trends?
o Are there any financial threats such as cost or debt?

In addition, PEST (Political, Economic, Social, and Technological) as well as

Porter’s 5-Forces analysis is also used as a way to understand new competition, the
threat of new competition, the bargaining power of suppliers and customers, and the
level of competition.
 To examine the individual controllable and uncontrollable elements of a retail
strategy, and to present strategic planning as a series of integrated steps
There are four major controllable factors in retail planning: store location,
managing the business, merchandise management and pricing, and communicating
with the customer. The principal uncontrollable factors affecting retail planning are
consumers, competition, technology, economic conditions, seasonality, and legal
restrictions.
Each stage in the strategic planning process needs to be performed, undertaken
sequentially, and coordinated in order to have a consistent, integrated, unified
strategy.
 To demonstrate how a strategic plan can be prepared
A comprehensive, user-friendly strategic planning template, Computer-Assisted
Strategic Retail Management Planning, appears at our Web site. This template uses a
series of drop-down menus to build a strategic plan.