In recent years Britain has experienced a lengthy period of recession and depressed consumer demand. The successful retail organisations have sought further efficiencies in their distribution, operations, stock-holding policies and marketing to customers in order to compete profitability in this environment. Woolworths, one of Britain's leading retailers, has undergone a period of radical change resulting in a rationalisation of stores and ranges and a refocusing of the business on core merchandise areas. This paper illustrates how continuous and ad hoc research programmes have assisted the company in developing clear customer propositions which meet the needs of shoppers and satisfy business objectives.
This paper has been prepared from both personal and corporate experience in the application of research and analysis techniques to increase the effectiveness of retail operations. This has allowed retailers to match their services to their customers needs, both in terms of merchandise and location, providing the customer with what they require, where they require it. The continuation of the recession in Great Britain has significantly affected the application of standard methods for location and area research. Constant reappraisal, by both the retailer and consultants, of existing procedures together with the development of new and more sophisticated techniques has been required. The fundamental issues of retail planning have changed from the single site focus of the 1980's towards a more integrated strategic approach. The recessionary climate means it is now more important than ever to plan effectively. Great Britain is a unique environment for the application of location strategy. The country combines extremely dense levels of retail supply with a prolonged and regionally uneven recessionary climate. Location strategy techniques that have traditional developed to meet the needs of the American market are becoming increasingly inappropriate. The paper focuses on the situation within Great Britain and corresponding responses to this country's recession; however the lessons learned could be applied to any dense retail environment within Europe or beyond. In order to understand issues related to retail strategy it is vital for a retailer to understand these economic constraints. This paper aims to focus on these issues and their importance to retail location strategy. The document is split into five principal sections.
In recent years there has been a growing body of evidence to show that the point of sale can form an important influence on consumer purchasing behaviour. Key elements within this evidence are the existence of high levels of brand switching and of unplanned purchasing over a wide range of goods. Any theory or explanation of retailing and consumer behaviour must, therefore, take into account the influences on the consumer at the point of sale. In this paper the authors propose an Interactionalist approach to consumer behaviour based on psychological theories of behaviour and visual cognition. In this approach it is suggested that customers are in a continuous state of interaction with their environment. Thus the decision to buy a particular brand or product is the result of an interaction between the customers predisposition to buy certain brands or products and factors in their external environment. Many of these external factors are found at the point of sale. The intent to purchase is far from fixed and can be modified right up to the point of purchase. Peripheral vision plays a major part in the process by which a customer can interact with the displays in a store. This paper shows how certain traditional principles of creating impactful displays can be accounted for by elements of peripheral vision. The interactionalist approach was tested by studying the impact of a new display format in a major DIY store. The results provided evidence in support of the principles of the interactionalist approach.
After opening of the borders of the Western European Community in 1993 still many differences remain. Where many companies look at Europe as a whole, business -especially retail business- stays a local operation. How can the several retail and industrial partners use market research data to learn about differences between the several countries (areas) to operate effectively? Especially in the markets for electro- technical goods where business shows signs of stagnation.
This paper examines the current Sunday trading laws in England and Wales and the conflict which has arisen between the restrictions imposed by that legislation and the demands of the market. Using extensive evidence from public opinion surveys, particular attention is given to the attitudes of consumers towards the law and the effect this has had upon the behaviour of retailers. A comparison is drawn between views and practices in Scotland, where the law does not apply, and the rest of Great Britain.
Category Management represents a very significant new phase in the development of retail marketing & retailer/manufacturer relationships. It offers tangible benefits, and its potential is apparent to leading retailers and manufacturers alike. Very importantly, it does not require a perfect world. The companies which are gaining most from Category Management are those who are prepared to work in a practical way with the resources which are already available to them, whilst building over time the strategies they need for the future.
This paper discusses the background to the Adams launch into Spain. The approach to the research and methodology are covered in some detail. The foundation for the research programme was provided by an appraisal of the Spanish retail scene conducted by the project team. The research methodology involved a series of Accompanied Shopping Trips followed by a main programme of Extended Focus Groups, during the course of which all aspects of the Adams' proposition - from name and logo through product range and store interiors- were assessed by the Spanish consumer. The paper describes how each of these elements were communicated in the groups and discusses some of the findings. The research confirmed the very real opportunity for the Adams proposition in Spain. Guided by the findings, in December, 1992 Adams opened two outlets. Both of these have been a phenomenal success. Adams now has the opportunity to fully exploit its launch by immediately following through with further store openings, a number of which are planned for this year.
The cases of many distribution organisations show that the strategy decided by firms is often very far removed from the realities of sales points. Operational management is often that which poses the most difficulties, not only because the strategic decision is badly chosen - on the contrary, but rather because its application is in contradiction with strategy wishes. Thus, since a long time, authors interested by the strategy have treated more fully the decision process, than its actual putting into application, sometimes called strategic management. The method that is presented here, SPI, Sales Performance Improvement, allows the underlining of these discrepancies between the distribution strategy and its operational management, and as a result of giving these precise recommendations, the amelioration at the point of sales level.
Five priorities for action for retail marketing correspond to the five factors of revival mentioned in the beginning of this talk: 1) Detect profit losses due to bad monitoring of sales. 2) Establish conformity between better communication and an improved reality in the stores. 3) Invest in data processing and in a specific store image. 4) In view of hard-discounting, point out the logics of assortments, the value of distribution, the efforts of customer service. 5) Clear new markets whenever the mastery of its retail tool allows it, thanks to the assistance of specialized companies such as Nielsen. There is a lot of work ahead, but a lot of potential, too. And don't think that ambition is ill-timed in this period of crisis: when the wind drops one must not just fetch the oars if one wants to go far, but one must persist in improving one's ship and increase its sails.
Cees Moorman and Maijan Smit both work at Ahold Vastgoed BV as Head Market Research and Head Customer Radius Research. Because of the close cooperation between Customer Radius Research and Site Location Research a Market Research Department is formed within Ahold Vastgoed BV. Ahold Vastgoed BV is concerned with the expansion and management of real property for the subsidiary companies of Ahold NV. Before expansion of real property can be realised (expanding existing shops or acquire new shops), first the most appropriate location must be known. Everywhere where people would like to be a customer Albert Heijn wants to manifest itself. In other words, Albert Heijn feels as well at home on the Lijnbaan in Rotterdam with many office customers, shoppers and local residents as in Sint Philipsland with well over 1700 inhabitants. The site location of a new shop which will realize the best market position, can be found by analysing existing shops.
The following, linked, papers argue that representative consumer panels, reflecting actual purchasing behaviour, have a unique role to play in the provision of relevant, actionable information to both the retailers and the manufacturers who wish to sell to them, whether nationally or on a pan-European basis. Allan Breese draws on his own, and TN AGB's, extensive experience in working with such information in Great Britain, which has been in the forefront of many retailing trends and in the development of a panel based response to changing data needs. His case histories cover three main areas: 1) The basic, but important: evaluation of retailer strengths and weaknesses by market, Private Label levels, penetration and trip size/frequency, demographic profiles and loyalty. 2) Shopper studies which analyse why retailers under trade or over trade, and who is benefiting from lost sales. 3) Tailor made studies of the behaviour patterns of a retailer's shoppers, with specific reference to segmentation by size and frequency of shopping trip. Richard Piper examines briefly the current similarities and differences in trade structures and developments in the main European countries, using a major retail study conducted by Europanel, before moving on to illustrate the essential cross- country comparability of consumer panel data and the steps that are being taken to increase its utility at a European level. He includes a description of both the existing Europanel Database and the disaggregated version that is being developed.
A vertical marketing system, Milar, shows how a new market positioning plus a new coherent retail marketing strategy has helped the company achieve good performance in sales and costs during a difficult economic period. Self - selection, carefully managed, is the new sales method that has been the basis for the new positioning and the improvement of the competitive advantage of the chain.