Courtesy : School of Hospitality and Catering Case Study
Types of retail outlets
Australia’s Officeworks is a category killer, retailing everything for the home office or small commercial office; stationery, furniture, electronics, communications devices, copying, printing and photography services, coffee, tea and light snacks
Apple’s concept stores include video walls, Wi-Fi and desks to provide an immersive customer experience
A general store in Scarsdale, Victoria, Australia operates as a post-office, newsagent, petrol station, video hire, grocer and take-away food retailer
A local store named “Luovon puoji” in the Hailuoto Island, Finland
Retail formats (also known as retail formulas) influence the consumer’s store choice and addresses the consumer’s expectations. At its most basic level, a retail format is a simple marketplace, that is; a location where goods and services are exchanged. In some parts of the world, the retail sector is still dominated by small family-run stores, but large retail chains are increasingly dominating the sector, because they can exert considerable buying power and pass on the savings in the form of lower prices. Many of these large retail chains also produce their own private labels which compete alongside manufacturer brands. Considerable consolidation of retail stores has changed the retail landscape, transferring power away from wholesalers and into the hands of the large retail chains. In Britain and Europe, the retail sale of goods is designated as a service activity. The European Service Directive applies to all retail trade including periodic markets, street traders and peddlers.# ISO certification in India
Retail stores may be classified by the type of product carried. Softline retailers sell goods that are consumed after a single-use, or have a limited life (typically under three years) in they are normally consumed. Soft goods include clothing, other fabrics, footwear, toiletries, cosmetics, medicines and stationery. Grocery stores, including supermarkets and hypermarkets, along with convenience stores carry a mix of food products and consumable household items such as detergents, cleansers, personal hygiene products. Retailers selling consumer durables are sometimes known as hardline retailers – automobiles, appliances, electronics, furniture, sporting goods, lumber, etc., and parts for them. Specialist retailers operate in many industries such as the arts e.g. green grocers, contemporary art galleries, bookstores, handicrafts, musical instruments, gift shops.# ISO certification in India
Types of retail outlets by marketing strategy include shopping arcade, anchor store, bazaar, boutique, category killer, chain store, co-operative store convenience store, department stores, discount stores, e-tailer, general store, give-away shop, hawkers also known as peddlers, costermongers or street vendors, high street store, hypermarket, pop-up retail, marketplace, market square, shopping center, peciality store, supermarket variety stores, vending machine, no frills, warehouse clubs, warehouse stores, automated retail, big-box stores, second-hand shop, and charity shop. Retailers can opt for a format as each provides different retail mix to its customers based on their customer demographics, lifestyle and purchase behavior. An effective format will determine how products are display products, as well as how target customers are attracted.# ISO certification in India
Challenges
To achieve and maintain a foothold in an existing market, a prospective retail establishment must overcome the following hurdles:
- regulatory barriers including:
- restrictions on real-estate purchases, especially as imposed by local governments and against “big-box” chain retailers
- restrictions on foreign investment in retailers, in terms of both absolute amount of financing provided and percentage share of voting stock (e.g. common stock) purchased
- unfavorable taxation structures, especially those designed to penalize or keep out “big box” retailers (see “Regulatory” above)
- absence of developed supply-chain and integrated IT management
- high competitiveness among existing market participants and resulting low profit margins, caused in part by:
- constant advances in product design resulting in constant threat of product obsolescence and price declines for existing inventory
- lack of a properly-educated and/or -trained work-force, often including management, caused in part by loss in business[clarification needed]
- lack of educational infrastructure enabling prospective market entrants to respond to the above challenges
- direct e-tailing (for example, through the Internet) and direct delivery to consumers from manufacturers and suppliers, cutting out any retail middle man.# ISO certification in India
