Persuasive Speech Assignment on seat belt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Persuasive Speech Assignment on seat belt - Essay Example I also referred to my speaker notes occasionally and glance at the presentation regularly to ensure that I was presenting the right content for each slide. So as to make the presentation more interesting, I ensured that I gesticulated. I also made use of my other body parts in application of whatever I have previously learnt about non-verbal communication. One of the things that make the audience get bored during a presentation is monotony. However good the content of the presentation may be, the audience will be distracted by a monotonous voice. In order to ensure that my presentation overcame monotony, I varied my tone and volume. My presentation was well organized. Each slide was not overcrowded with words. Also, each slide was dedicated to a subtopic. Essentially, this was done to ensure that my presentation and speech was well organized and flowed seamlessly. I believe that my presentation was a great

Support Assessment for Learning Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Support Assessment for Learning - Coursework Example The assessment for learning should provide feedback to ensure the pupils identify personal improvement. The assessment must also encourage confidence for future improvement in comparison to the previous achievement1. Both the teacher and the student must be offered a platform for reflection on the pupil’s performance. Therefore, an assessment for learning must be a conclusive process with the ability to recognize, motivate and develop self-esteem of the pupil. The characters listed above are vital in the assessment of learning because they are the core values of the assessment for learning concept. Assessment must be employed by the staff to support the learning process. The staff must ensure that the assessment follow and fulfil the curriculum. The process ensures that learners experience is relevant, engaging and motivating with the assessment support learning. The teachers must ensure that the assessment has high-quality interactions and feedback encouraging transition on t o the next steps of learning. The pupils must understand clearly the kind ad quality work essential for success to be achieved together with the agreed outcomes2. Assessment for the young involves dialogue between the learners and the staff. The dialogue must be based on the thoughtful probing focusing on key points of learning. Assessment includes the use of dialogues, activities and tasks that encourage interaction with the learners. The interaction must challenge them and build on the learning achieved to date. In addition, the use of discussion will encourage the development of confidence in communicating and thinking about learning. Despite encouraging participation, the assessment for learning must support the individual learning process. Individual learners should seek and receive accurate and developmental feedback on what has been learnt and the extent of learning. Personal strengths and weakness must be discussed with the teachers in relation of the strengths of the work p resented. The evaluation of personal learning process will ensure the assessment or learning is comprehensive and effective. The learners should be engaged fully in their learning3. The learners must collaborate during planning, shaping and reviewing of the progress. The review of the process includes; shaping of their learning, agreeing, and establishing targets. The staff should provide regular oral and written feedback on the pupils work whilst discussing the strengths and areas of improvement in the process. They must work with their peers offering comments on the progress. The approach in assessment will promote learner engagement while encouraging learners to be independent in the learning process. The success of the assessment learning support depends on the ability to integrate, motivate, inspire and lead the learner to personal learning which ensures self-esteem and confidence. The development of effective learning support assessment depends on contributions from learners, teachers and the support staff4. In addressing the various issues, in assessment support learning, the paper will evaluate the participation and role of individuals in the process and establish effective approach strategy. Characteristics of assessment for learning Assessment for learning has several characteristics that are important for success. The assessment must reflect and share the learning goals with pupils. The sharing of the goals with the pupil ensures that the objective and outcomes

Evolving Federalism Essay -- essays research papers

Evolving Federalism Pre-Class Assignment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Federalism by definition is the division of power between a central government and its participating members. How that power is divided is the subjective aspect of federalism that was before the framers of the United States. Through compromise and necessity the seeds for a strong central government were planted alongside already strong state governments. Over time the seeds for strong central government grew; wars, economic fluctuations and national growth established a strong central government. As America’s idea of federalism changed the central government grew more powerful, the state’s government gave more power away, and local governments were established. In American Intergovernmental Relations, Laurence O’Toole cites Harry Scheiber five stages of federalism to identify three key terms of federalism in the U.S as â€Å"dual federalism,† â€Å"cooperative federalism,† and â€Å"creative federalism.† According to Schei ber the five stages of federalism, are still a valid history of federalism in the United States.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first stage, 1789-1861, he calls the â€Å"era of dual federalism† in which national, state, and local governments operated independently of one another. This â€Å"layer-cake† stage was a product of Congress, â€Å"refraining from making innovative policy in many areas formally opened to it by the Court.† It was apparent during this time that Congress was not yet ready to move to a more centralized government that would interfere with state and local governments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Scheiber identifies the second stage, 1861-1890, as a period of transition to a more centralized government. Change to the Constitution, expansion of federal court powers, business regulation, and Supreme Court activism all worked to increase the power of national government and move towards a more centralized view of federalism. Schreiber’s third stage from 1890 to 1933 continues this move towards centralization with World War I as a catalyst.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal â€Å"inaugurated† Scheiber’s fourth stage. â€Å"Cooperative federalism† surfaces in this stage that promoted interaction and funding between the state, local, and national governments in order to facilitate new programs under the New Deal. Although this stage, labeled the marbl... ...very well improve the education system in states such as Arizona, where charter schools are becoming popular but still lack quality.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Education is a strong example of competitive and cooperative federalism. Most schools receive federal grants to ensure certain programs are instituted in public schools. States provide the majority of funding to local school districts and mandate the majority of the curriculum. Local governments allocate the funds from the state to accomplish the curriculum goals as they see fit. Yet all three of these governments compete for control over how their children get educated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Education is a prime example of shifting power in the U.S. Landmark Supreme Court cases such as Brown v. Board of Education has forced integration upon the states. Recently, the issue of the word â€Å"God† in the pledge of allegiance has surfaced in the education field and may be decided in federal courts. Bush has made it clear that he favors education reform at the federal level. Whatever the outcome, one of the three levels of government will seize more power from the education issue in this era of competitive federalism.

Project Report on Retail

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Retailing consists of all activities involved in selling goods and services to consumers for their personal, family or household use. It covers sales of goods ranging from automobiles to apparel and food products and services ranging from hair cutting to air travel and computer education. Sales of goods to intermediaries who resell to retailers or sales to manufacturers are not considered a retail activity. Retailing can be examined from many perspectives. A manufacturer of white goods like washing machine and refrigerators has many options to reach out to consumers. It can sell through dealers, the company showrooms (Sony World, Videocon Plaza) or hypermarkets (Big Bazaar). The retail sector in India is highly fragmented with organized retail contributing to only 2% of total retail sales. The retail sector in developed countries was also highly fragmented at the beginning of the last century but the emergence of large chains like Wal Mart, Sears, and Mc Donald’s led to rapid growth of organized retail and growing consolidation of the retail industry in the developed countries. Today, in India we see a rise in the purchasing power and growth of a middle class which follows the western lifestyle. Hence, conditions are conducive for the rapid growth of organized retail in India. Organized retail is growing rapidly and we see the emergence of large organized retail chains like Shoppers’ Stop, LifeStyle and Westside. We also find retail malls mushrooming all over the country. The opportunities in retail industry in India will increase since Indian retailing is on the threshold of a major change. However, with the rapid growth in organized retail and increased emphasis of manufacturers on understanding sales at the retail level, the study of retailing has become increasingly relevant. -1- OBJECTIVE OF PROJECT v To understand the concept of retailing. v To understand the role and relevance of retailing for business and economy. v To identify the activities associated with retailing v To understand the operational structures associated with retail organizations v Understanding consumer behaviour in retailing v Understanding the importance of store location for retailer v To understand the nature of merchandise budgeting and unit planning v To understand the concept of relationship marketing and how does it apply to the retail sector. -2- METHODOLOGY This project is the mixture of theoretical as well as practical knowledge. Also it contains ideas and information imparted by the guide. The secondary data required for the project was collected from various websites and books of re puted authors. The project started with sorting all the raw data and arranging them in perfect order. To add value to the project and to understand the practicality of retailing business, I have visited various stores who are the best ones in retailing business. Further, to understand the consumers better, a field survey was also conducted to find out the tastes and preferences, purchasing habits, expectations of the consumers etc. Analysis of this primary data has been done to actually understand the survey in a better way. -3- ORIGIN OF RETAILING Although retailing does not enjoy the status of an Industry, the sheer size this behemoth will develop into, is grabbing attention. The origin of retail in India dates back to ancient times when the melas and mandis made heir presence felt. The changing socio economic patterns coupled with the consumption increase led to the emergence of the convenience stores, which became a par of the civic planning. The next step was the commercial plazas, which comprised merely shops offering a variety of goods and services clubbed together. The inconveniences caused by lack of parking place, toilets and maintenance, ushered in the entry big international brands opening their exclusive showrooms. The opening up of the economy only fueled this globalization. There are, however, certain bottlenecks as well; the scarcity of space, coupled with the stringent provisions of the Rent Control Act, act as a dissuasive factor for many players to initiate operations in the main markets. This also explains why the Raheja’s forayed into their retail venture- Shoppers’ Stop. CURRENT SCENARIO The Indian population is whooping 1 billion with 75% of the people living in villages and small towns. It is only natural that the agricultural sector is the biggest employer with its contribution to GDP pegged at 26. %. Retail is India’s larges industry after Agriculture with around 20% of the economically active population engaged in it and generation 10% of our country’s GDP. The growth of the efficient small store culture can be attributed to the 6 million villages distributed across the length and breadth of the country. The 12 million retail outlets in India are the hi ghest in the world, and cater to the purchase need of its pole. It is interesting to note, that the Urban Population although just 25% of the total, is an astounding 250 million in size and is growing at a healthy rate of 7% per annum. The chief driver of growth in the retail sector has been the consumer, with the spending increasing at an average of 11% per annum. The Core and the Lower middle have increased their share in the Growth. -4- The Indian consumer’s shopping needs are and traditionally have been fulfilled by Kirana sores (corner stores), Kiosks, street vendors, weekly bazaars and high-street shops for consumer durables and luxury goods. To cater to this, each city developed its own identity and shopping cluster, for instance in Pune there is MG Road, Bangalore has Brigade Road and Commercial Street, Delhi has Connaught Place, Karol Bagh and South Extension. India will have 358 shopping malls by 2007. Droves of middle-class Indians have broken off their love of traditional stand-alone shops that have no ACs, organized parking lots and other public amenities, according to a study by fashion magazine Image. At present (September 23, 2005), In India we have 96 malls, covering an area of 21. 6 million sq ft. And by year end the count will shoot up to 158 malls. It will cover 34 million sq ft area. Currently estimated at $205 billion to grow to $400-500 million, over the next 2-3 years. v Smaller cities will have about 12. 8 million sq ft of mall space by 2007. Ludhiana to account for 2. 5 million sq ft. v Ahmedabad about 3. 4 million sq ft. v Delhi and Mumbai now have maximum number of shopping centres. v Gurgoan saw the largest development in terms of retail outlet. v North region has 39% of India’s retail share. v East region has 10% of India’s retail share. v West region has 33% of India’s retail share. v South region has 18% of India’s retail share. v Government and co-operative sector is also making their steps in retailing. For example, Kendriya Bhandar, Apna Bazar, Mother Dairy, Super Bazar etc. -5- MAJOR RETAILER SPACE HOLDERS IN INDIA ORGANIZATION Bata RPG Raymond Area Sq. ft 10,00,000 6,00,000 5,42,000 Pantaloon/Big Bazaar 5,00,000 Metro cash-n-carry Spencer LifeStyle Shoppers Stop Trent Globus Piramyd 3,00,000 2,80,000 2,50,000 2,00,000 2,00,000 1,75,000 1,50,000 The 2nd Annual Images Retail Awards (September 22, 2005):v Retail Face of the Year: Kishore Biyani, MD, Pantaloon Retail India Ltd. v Retail Destination of the year: Shoppers’ Stop v Retail Launch of the Year: Pantaloon Central. v Shopping Centre of the Year: Inorbit Mall v Retail Brand of the Year: Titan v Retail Concept of the Year: Reliance Truck Stop. Retailer of the Year: Value Retailing: Big Bazar v Retailer of the Year: Catering Service: McDonald’s. v Retailer of the Year: Food & Grocery: Food Bazaar. v Retailer of the Year: Health & Beauty: VLCC. v Retailer of the Year: Entertainment: PVR. v Retailer of the Year: Department Store: Westside. v Retailer of the Year: Forecourt Retailing: Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. v Retailer of the Y ear: Leisure: Crossword Bookstore. -6- SWOT OF THE MARKET STRENGTH 1. Organized retailing at US$ 3. 31 billion, growing at 8%. 2. 2nd largest contributor to GDP after agriculture at 20%. . Pattern of consumption changing along with shopping trends. 4. A Growing population will translate to move consumers. 5. Consumer spending increasing at 11% annually. 6. Almost 25 million sq. ft. retail space available. 7. Paradigm shift in shopping experience for consumers pulling in more people. 8. Most of the entrants to organized retail come from 3 main categories, and have ventured into retail as their business extension. v Real Estate Developers v Corporate Houses v Manufacturers/Exporters WEAKNESSES 1. Shortage of quality retail spaces at affordable rates. 2. Government regulations on development of real estate(Urban Land Ceiling Act) 3. Need to provide Value for Money-squeezing margins 4. Lack of industry status. 5. Retail revolution restricted to 250 million people due to monolithic urban-rural divide. 6. Footfalls not a clear indicator of sales as actual consumers lower in number. 7. Lack of huge investments for expansion. OPPORTUNITIES 1. Increasing urban population-more participants in retail revolution. 2. Increase in consuming middle class population. 3. Social factors like dual household income has enhanced spending power. 4. Spends moving towards lifestyle products and esteem enhancing products. 5. Availability of old industrial lands-prime real estate locked in sick industrial units. -7- 6. Average grocery spends at 42% of monthly spends-presents a huge opportunity. 7. Increase in use of credit cards. THREATS 1. Rising lease/rental costs affecting project viability 2. FDI restrictions in the retail sector 3. Poor monsoons and low GDP Growth could affect consumer spending drastically. 4. Archaic labour laws are a hindrance to providing 24/7 shopping experience 5. Personalized service offered by Mom-&-Pop stores. 6. Unavailability of qualified personnel to support exponential growth in retail. 7. Differentiate taxation laws hindering expansion. RETAIL VIABILITY As per the CII McKinsey report, based on a GDP growth rate of 6-7% per annum, by 2010 the retail sector is expected to be US $ 300 Billion industry. Some of the major factors hindering the growth of this sector are as follows: v The non-industry structure and status v The lack of adequate infrastructure v FDI restrictions in this sector v The huge investments required in expanding their markets, v Problems associated with working Capital funding from lending Institutions. 8- BIG BAZAAR: THE INDIAN WAL-MART Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited is today recognized as one of the poneers in the business of organized retailing in the country with a turnover of over RS 400 crores in the financial year ending June 2003. The company is headquartered in Mumbai with zonal offices at Kolkata, Bangalore and Gurgaon (Delhi). It has 4 kinds of stores; 14 P antaloon Family Stores, 7 Big Bazaar discount hypermarkets, 6 Food Bazaar Stores with over 6. 5 lakh sq ft retail space across Kolkata, Mumbai, Thane Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Bagpur, Ahmedabad, Kanpur, Chennai and Gugaon (Delhi). Pantaloon Retail India Limited is the flagship company of the Pantaloon group promoted by Mr Kishore Biyani. It has been one of the pioneers in organized retailing in India. It began its retailing operations in India way back in 1987. Currently, it manufactures and sells ready-made garments through its own retail outlets and two discounting stores. The company plans to diversify into the business of discounting in a big way, which is targeted at the growing middle class segment. It has India’s second largest retail chain with 17 retail outlets and two discounting stores branded as Big Bazaars across the country at an estimated retail space of ,01,300 sq. ft. The company plans to double its retail space in the next couple of years. Pantaloon has come up with an excellent revenue model, focusing on ‘value for money’ segment. Pantaloon plans to target the upper middle and the middle class segment, which forms the large chunk of Indian population. This segment is very price conscious and always looks out for value for money. Pantaloon successfully launched its discount store chain, which targets the large and growing upper-middle and middle class of Indian society. This is totally in contrast to the other organized retail players, which focus on high net-worth of individuals. Big Bazaar has strong own brand names in its portfolio across product categories. The brands include Pantaloon, John Miller and Bare. Higher percentage of ‘own brand’ sales improves margins, thus reducing the breakeven level of sales. Big Bazaar has diversified from apparels to household items in its discount stores. This has enabled them to enlarge their basket of offerings. -9- RETAIL CONCEPT The distribution of consumer products begins with the producer and ends at the ultimate consumer. Between the producer and the consumer there is a middleman—the retailer, who links the producers and the ultimate consumers. Retailing is defined as a conclusive set of activities or steps used to sell a product or a service to consumers for their personal or family use. It is responsible for matching individual demands of the consumer with supplies of all the manufacturers. The word ‘retail’ is derived from the French work retaillier, meaning ‘to cut a piece off’ or ‘to break bulk’. A retailer is a person, agent, agency, company, or organization which is instrumental in reaching the goods, merchandise, or services to the ultimate consumer. Retailers perform specific activities such as anticipating customer’s wants, developing assortments of products, acquiring market information, and financing. A common assumption is that retailing involves only the sale of products in stores. However, it also includes the sale of services like those offered at a restaurant, parlour, or by car rental agencies. The selling need not necessarily take place through a store. Retailing encompasses selling through the mail, the Internet, doorto-door visits—any channel that could be used to approach the consumer. When manufacturers like Dell computers sell directly to the consumer, they also perform the retailing function. Retailing has become such an intrinsic part of our everyday lives that it is often taken for granted. The nations that have enjoyed the greatest economic and social progress have been those with a strong retail sector. Why has retailing become such a popular method of conducting business? The answer lies in the benefits a vibrant retailing sector has to offer— an easier access to a variety of products, freedom of choice and higher levels of customer service. As we all know, the ease of entry into retail business results in fierce competition and better value for customer. To enter retailing is easy and to fail is even easier. Therefore, in order to survive in retailing, a firm must do a satisfactory job in its primary role i. e. , catering to customers. Retailers’ cost and profit vary depending on their type of operation and major product line. Their profit is usually a small fraction of sales and is generally about 9-10%. Retail stores of different sizes face distinct challenges and their sales volume influences 10- business opportunities, merchandise purchase policies, nature or promotion and expense control measures. Over the last decade there have been sweeping changes in the general retailing business. For instance, what was once a strictly made-to-order market for clothing has now changed into a ready-to-wear market. Flipping through a catalogue, picking the right colour, size, and type of clothing a person wanted to purchas e and then waiting to have it sewn and shipped was the standard practice in the earlier days. By the turn of the century some retailers set up a storefront where people could browse, while new pieces were being sewn or customized in the back rooms. Almost all retail businesses have undergone a similar transition over the years. DRIVERS OF CHANGE IN RETAILING v Changing demographics and industry structure v Expanding computer technology v Emphasis on lower costs and prices v Emphasis on convenience and service v Focus on productivity v Added experimentation v Continuing growth of non-store retailing. In today’s competitive environment retailers have redefined their role in general, and in the value chain in particular. Retailers act as gatekeepers who decide on which new products should find their way to the shelves of their stores. As a result, they have a strong say in the success of the product or service launched by a business firm. kA product manager of household appliances claimed, ‘Marketers have to sell a new product several times, first within the company, then to the retailer and finally to the user of the product. ’ It is a well-established fact that manufacturers need to sill their products through retail formats that are compatible with their business strategy, brand image, and market profile in order to ensure a competitive edge. The role of retailers in the present competitive environment has gained attention from manufacturers because external parties such as market intermediaries and supplying partners are becoming increasingly powerful. It is necessary for -11- marketers of consumer products to identify the need and motivations of their partners in the marketing channel. This is especially true in the case or new products. The increasing numbers of product categories followed by multiple brands in each category complicate decision-making for both manufacturers and market intermediaries. Retailers want of optimize sales within the limited shelf space, governed by their individual sales philosophy. Retailers undertake risk in selecting a portfolio of products or brands to offer to their customers. Retailers have to make optimum selection of goods to be sold given the following major concerns: v Selling space available is relatively fixed and must return maximum profits. If such space is occupied by merchandise that is not moving, it will not result in profit. The retailer may have to resort to substantial price reductions in order to get rid of the unsold stock. There is always the risk of non-performance in terms of quality, supplies etc. , which in turn harms the image of the retail outlet. Retailing is a dynamic industry—constantly changing due to shifts in the needs of the consumers and the growth of technology. Retail formats and companies that were unknown three decades ago are now major forces in the economy. Therefore, the challenges for retail managers the world over are increasing—they must take decisions ranging from setting the price of a bag of rice to setting up multimillion dollar stores in malls. Selecting target markets, determining what merchandise and services to offer, negotiating with suppliers, training salespeople—these are just a few of the many functions that a retail manager has to perform on a perpetual basis. The world over retail business is dominated by smaller family run chain stores and regionally targeted stores but gradually more and more markets in the western world are being taken over by billion dollar multinational conglomerates, such as Wal-Mart, Sears, McDonald’s, Marks and Spencer. The larger retailers have managed to set up huge supply/distribution chains, inventory management systems, financing pacts and wide-scale marketing plans. In the backdrop of globalization, liberalization and highly aware customers, a retailer is required to make a conscious effort to position himself distinctively to face the -12- competition. This is determined to a great extent by the retail mix strategy followed by a company to sell its products. GLOBAL RETAIL-INDUSTRY-RELATED FACTS v Worldwide retail sales are estimated at US $7 trillion. v The top 200 largest retailers account for 30% of the worldwide demand. The money spent on household consumption worldwide increased by 68% between 1980 and 1998. v Retail sales are generally driven by people’s ability (disposable income) and willingness ( consumer confidence ) to buy. v The 1998 UNDP Human Development Report points to the fact that global expenditures on advertising are ( including in developing countries ) increasing f aster than the world economy, suggesting that the sector is becoming one of the major players in the development process. REGIONAL FACTS v Some two-thirds or US $6. 6 trillion out of the US $10 trillion American economy is consumer spending. About 40% or that ($3 trillion) is spent on discretionary products and services. v 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. v Retail trade in Europe employs 15% of the European workforce (3 million firms and 13 million workers). v The Asian economies (excluding Japan) are expected to have 6% growth rates in 2005-06. -13- CONSUMER EXPECTATIONS v Time and quality of life are becoming relatively more important than money; 60% of Americans want to lead a simple life. Product performance was found to be the top purchasing criterion, while environmental features were a close second in a survey conducted by the Alliance for Environmental Innovation in conjunction with SC Johnson Wax. CHARACTERISTICS OF RETAILING Retailing can be distinguished in various ways from other businesses such as manufacturing. Retailing differs from manufacturing in the following ways: v There is direct end-use r interaction in retailing. v In is the only point in the value chain to provide a platform for promotions. v Sales at the retail level are generally in smaller unit sizes. Location is a critical factor in retail business. v In most retail businesses services are as important as core products. v There are a larger number of retail units compared to other members of the value chain. This occurs primarily to meet the requirements of geographical coverage and population density. Direct Interaction with Customers Retail businesses have a direct interaction with end-users of goods or services in the value chain. They act as intermediaries between end-users and suppliers such as wholesalers or manufacturers. Therefore, they are in a position to effectively communicate the response and changing preferences of the consumers to the suppliers or sales persons of the company. This helps the manufacturers and markets to redefine their product and change the components of its marketing strategy accordingly. Manufacturers require a strong retail network both for reach of the product and to obtain a powerful platform for promotions and point-of-purchase advertising. Realizing the importance of retailing in the entire value chain, many manufacturers have entered into retail business by setting up exclusive stores for their brands. This has not only provided direct contact with customers, but has also acted as advertisement for the companies and has provided -14- the manufacturers with bargaining power with respect to other retailers who stocked their product. Retailing provides extensive sales people support for products which are information intensive, such as in the case or consumer durables. Lower Average Amount of Sales Transaction The average amount of sales transaction at retail point is much less in comparison to the other partners in the value chain. Many consumers buy products in small quantities for household consumption. Due to lower disposable incomes, some consumer segments in India even buy grocery items on a daily basis rather than a weekly or a monthly basis. Inventory management becomes a challenge for retailers as a result of the many minor transactions with a large number of customers. Hence, retailers must take care of determining average levels of stock, order levels and the retailer has to keep a tight control on costs associated with each transaction in the selling process. Credit verification, employment of personnel, value-added activities like bagging, gift-wrapping and promotional incentives all add up to the costs. One way to resolve this is for the retail outlets to be able to attract the maximum possible number of shoppers. Point-of-purchase Display and Promotions A significant relevant chunk of retail sales comes from unplanned or impulse purchases. Studies have shown that shoppers often do not carry a fixed shopping list and pick up merchandise based on impulsive or situational appeal. Many do not look at ads before shopping. Since a lot of retail products are low involvement in nature, impulse purchases of the shopper is a vital area that every retailer must tap into. Therefore, display, point-of-purchase merchandise, store layou8t and catalogues become important. Impulse goods like chocolates, snack foods and magazines can sell much more quickly if they are placed in a high visibility and high traffic location. Larger Number of Retail Business Units Location of retail store plays an important role compared to other business units. Manufacturers decide the location on the basis of availability of factors of productions -15- and market. Similarly, retailers consider factors like potential demand, supply of merchandise and store image-related factors in locating the retail outlet. The number of operation units in retail is the highest compared to other constituents ot the value chain, primarily to meet the needs for geographic reach and customer accessibility. THEORIES AND MODELS OF RETAILING 1. DIALECTIC PROCESS: – An evolutionary theory based on the premise that retail institutions evolve. The theory suggests that new retail formats emerge by adopting characteristics from other forms of retailers in much the same way that a child is the product of the pooled genes of two different individuals. 2. GRAVITY MODEL: – A theory about the structure of market areas. The model states that the volume of purchases by consumers and the frequency of trips to the outlets are a function of the size of the store and the distance between the store and the origin of the shopping trip. 3. RETAIL ACCORDION THEORY:- A theory of retail institutional changes that suggests that retail institutions go from outlets with wide assortments to specialized, narrow, line store merchants and then back again to the more general, wide-assortment institution. It is also referred to as the generalspecific-general theory. 4. RETAIL LIFECYCLE THEORY:-A theory of retail competition that states that retailing institutions, like the products they distribute, pass through and identifiable cycle. This cycle can be partitioned into four distinct stages: i. Innovation, ii. Accelerated development, iii. Maturity, and iv. Decline. 5. WHEEL OF RETAILING THEORY: – A theory of retail institutional changes that explains retail evolution with an institutional life cycle concept. 6. NATURAL SELECTION THEORY: – A theory of retail institutional changes that states that retailing institutions that an most effectively adapt to environmental changes are the ones that are most likely to prosper or survive. -16- 7. CENTRAL PLACE THEORY: – A model that ranks communities according to the assortment of goods available in each. At the bottom of the hierarch are communities that represent the smallest central places (centres of commerce). They provide the basic necessities of life. Further up the hierarchy are the larger central places, which carry all goods and services, found in lower-order central places plus more specialized ones that are not necessary. FUNCTIONS OF RETAILING Retailers play a significant role as a conduit between manufacturers, wholesalers, suppliers and consumers. In this context, they perform various functions like sorting, breaking bulk, holding stock, as a channel of communication, storage, advertising and certain additional services. SORTIONG Manufacturers usually make one or a variety of products and would like to sell their entire inventory to a few buyers to redu7ce costs. Final consumers, in contrast, prefer a large variety of goods and services to choose from and usually buy them in small quantities. Retailers are able to balance the demands of both sides, by collection an assortment of goods from different sources, buying them in sufficiently large quantities and selling them to consumers in small units. The above process is referred to as the sorting process. Through this process, retailers undertake activities and perform functions that add to the value of the products and services sold to the consumer. Supermarkets in the US offer, on and average, 15,000 different items from 500 companies. Customers are able to choose from a wide range of designs, sizes and brands from just one location. If each manufacturer had a separate store for its own products, customers would have to visit several stores to complete their shopping. While all retailers offer an assortment, they specialize in types of assortment offered and the market to which the offering is made. Westside provides clothing and accessories, while a chain like Nilgiris specializes in food and bakery items. Shoppers’ Stop targets the elite urban class, while Pantaloons is targeted at the middle class. -17- BREAKING BULK Breaking bulk is another function performed by retailing. The word retailing is derived from the French word retailler, meaning ‘to cut a piece off’. To reduce transportation costs, manufacturers and wholesalers typically ship large cartons of the product, which are then tailored by the retailers into smaller quantities to meet individual consumption needs. HOLDING STOCK Retailers also offer the service of holding stock for the manufacturers. Retailers maintain an inventory that allows for instant availability of the product to the consumers. It helps to keep prices stable and enables the manufacturer to regulate production. Consumers can keep a small stock of products at home as they know that this can be replenished by the retailer and can save on inventory carrying costs. ADDITIONAL SERVICES Retailers ease the change in ownership of merchandise by providing services that make it convenient to buy and use products. Providing product guarantees, after-sales service and dealing with consumer complaints are some of the services that add value to the actual product at the retailers’ end. Retailers also offer credit and hire-purchase facilities to the customers to enable them to buy a product now and pay foe it later. Retailers fill orders, promptly process, deliver and install products. Salespeople are also employed by retailers to answer queries and provide additional information about the displayed products. The display itself allows the consumer to see and test products before actual purchase. Retail essentially completes transactions with customers. CHANNEL OF COMMUNICATION Retailers also act as the channel of communication and information between the wholesalers or suppliers and the consumers. From advertisements, salespeople -18- and display, shoppers learn about the characteristics and features of a product or services offered. Manufacturers, in their turn, learn of sales forecasts, delivery delays, and customer complaints. The manufacturer can then modify defective or unsatisfactory merchandise and services. TRANSPORT AND ADVERTISING FUNCTIONS Small manufacturers can use retailers to provide assistance with transport, storage, advertising and pre-payment of merchandise. This also works the other way round in case the number of retailers is small. The number of functions performed by a particular retailer has a direct relation to the percentage and volume of sales needed to cover both their costs and profits. As a result of these functions, retailers are required to perform the following activities: ACTIVITIES PERFORMED BY RETAILERS Retailers undertake various business activities and perform functions that add value to the offerings they make to their target segments. Retailers provide convenient location, stock and appropriate mix of merchandise in suitable packages in accordance with the needs of customers. The four major activities carried out by retailers are: 1. Arrange for assortment of offerings 2. Breaking quantity 3. Holding stock 4. Extending services ARRANGING ASSORTMENT An assortment is a retailer’s selection of merchandise. It includes both the depth and breadth of products carried. Retailers have to select the combination of assortments from various categories. The assortments must include substitutable items of multiple brands and price points. They should be distinguished on account of physical dimensions and attributes e. g. , colour or flavour. The small retailer takes assortment decision on the basis of his experience; -19- on the other hand retailers from organized retailing depend on a detailed study of past trends and future projections. Retailers need to consider certain factors while devising assortment plans for their stores: profitability associated with particular merchandise mix, store image, layout and the level of compatibility between the existing merchandise. For example, FoodWorld, a leading food supermarket positioned as a one-stop shopping centre, deals in multiple product categories along with all possible variants of brands, stock keeping units, and physical attributes in order to meet the expectations of their consumers and survive in the business. Whereas, Subhiksha, a grocery chain in south India has impressive assortments of only the fast moving brands rather than all available variants in the market. Their assortment plan is governed by location, size and store image of their stores. BREAKING BULK Breaking bulk means physical repackaging of the products by retailers in small unit sizes according to customer’s convenience and stocking requirements. Normally, retailers receive large quantities of sacks and cases of merchandise from suppliers to reduce their transportation costs. In order to meet their customers’ requirements retailers have to break or arrange the bulk into convenient units. This entire function of the retailers adds value to the offerings not only for the end customers but also for the suppliers in the value chain. Even in the earlier days of generic and commodity-based trading most of the retailers used to perform this important function in the value chain. This function receives negligible attention from the retailers now due the introduction of new product categories, such as FMCG and readyto-wear apparel. HOLDING STOCK To ensure the regular availability of the offerings retailers maintain appropriate levels of inventory. Consumers normally depend on the retailers directly to replenish their stocks at home. Therefore, retailers, on periodic basis, maintain the required levels of stock to meet the regular or seasonal fluctuations in the demand. Retailers need to maintain equilibrium between the range or variety carried and the sales which it gives rise to. Retailers have to face the negative consequences of holding unwanted levels of stock—for instance, too little stock -20- ill hamper the sales volume, whereas, too much stock will increase the retailer’s cost of operation. Generally, in small towns of India most retailers have arrangements with the nearby warehouses to stock the goods. Some are so small that they have to stock only on the shop floor. Retailers in the organized sector, to a certain extent, are using effective software packages for maintaining adequate leve ls of inventory. At the same time, retailers avail of just-in-time deliveries with the help of efficient consumer response systems, which reduces the burden of maintaining high levels of stocks. EXTENDING SERVICES Retailing provides multiple services to immediate customers and other members of the value chain. The set of services extended by particular retailers may be part of their core product offerings or it may be ‘add on’ to their product or service. Retailers offer credit, home delivery, after-sales services and information regarding new products to their customers, thereby making the shopping experience convenient and enjoyable. At the same time, they provide stocking place, reach to the ultimate customers, and information about the oncerned target segment to the suppliers. For example, Time Zone, the first organized retail chain of wristwatches in India, started by leading watch manufacturers Titan, set up in all its stores, service centres with proper equipment and trained manpower. This has not only diluted the relevance of service providers in the unorganized sector but has also enhanced the confidence of the customers in the retai9l services provided by the particular retail chain, as after-sales service is considered to be an integral ingredient of the watch purchase. CATEGORIZING RETAILERS Categorizing retailers helps in understanding the competition and the frequent chandes that occur in retailing. There is no universally accepted method of classifying a retail outlet, although many categorization schemes have been proposed. Some of these include classifying on the basis of v Number of outlets v Margin Vs Turnover v Location v Size. -21- The number of outlets operated by a retailer can have a significant impact on the competitiveness of a retail firm. Generally, a greater number of outlets add strength to the firm because it is able to spread fixed costs, such as advertising and managers’ salaries, over a greater number of stores in addition to acquiring economies of purchase. While any retailer operating more than one store can be technically classified as a chain owner, for practical purposes a chain store refers to a retail firm which has more than 11 units. In the United States, for example, chain stores account for nearly 95% of general merchandise stores. Small chains can use economies of scale while tailoring merchandise to local needs. Big chains operating on a national scale can save costs by a centralized system of buying and accounting. A chain store could have either a standard stock list ensuring that the same merchandise is stocked in every retail outlet or an optional stock list giving the outlets the advantage of changing the merchandise according to customer needs in the area. Because of their size, chain stores are often channel captains of the marketing channel—captains can influence other channel partners, such as wholesalers, to carry out activities they might not otherwise engage in, such as extended payment terms and special package sizes. Big stores focus on large markets where their customers live and work. They use technology to learn more about their customers and target them with point-of-sale machines interactive kiosks, and sophisticated forecasting and inventory systems. They tend to stock a narrow range of inventory that sells well and maintain an extensive inventory of the fast selling products. Branding is important to them. Pricing is often a key area of focus for these retailers. Big stores have many strengths, including regional or national reputation, huge buying power, vast inventory and hassle-free return and exchange policies. Their prime locations, the consistency in their products and services, the fact that they are open when people can and want to shop and the clear consistent image and identity they develop and maintain challenge the abilities and resources of many small retailers. Perhaps their biggest advantage is their knowledge in every aspect of their business, from inventory selection to store layout. However, large retailers are not perfect. They have competitive weaknesses that small retailers can exploit. Most offer the same standardized assortments of products nationally. Local managers have little say in inventory selection. Often, sales staff has minimal product knowledge. Staff turnover is extremely high. Most large retailers have little connection with -22- the community they serve. They usually do not offer special services. Larger companies are often slow to recognize and react to changes in their local markets. Independent retailers can co-exist and flourish in the shadow of the big chains by developing a niche within the diverse market. The niche should be developed on the basis of new or unusual product offerings, superior service and overall quality. While value is important, price may be less important. Efficient operations, including precise buying practices, are a must. Customer contact within the niche market must be characterized by ‘high-touch’ service. The key factor is innovation: stores that do not change will perish. The road to success for the independent retailer lies in doing all the things those big chain stores can not or will not do. The successful independent retailers embrace the following principles: v Be prepared for change. v Move to a narrower niche market and stop competing directly with the big retailers. v Learn more about customers and include best customers in a database. Invest appropriately in advertising and promotion. v Charge regular prices and avoid discounting (ensure requisite mark-up). v Buy with precision and search out speciality suppliers. v Maintain essential inventory. v Focus on profit instead of volume (be ready to lose an occasional sale). v Provide extraordinary service. v Employ the best possible staff. v Understand the signi ficance of the Internet. Gross margin and inventory turnover is another means of classifying retailers. Gross margin is net sales minus the cost of goods sold and gross margin percentage is the return on sales. A 30% margin implies that a retailer generates Rs 30 for every Rs 100 sales that can be used to pay operating expenses. Inventory turnover refers to the number of times per year, on average, a retailer sells his inventory. On the basis of this, retailers are classified as low margin low turnover—those that cannot survive the competition—and low margin high turnover, exemplified by Amazon. com. Jewellery stores and appliance stores are examples of high margin low turnover stores and only a few retailers achieve high margin high turnover. These -23- etailers are in the best position to combat competition because their high turnover allows them to withstand price wars. The drawback of the classification by this method is that service retailers who have no inventory turnover cannot be encompassed. One of the old means of classification of retailers is by location, generally within a metropolitan area. Retailers are no longer satisfied with traditional locations within a cit y’s business district but are on the constant lookout for alternate locations to reach customers. Besides renovating old stores, retailers are testing unorthodox locations to expand their clientele. With the advent of the Internet, this area of retailing is likely to undergo tremendous changes in the coming years. Size is often used as a yardstick to classify retailers because costs often differ on the basis of size, with big retailers having lower operational costs per dollar than smaller players. However, in this sphere too, the Internet may make size an obsolete method of comparison. TRENDS IN RETAIL FORMATS Retail industry is continuously going through changes on account of liberalization, globalization and consumer preferences. While multinational retail chains are looking for new markets, manufacturers are identifying, redefining, or evolving new retail formats. The existing retail houses are also gearing up to face the emerging competition from the organized sector and the changing outlook of the consumers. For example, consumer spending is shifting from goods to services. Accordingly the retailers too are fast adjusting to the changing consumer preferences. Consumers are not only looking for the core products or functional benefits from the retailers but also the non-functional benefits, which need to be compatible with their lifestyles. For example, most of the traditional eating joints in India such as Haldiram, Bikaner and Sagar Ratna have revised their product offerings and atmospherics on the lines of the multinational chains to compete with them and to serve changed expectations of the consumers. Mom-and-pop Stores and Traditional Kirana Stores The retail sector is changing as new store categories have started dominating the marketplace. Mass merchandisers (Wal-Mart, Big Bazaar), discount clubs (Subhiksha), -24- so-called category killers (Home Depot, Vishal chain), and speciality retailers (Time Zone, Tanishq) have all developed a successful retail models. At the same time, the small mom-and-pop stores and the traditional department stores, are finding the competition intense. In 2002, while Wal-Mart and Target saw revenues grow (by 12% and 10%, respectively), department stores such as Saks and Federated experienced declining revenues (down 3% and 1% respectively). But even in the mass-merchandising segment, the competition is fierce, as is evidenced by Kmart’s bankruptcy announcement in 2002. Small independent stores, across product categories, is a very common retail formats they are also undertaking large scale renovations to appeal and attract their target consumer segments. E-commerce The amount of retail business being conducted on the Internet is growing every year. Indeed, Forrester Research Agency projects e-commerce revenue to rise to $123 billion in 2004, an increase of some 28% over the previous year and for e-tailing to comprise a bigger slice of the overall retail pie (5. 6%, up from 4. 5% in 2003). Many major retail organizations and manufacturers have online retail stores. Companies like Amazon. com and First and second. com, which helped pioneer the retail e-commerce concept, are now being followed by bricks-and-mortar and catalogue retailers like J. Crew, which are expanding retail e-commerce into new markets. Department Stores A few years ago, names like Sears, J. C. Penney, Macy’s, and Montgomery Ward dominated malls and downtowns all over America. Over the last decade or so, however, these department stores have suffered badly. In part, this is a result of changing shopping patterns and increased competition from discount stores. It has also come from financial burdens incurred by companies that acquired competing companies and grew too fast. It is unlikely that these players will disappear from the market. However, they should be ready to expect more bumps as the strong get stronger and the weak get absorbed. -25- Discount Stores These are giants such as Wal-Mart (the largest retailer in the world, with more than a million; employees), Target and Kmart, as well as membership warehouses, such as Costco. These, along with the category killers, have changed the landscape of both the retail industry and America. Where once mom-and-pop and department stores dominated retail, now the discount retailers and category killers are at the top of the heap. And where once shopping malls, anchored by at least one major department store, ;used to be the dominant retail presence lining the nation’s roads, now it is the behemoth Wal-Marts and Home Depots. Category Killers These are the giant retailers that dominate one area of merchandise (e. g. , Office Depot, Tower Records and The Sports Authority). They are able to buy bathroom tiles, file cabinets, electronic goods or pet food in such huge volumes that they can then sell them at prices even fairly large competitors cannot match. The future of this category is better than that of many of the more general discounters, but the same employment caveats apply. For most job seekers, these companies offer earn-and-learn experiences with vendors and distributors before they move onward and upward. Speciality Stores These include Crate & Barrel, the Body Shop, and Victoria’s Secret. These stores concentrate on one type of merchandise and offer it in a manner that makes it special. Some are very high-end (Louis Vuitton) while others cater to the price-conscious masses (Old Navy). Many are so successful that department stores have started to emulate their buying, marketing, and merchandise display strategies. Industry experts predict growth in this segment, particularly in home furnishings and home improvement, and it seems to attract many of the best and brightest in retail. Promotion and responsibility come quickly to those willing to work hard, and in many of these stores the hand of bureaucracy is not heavy. -26- E-tailers While most retailers have online storefronts, strictly online purveyors with no bricksand-mortar counterparts are hoping to snare a percentage of the retail profit. Major players, such as Amazon. com, have generated enough business to cause top brick-andmortar competitors to come up with their own Internet sites. Traditional retailers like Wal-Mart and Starbucks, hugely successful in their own right, have also set up online stores so as not to miss out on the revenue opportunities that the Interned offers. -27- BARISTA Barista positioned its outlets as a place where people meet each other in an environment, which fulfills both their social and intellectual needs. The music is not too loud and encourages conversation, and the person behind the counter is non-intrusive and friendly. Any consumer knows that even when it is crowded at Barista, you will have your share of privacy. This is because the other consumer is not listening in; he is too involved in himself. MARGIN FREE MARKETS Margin Free Markets is the largest retail chain in the state of Kerala and one of the leading retail chains in India. The first outlet of this chain started functioning on 26 January 1994 at Thiruvananthapuram. There are currently more than 275 franchisees of Margin Free Markets spread all over south India. The outlets are franchises and are not actually owned by the chain. The Consumer Protection and Guidance Society currently control Margin Free Markets, which is registered charitable institution that started functioning in 1993. The consumers are assured of quality, quantity and fair price of the goods sold through the Margin Free Markets. Any retailer can upgrade his shop to a Margin Free outlet by sending in an application to the society. If his application is accepted, he has to make the necessary investment as required. These shops deal in the enter gamut of foods required by a home for its monthly onsumption, grocery, food and non-food FMCG items, fruits and vegetables, consumer goods and household articles. Margin Free outlets are typical discount stores, offering one-stop-shop convenience and self service facility at significant discount to its customers. Most of these customers, in time, turn out to be its permanents customers by taking discounts cards, which permit them to obtain larger discounts than the non-card holders. The necessity to o ffer protection against the rising prices gave birth to the idea of Margin Free Markets. An enthusiastic entrepreneur, named Mr N. Ravikumar, conceived the idea. The idea turned out to be an instant success in Kerala especially because Kerala is more of, a ‘consumer’ state than a ‘producing’ state Kerala depends on her neighbouring states for her consumer needs. Due to the large number of intermediaries involved and the transportation costs, the prices are high and there is a wide fluctuation in the prices of groceries, fruits and vegetables. -28- RETAIL ORGANIZATION The term retail organization refers to the basic format or structure of a retail business designed to cater to the needs of the end customer. Recently, some scholars have started referring to India as a nation of shopkeepers. This epithet has its roots in the huge number of retail enterprises in India, which were over 12 million in 2003. About 78% of these are small family businesses utilizing only household labour. Retail firms may ;be independently owned, parts of a retail chain, operated as a franchisee, leased departments, owned by manufacturers or wholesalers, consumersowned or co-operative society. A retail unit could be owned by: v Manufacturer (e. g. , company owned retail outlets) v Wholesaler (e. g. Vastra outlet in Rajouri in New Delhi) v Independent retailer (Chanakya Sweet Shop near Hazratganj in Lucknow) v Consumer (consumer owned grocery stores in man y residential societies) v Co-operative society (e. g. , Mother Dairy milk booths in Delhi) v Government (e. g. , Cottage Emporia) v Ownership shared among franchiser and franchisee (e. g. , Archies Gallery) Although most Indian retailers fall in the category o f small-scale units, there are also some very big retailers. Organized retail stores are generally characterized by large, professionally managed store formats providing goods and services hat appeal to customers, in an ambience that is conducive for shopping and provides a memorable experience to customers. From positioning and operating perspectives, each ownership format serves a marketplace niche and presents certain advantages and disadvantages. Retail executives must not lose sight of this in playing up their strengths and working around their weaknesses. THE CHANGING STRUCTURE OF RETAILING All dynamic developments in retailing, from the birth of departmental stores in the last century to the recent emergence of warehouse clubs and hypermarkets, have been -29- responses to a changing environment. Changing customer demand, new technologies, intense competition, and social changes create new opportunities even as they shake up existing business. The retail business formats have been changing very fast mainly due to technological influences. The Internet and the Web technologies have created a myriad f opportunities for the Web-based business model of retailing. This has created a competition for the retailer with its own self. Besides, the challenge for the retailer now is to keep abreast of these latest formats in order to maintain and grow its share of market and compete within its band of retailers. A key impact of technology has been provision ;of greater information to the customer. Hence, a big challenge for the retailer in the information savvy world of today is that the opportunities for price differentiate itself qualitatively by superior customer services or better value for money to the customer. CLASSIFICATION OF RETAIL UNITS Conceptual classification of a business unit provides the marketers with strategic guidelines, useful in the design of retailing strategy. Besides, retail businesses are extremely diverse and there are quite a few types of retail units. Therefore, retail units are classified on multiple of ownership, geographical locations, kind of customer interaction level of services provided etc. Retailers Classified on the Basis of Ownership One of the first decisions that the retailer has to make as a business owner is how the company should be structured. This decision is likely to have long-term implications, so it is important to consult with an accountant and attorney to help one select preferred ownership structure. There are four basic legal forms of ownership for retailers: 1. Sole proprietorship: – The vast majority of small businesses start out as sole proprietorships. These firms are owned by one person, usually the individual who has the day-to-day responsibility for running the business. -30- 2. Partnership: – A partnership is a common format in India for carrying out business activities (particularly trading) on a small or medium scale. In a partnership, two or more people share ownership of a single business. 3. Joint venture: – A joint venture is not well defined in the law. Unless incorporated or established as a firm as evidenced by a deed, joint ventures may be taxed like association of persons, sometimes at maximum marginal rates. It acts like a general partnership, but is clearly for a limited period of time or a single project. 4. Limited liability Company (public and private):- The Limited Liability Company (LLC) is a relatively new type of hybrid business structure that is now permissible in most states. The owners are members, and the duration of the LLC is usually determined when the organization papers are filed. Classification of Retailers on the basis of Operational Structure Retail businesses are classified on the basis of their operational and organizational structure. Operational structure defines the key strategic decision of retail entity, whether to hire employees and manage the distributed sales function internally or to reach customers though franchised outlets owned and operated by local entrepreneurs. Retail firms can be classified into five heads on the basis of their respective operational structures: 1. Independent retail unit: – The total number of retailers in India is estimated to be over 5 million in 2003. About 78% of these are small family businesses utilizing only household labour. An independent retailer owns one retail unit. 2. Retail Chain: – A chain etailer operates multiple outlets (store units) under common ownership; it usually engages in some level of centralized (or coordinated) purchasing and decision making. 3. Franchising: – Franchising involves a contractual arrangement between a franchiser (which may be a manufacturer, a wholesaler, or a service sponsor) and a retail franchisee, which allows the franchisee to conduct a -31- given form of business under and establishments name and according to a given pattern of business. 4. Leased Department or Shop-in-shop:-It refers to department in a retail store that are rented to an outside party. Usually this is done in case of department and speciality stores and also at times, in discount stores. 5. Co-operative Outlets: – Co-operative outlets are generally owned and managed by co-operative societies. In this context the detailed example of Kendriya Bhandar in India. Classification of Retailers on the basis or Retail Location Retailers have also been also been classified according to their store location. Retailers can locate their stores in an isolated place and attract the customers to the store on their own strength—such as a small grocery store or paan shop in a colony, which attracts the customers staying close by. Classification of retailers on the basis of location is discussed below: 1. Retailers in a free-standing location:- Retailers located at a site which is not connected to other retailers depend entirely on their sore’s drawing power and on the various promotional tools to attract customers. This type of location has several advantages including no competition, low rent, better visibility from the road, easy parking and lower property costs. For example the Haldiram’s outlet on the DelhiJaipur highway and the McDonald’s outlet on Delhi-Ludhiana highway. 2. Retailers in a Business-associated Location:-In this case, a retailer locates his store in a place where a group o retail outlets, offering a variety of merchandise, work together to attract customers to their retail area, and also compete against each other for the same customers. 3. Retailers in Specialized Markets: – Besides the above location-based classification, we also have in India-retailers who prefer specialized markets, particularly traditional independent retailers or chain stores. -32- In India, most of the cities have specialized markets famous for a particular product category. For example, in Chennai, Godown Street is famous for clothes, Bunder treet for stationery products, Usman street for jewellery, T Nagar for ready-made garments, Govindappan naicleen street for grocery, Poo Kadia for food and vegetables. 4. Airport Retailing: – For quite some time, duty-free shops and newsstands dominated the small amount of commercial space provided at airports. Lately, serious efforts are being made to design new airport facilities in order to incorporate substantial amounts of retail space. The key features of airport retailing are: v Large groups of prospective shoppers v Captive audience v Strong sales per square foot of retail space v Strong sales of gift and travel items v Difficulty in replenishment v Longer operating hours v Duty-free shopping possible. ` -33- VARIETY OF MERCHANDISE MIX The retail merchandising has come a long way in India since the days when general stores (kirana) that stocked everything from groceries to stationery and small shops that sold limited varieties of products (such as clothes, furniture, medicines) reigned supreme. There are many different retail stores in India—convenience stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets, department stores, brand stores and discount stores characterized by the variety of merchandise mix offered by a respective retail format. The consumer can choose between different stores for different needs. Retail units, on account of variety of merchandise mix, can be classified as follows: . Department Stores: – It is a large retail store organized into a number of departments, offering a broad variety and depth of merchandise, commonly part of a retail chain. Usually, department stores are located within the planned shopping centres or traditional up market downtown centres. The leading fashion department stores in India are Ebony, Globus, LifeStyle, Pantaloon, Shoppers’ Stop and Westside. All of them are multiproduct stores, Ebony has 7 stores, Globus has 4 stores, LifeStyle has 3 stores and there are 12 Pantaloon Family Stores. Discount Stores: – Retailers offering a broad variety of merchandise mix, limited or no service and low prices are characterized by low margins, heavy advertising, low investments on fixtures, limited support from sales people etc. Discount stores prefer shopping centres that provide space at lower rents as they attract customers from other adjoining stores in the shopping centre. Speciality Stores: – Speciality stores stress on one or a limited number of complementary product categories and extend a high level of service to their customers. In India, the traditionally independent retailers in the specialized market centres operate in a particular product category, at these centres attract large crowds. Such specialized retail operations provide expertise economies of scale, bargain and image to the particular stores. Supermarkets and Hypermarkets:- A hypermarket is a very large retail unit offering merchandise at low prices. Superstores have a sales area of over 50,000sq. ft. Hypermarkets are characterized by large store size, low operating costs and margins, low prices and comprehensive range of merchandise. -34- RETAIL IN INDIA The retail industry in India is largely unorganized and predominantly consists of small, independent, owner-managed shops. Retailing is India’s largest industry in terms of contribution to GDP and constitutes 13% of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product). There are around 5 million retail outlets in India. There are also an unaccounted number of low cost Kiosks (tea stalls, snack centres, barber shops) and pushcarts mobile vendors. Total retail sales area in India was estimated at 328 million sq. mt. in 2001, with an average selling space of 29. 4 sq. mt. per outlet. In India, the per capita retailing space is about 2 sq. ft. , which is quite low in comparison to the developed economies. In 2000, the global management consultancy AT Kearney put retail trade at Rs 400,000 crore, which is expected to increase to Rs 800,000 crore by the year 2005—an annual increase of 20%. According to a survey by AT Kearney, an overwhelming proportion of the Rs 400,000 crore retail markets is unorganized. In fact, only a Rs 20,000 crore segment of the market is organized. There is no integrated supply chain management outlook in the Indian traditional retail industry. Food sales constitute a high proportion of the total retail sales. The share was 62. 7% in 2001, worth approximately Rs 7,039. 2 billion, while non-food sales were worth Rs4189. 5billion. However, the non-food retailing sector registered faster year-on-year growth than the food sales sector. The trend to market private labels by a specific retail store is catching on in India as it helps to improve margins. The turnover from private labels by major retail chains was estimated at around Rs 1200 million in 2000. Growth in retail outlets (millions) Year 1978 1984 1990 1996 Urban 0. 58 0. 75 0. 94 1. 80 Rural 1. 76 2. 02 2. 42 3. 33 Total 2. 35 2. 77 3. 36 5. 13 Source: indiainfoline -35- Composition of urban outlets Retail Outlet Grocers Cosmetic stores Chemist Food stores General stores Tobacco, pan stores others Source: indiainfoline Composition 34. 7% 4. % 6. 3% 6. 6% 14. 4% 17. 0% 17. 0% Composition of rural outlets Retail Outlet Grocers Composition 55. 6% General stores 13. 5% Chemists Others 3. 3% 27. 6% Source: Indiainfoline EMERGENCE OF ORGANIZED RETAILING Organized retailing in India repres

Effects of Alcoholic Drinks to College Students - 2219 Words

Although alcohol may give you a feeling of elation and aroused senses due to a lessening of inhibitions during the early stages of alcohol intoxication, alcohol is a depressant. It depresses the central nervous system—leading to slowed reactions, slurred speech, and ultimately, to unconsciousness. Alcohol progressively affects different brain areas. Alcohol first affects the part of the brain that controls inhibitions. When people lose their inhibitions, they may talk more, get rowdy, and do foolish things. After several drinks, they may feel â€Å"high,† but really, their nervous system is slowing down. Alcohol acts fast because it is not digested like food. Instead, it moves directly into the bloodstream from the stomach and small†¦show more content†¦| ARE WOMEN MORE VULNERABLE TO ALCOHOL’S EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN? Women are more vulnerable than men to many of the medical consequences of alcohol use. For example, alcoholic women develop cirrhosis (5), alcohol–induced damage of the heart muscle (i.e., cardiomyopathy) (6), and nerve damage (i.e., peripheral neuropathy) (7) after fewer years of heavy drinking than do alcoholic men. Studies comparing men and women’s sensitivity to alcohol–induced brain damage, however, have not been as conclusive. Using imaging with computerized tomography, two studies (8,9) compared brain shrinkage, a common indicator of brain damage, in alcoholic men and women and reported that male and female alcoholics both showed significantly greater brain shrinkage than control subjects. Studies also showed that both men and women have similar learning and memory problems as a result of heavy drinking (10). The difference is that alcoholic women reported that they had been drinking excessively for only about half as long as the alcoholic men in these studies. This indicates that women’s brains, like their other organs, are more vulnerable to alcohol–induced damage than men’s (11). SUMMARY Alcoholics are not all alike. They experience different degrees of impairment, and the disease has different origins for different people. Consequently, researchers have not found conclusive evidence that any one variable is solely responsible for the brain deficits found in alcoholics. Characterizing what makesShow MoreRelatedBinge Drinking On College Campuses1459 Words   |  6 PagesDraft English Composition Mr. Paul October 28, 2014 Binge Drinking On College Campuses Over the past few years, there has been this big debate about whether the drinking age should be lowered to 18 or if it should stay at 21. Those in favor of lowering the drinking age to 18 argue that someone who is old enough to serve their country should be allowed to have a drink. 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Energy drinks are targeting high school and college students who may use this kind of drink to keep them awake for a midterm, or even give them a hallucination feeling any other alcoholic beverages will do. Many studies showed the disadvantageous of these drinks, yet this industryRead MoreAlcohol Research Paper1257 Words   |  6 Pagesnot limited to three social circles that include students, family gro ups, and religious gatherings. Experts have much to say about alcohol use and abuse in these three categories, including all of the negative aspects of drinking. Social drinking is a common occurrence around America. Whether it is after work or after a football game, white collar or blue, two-thirds of the American population sit down at least once a week to enjoy an alcoholic beverage (Med.unc.edu). Many of these people doRead MoreShould the Legal Drinking Age Be Lowered? Essay1233 Words   |  5 Pages â€Å"I must entreat you to be scrupulous in the use of strong liquors. One night’s drunkenness may defeat the labours of forty days well employed.† James Boswell once wrote. College students consuming alcohol has become a persistent problem in America. As we all know, alcohol is a product that has provided a variety of functions for people in the world, especially in twenty first century, it is widely used in socializing, chemically, and medicinally. Although drinking alcohol can benefit peoples inRead MoreEffects Of Alcohol On A Parent Who Is An Alcoholic1169 Words   |  5 Pagesaquired by drinkers such as liver cirrhosis and cancers. It also causes remature death and disablities. A 2012 study concluded that 10% of children live with a parent who is an alcoholic. The 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, conclued that 35.1 percent of fifteen year olds report that they have had atleast one drink in their lives, and about 8.7 million people ages 12-20 reported drinking alcohol in the past month. 5.4 million people ages 12-20 were binge drinkers, and 1.4 million peopleRead MoreThe Effects Of Binge Drinking On College Students1139 Words   |  5 PagesThe Effects of Binge Drinking in College Students Binge drinking is when a person has more than four drinks, if female and five if male, in one sitting. While researching texts written about the negative effects of binge drinking in college students, I found articles and scholarly journals written by specialists in this specific field of study. These authors mainly focus on the fact that excessive binge drinking is detrimental to the quality of life and can alter your state of health in a negative

Human Resource Management Final Exam - 1297 Words

Final Exam 1. 1. The Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Officer and the Executive Management Team has embarked upon a fundamental organizational shift. In order to reestablish their sustained competitive advantage in the market, the shift will take the organization from one which has always recruited, selected, trained and developed employees based on the traditional knowledges, skills and abilities to one that is primarily based on talents and strengths. As the Human Resources Director: A. What types of organization activities and behaviors would you curtail and why? (Buckingham) The types of organizational activities and behaviors I would restrict in order to shift a company from knowledge, skill and ability-focused to†¦show more content†¦As the HR Director, identify, describe and discuss of the actions and activities that management can undertake that might make employees to feel less of a need to unionize but are also compatible with the Wagner and Taft-Hartley Acts? As a HR Director, the actions and activities that might make employees feel less of a need to unionize would be to take preventative measures such as creating a labor relations strategy. The decision involves whether the company will work with unions or develop a nonunion operation. Since the management team has little to no experience with unions, it would good to discuss if unions would even be allowed at the company. The biggest apprehension for the organization would be the impact of a union to the company. The management team will need to evaluate the possible impact on productivity, profits and stock performance. The greatest argument over unions is the impact to productivity. There are certain organizations that argue that the limits on workloads and the rules set by the union restrict the company’s productivity. On the other hand, unions can positively impact the company’s production with fewer turnovers of employees. Considering that the company has to respect the Wagner and Taft-Hartley Acts which emphasize: Wagner Act or National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) †¢ The right to organize a union †¢ The right to join a union †¢ The right to join a strike for better working conditions †¢ The right to nonparticipation from anShow MoreRelatedHuman Resource Management Final Exam1431 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Qi Jiang Foundation MPHR 696 Final Exam Jan 23rd, 2014 Question 1: Collective Bargaining A labor relation is a key issue for organizations because the nature of the relationship between employees and employers can have a significant impact on morale, motivation and productivity. The act allows unions to be formed and exist as employee organizations that have the legal rights to bargain with management over various terms and conditions of employment. When a union is elected toRead MoreBA 340 Human Resource Management All Assignments Midterm and Final Exam1671 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿BA 340 (Human Resource Management) All Assignments, Midterm, and Final Exam IF You Want To Purcahse A+ Work then Click The Link Below For Instant Down Load http://www.hwprofile.com/?download=ba-340-human-resource-management-all-assignments-midterm-and-final-exam IF You Face Any Problem Then E Mail Us At JOHNMATE1122@GMAIL.COM W1 Assignment â€Å"Workplace Shifts†    Society has evolved over the last century causing organizations to change with the times.       This evolution has, in turn, required workersRead MoreMgmt 410 Final Exam 100% Correct Answers1204 Words   |  5 PagesMGMT 410 Final Exam 100% Correct Answers Follow Below Link to Download Tutorial https://homeworklance.com/downloads/mgmt-410-final-exam-100-correct-answers/ For More Information Visit Our Website ( https://homeworklance.com/ ) Email us At: Support@homeworklance.com or lancehomework@gmail.com FINAL EXAM TOPICS/CONCEPTS WITH RELATED QUESTIONS (10) 1. Human Resource Management and Strategic Planning – Identify and describe the Functions for Human Resources Management Define the conceptRead MoreHrm 517 Week 6 Assignment 1 Planning Document896 Words   |  4 PagesSUPPORT@ACTIVITYMODE.COM HRM 517 WEEK 6 ASSIGNMENT 1 PLANNING DOCUMENT HRM 517 Week 6 Assignment 1 - Planning Document You have recently been appointed head of human resources and are now in charge of managing a small team. Your next project is to revamp the compensation and benefits package employees are receiving at your company. Design a plan for the human resource project without the use of MS Project or similar software. Note: You will have to make assumptions or create fictitious data for this assignmentRead MoreHrm 531 Week 2 Individual Assignment Essays1014 Words   |  5 Pages(Entire Course) - Devry, ACCT 344 Final Exam Latest 2014 - Devry, ACCT 346 (Managerial Accounting), ACCT 346 Midterm Exam Updated DeVry, ACCT 504, ACCT 504 Week 8, ACCT 553, ART 101 Week 8, Ashford BUS 401, ASHFORD BUS 640, Ashford HIS 204, ASHFORD MAT 222 Week 3, BA 215 (Business Statistics), BA 215 All Assignments Week 1 -8 - Grantham, BA 225, BA 260, BA 265 (Business Law II), BA 265 (Business Law II) FINAL EXAM, BA 340 All Course Assignments, BA 340 Human Resource, BA 370 (Employment Law), BA 405Read MorePsy 100 W eek 8 Assignment 2 – Adjustment Case Study – New Updated Work1210 Words   |  5 Pages(Entire Course) - Devry, ACCT 344 Final Exam Latest 2014 - Devry, ACCT 346 (Managerial Accounting), ACCT 346 Midterm Exam Updated DeVry, ACCT 504, ACCT 504 Week 8, ACCT 553, ART 101 Week 8, Ashford BUS 401, ASHFORD BUS 640, Ashford HIS 204, ASHFORD MAT 222 Week 3, BA 215 (Business Statistics), BA 215 All Assignments Week 1 -8 - Grantham, BA 225, BA 260, BA 265 (Business Law II), BA 265 (Business Law II) FINAL EXAM, BA 340 All Course Assignments, BA 340 Human Resource, BA 370 (Employment Law), BA 405Read MoreGary Dessler Human Resource Management 14th Edition1672 Words   |  7 PagesGary Dessler Human Resource Management 14th Edition.pdf Download Gary Dessler Human Resource Management 14th Edition.PDF Now Gary Dessler Human Resource Management 14th Edition - Are you looking for ebook gary dessler human resource management 14th edition PDF? You will be glad to know that right now gary dessler human resource management 14th edition PDF is available on our online library. With our online resources, you can find gary dessler human resource management 14th edition easily withoutRead MoreBus 515 Midterm Exam Assignment938 Words   |  4 PagesQuestion 56 Supply chain management involves managing: †¢ the flow of internal information only. †¢ the flow of materials and information from suppliers and buyers to the final customer. †¢ the flow of raw materials to inventory only. †¢ managing the stock room supply only. Multiple Choice Question 14 A company with a low customer contact that is capital intensive is called: †¢ a farm †¢ manufacturing †¢ quasi-manufacturing †¢ service †¢ industrial era operations management Multiple Choice QuestionRead MoreDevry Hsm 541 Final Exam 2015 Essay1099 Words   |  5 PagesDevry HSM 541 Final Exam 2015 IF You Want To Purchase A+ Work then Click The Link Below For Instant Down Load http://www.hwspeed.com/Devry-HSM-541-Final-Exam-2015-0404044423.htm?categoryId=-1 IF You Face Any Problem Then E Mail Us At JOHNMATE1122@GMAIL.COM Question HSM 541 Final Exam Health Service Systems Week 8 – Final 1. (TCO A) You are the newly hired Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) for a mid-size hospital in a semiurban area of the country. Your first task is to develop the organization’sRead MoreOrganizational Style Is Organized And Streamlined Essay1359 Words   |  6 Pagesextra work to overcome introversion and become more confidence to communicate in a clear and concise manner. This can be accomplished by being forced to step outside of the established comfort zone and interact with others at least once per week. Resources/Support There are a number of local communication venues which work with individuals to overcome public speaking anxiety. The first and foremost is Toastmasters of Kansas City. Toastmasters meets on a regular basis and provides a â€Å"supportive learn-by-doing

The End Of World War I - 969 Words

November 11, 1918 marketed the end of World War I. During the 2 yeas the United States fought, women became part of the labor force as well as African Americans, the Nineteenth Amendment was passed and factories were booming. Even After the war men returned to the work force and quality of life started to improve. October 1929, the stock market crashed as a result of many buying goods on credit. The Great Depression was the worst in American history and lasted until 1939 before America started in War preparations for World War II. It was after 1945 when men came home and reentered the work force that quality of life improved and we begin to see the rise of the middle class. Pre-World War II the Great Depression which lasted from 1929-1939 created 15% unemployment. Many lost their homes, cars, and life style. Prior to the great depression the U.S. went into a recession in 1918-1919 and again in 1920. This was a result of the loans we gave to France and Britain during World War I and the money given to Germany to pay war reparations. The loans were never paid back and that dragged the U.S. into a recession. In an effort to combat the growing unemployment rate President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the New Deal. This was a series of programs enacted 1933-1938 focusing of relief, recovery and reform. FDR programs help put American to work on public works project, reestablished the banking system with more regulations, and stimulated the private housing industry to help getShow MoreRelatedThe End Of World War I : The End Of World War One815 Words   |  4 PagesThere are 816 words On November 11, 1918, the two sides of the war signed an agreement that was to be put to action at eleven oclock that same day. Two minutes before the armistice agreement would be put into play, Private George Price was shot and killed by a German sniper’s bullet in the French village of Ville-sur-Haine. Seconds later,at precisely at eleven a.m., all weapons and guns stopped. Soldiers and officers got up from their trenches and dugouts, bowed, and left the battlefield.Read MoreThe End Of World War I875 Words   |  4 PagesThe years following the end of World War I were a time of transition, leaving behind in its trail of destruction several devastated nations and historic changes that could not have been foreseen. Harsh treaties were imposed upon the defeated nations by the victorious western powers. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Turkey and Bulgaria were stripped of substantial territories and significant war reparations were imposed (Brower and Sanders 64 – 65). The United States of America retreated from EuropeanRead MoreThe End Of World War I1329 Words   |  6 PagesBefore World War I, the countries of Europe competed with one another in a race to colonize the world. The end of World War I brought national sovereignty, and an end to colonization to the forefront of the Allies’ concerns as they drew up plans for peace, and as a result, the Allied countries received former enemy colonies to watch over and guide to independence1. As a result of this mandate system, among other colonies, France received Syria. Instead of guiding Syria to independence, however, asRead MoreThe End Of World War I2396 Words   |  10 PagesAlmost a century has passed since the end of World War One, and the 1917 Belfour Declaration, which endorsed the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine and the preservation of the civil and religious rights of non-Jewish Palestinian communities. Consequently, the British Mandate in the region of Israel, the former Palestine, which was initiated and endorsed by the League of Nations in 1922, and which incorporated the Belfour Declaration. The control of Israel has changed hands multipleRead MoreThe End Of The World War I2100 Words   |  9 PagesWorld War I, which lasted from 1914 to 1918, was one of the bloodiest wars in the history of the world, its horrors surpassed only by World War II. The start of the war can be traced back to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in June 1918 by Gavrilo Princip, a member of a Bosnian Serb rebel group wishing to liberate ethnically Serbian parts of Bosnia from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and integrate them with the neighboring Kingdom of Serbia. The assassination led to aRead MoreThe End Of World War I1909 Words   |  8 Pagesstart of World War I, this was not the case. World War I began on July 28, 1914 when Austria declared war on Serbia because the Serbs did not accept all parts of the ultimatum sent to them. Because of previously established alliances, this initial declaration of war led to a deeper conflict. The Triple Alliance or Central Powers, which consisted of Germany, Austro-Hungary, and Italy, was soon at war with the Allies, which consisted of Russia, Britain, and France (Ellis 454-455). During World War IRead MoreThe End Effects Of World War I1555 Words   |  7 PagesThe End Effects of World War I World War I dragged on for a total of four years. Many were killed, some by another soldier, a mishap with a plane, or illness. On November 11, 1918, the war ended with an Armistice. The Armistice of World War I allowed the war to end without a winner. Germany got the heaviest load. The end of the war brought The Great Depression. Germany suffered the most during the Depression. The end of the war ignited a spark in many people that led to the roaring fire of WorldRead MoreWorld War I Predicted as the War to End all Wars847 Words   |  3 PagesWith the end of Great War in 1918, the world struggled to form a structure of peace that would avoid another world conflagration. It was anticipated that World War I would be â€Å"the war to end all wars.† President Woodrow Wilson was the primary leader to achieve this goal with his 14 Points making and keeping the peace in the world. Albeit the Treaty of Versailles amalgamated many of Wilson’s points, it struggled to be rati fied in the Senate. The defeat of the Treaty of Versailles was largely due toRead MoreThe Treaty Of Versailles And The End Of World War I1487 Words   |  6 PagesThe Treaty of Versailles was one of many peace treaties signed at the end of World War I. It ended war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed June 28, 1919. The signing of this treaty fell on the fifth anniversary of Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s assassination. Ferdinand was the prince of Hungary and Bohemia up until the date of his death. He was an heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. The Treaty of Versailles was drafted or created by the representatives of Great Britain, Japan, theRead MoreThe End Of World War I Enhanced Americans1020 Words   |  5 PagesThe end of World War I enhanced Americans’ confidence in their country as well as in themselves. The 1920s brought about flappers, the Charleston, and a radical turn of the century. During these 10 years, society’s disposition began to change to fit the newer, more youthful movements. The Harlem Renaissance caused an uproar of newfound interest in literature, music, art, and black culture. Jazz music became popular, more black writers such as Zora Neale Hurston came to prominence, and dancers like