The competitive response of small,independent retailers to organized retail: Study in an emerging economy

This study aims to decipher the competitive response of small, independent retailers in an emerging economy – India – to the onset of competition from large, organized retailers. The competitive behaviour is comprehended in terms of patterns of retail functional and business strategies, in further classifying the retailers into strategic groups, and finally by assessing the performance of these clusters. The study is based on a primary field survey of 605 grocery shops in two cities in India. The findings of the research point towards the presence of distinct strategies, strategic groups, and the positive impact on small retail performance of adopting distinct retail functional and business strategies.     

Craft Retailers' Criteria for Success and Associated Business Strategies

This research was designed to fill the void in understanding how art–related retailers define and achieve success. A two–phase data collection process was implemented. Preliminary personal interviews were conducted with 12 craft retailers followed by a mailed survey to 1000 craft retailers in nine southeastern U.S. states. Factor analysis was employed to reduce the number of items for defining success. Cluster analysis followed to develop empirical groupings of craft retail businesses based on the success factor scores, of which four different groups were identified. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to compare retail clusters related to business strategy variables of competitive strategies, product assortment, pricing, and distribution strategies, and networking activities. Significant differences were found in the craft retailers' business strategies used to achieve success. Craft retail entrepreneurs were found to define success with both traditional criteria such as profit and growth and also with intrinsic factors such as personal satisfaction and the opportunity to elevate the craft tradition. Successful small craft retail firms offered more focused product assortments of specialized craft products, implemented more differentiated strategies of stocking unique crafts in their assortments, as well as offering unique services to educate consumers about crafts, craft artisans, and a region's culture. Craft retailers who reported greater success did not engage in competitive pricing. Collaborative strategies included networking among family, friends, and business peers.     

外资零售业“价签门”事件理论阐析——异质化信息条件下的逆向选择与三方博弈

文章以近期发生的外资零售业“价签门”事件为背景,深度分析零售市场中信息不对称条件下“逆向选择”引起的外资零售商价格欺诈行为的理论必然性;在此基础上,进一步构建政府、零售商、消费者三方互动的不完全信息博弈模型,分析零售商价格欺诈行为的发生条件。分析结果表明,首先,竞争市场中的零售商不可能对消费者采取严重欺诈行为;其次,严格的政府市场监管确实能有效杜绝零售商欺诈行为;最后依据零售商价格欺诈决策条件,政府可以制定全方位的价格监管体系并有针对性的实施价格欺诈防范对策。     

What does it mean to “shop local”? Examining the experiences of shoppers and store owners within the framework of downtown revitalization

The purpose of this study was to explore what it means to “shop local” and to investigate the extent to which store owners and their customers support the broader community by participating in the revitalization of a downtown area through their efforts. An interpretive design was used for this study, more precisely ethnographic methods. Specifically, participant observation, field notes, in-depth and field interviews, photography and online data collection were employed. 30 in-depth interviews and 49 field interviews were conducted with shoppers, store owners, and downtown development representatives. Findings highlight the complex nature of local shopping through the functional, social, economic, aesthetic and communal factors involved with the practice. Local shopping and local retail business ownership create positive changes within the community that contribute to downtown revitalization. Considered via practice theory, these factors provide a measure of activism and empowerment in the ways that they contribute to economic and social support for the area. This study is limited to a single city which has been in the process of revitalization for more than a decade, therefore findings may not be generalizable to cities at different stages in the revitalization process. This study provides valuable contributions concerning local retail businesses who operate within revitalizing downtown areas. For example, locallyowned retailers should consider the practical needs of the community while providing the more unique products typically offered in such stores. Further, shoppers are willing to support locally-owned businesses because they view them as integral to the community. Existing research has not addressed the reasons shoppers support locally-owned retail businesses and why store owners choose to operate in a revitalizing downtown. This paper attempts to fill that research gap.     

Re-imagining retailers’ co-operatives

This article gives clarity to the area of retailers’ co-operatives. It provides a discussion on the different types of co-operatives and their identifying characteristics. This is to clear up common misunderstandings and misapplication of the word retail co-operative in the literature and popular culture and allow for further research in the area of retailers’ co-operatives. This article also provides a discussion of the drivers and developmental path for retail co-operation as a strategy for independent retailers. Three types of retail co-operation are discussed in this way namely buying groups, retailers’ co-operatives and retailers’ co-operative retail chains. The differences between a retailers’ co-operative retail chain and a corporate retail chain are then elucidated. Finally, managerial implications are provided surrounding retail strategy. This research is important as it provides greater understanding of a very successful retail format that has not been studied in depth, a format that allows for sustainable retail development and growth. This article enables further study in the area along with clarity on terms and dimensions.     

Virtue in small business in small places: Organisational factors associated with employee dishonest behaviour in the retail sector

The organisational factors associated with employee dishonest behaviour are understudied because dishonesty is sensitive topic and organisations are not willing to reveal misbehaviour to the wider public. This paper addresses this research gap by providing an empirical study on reporting of dishonest behaviour of retail employees in Estonia and Latvia. The aim of the paper is to find out how organisational factors affect the reporting of dishonest behaviour in retail sector. Local vs international retailers and rural vs capital city stores characterise organisational factors and these are analysed in different hypothetical scenarios: low wage, perceived injustice and boredom. The sample consists of 781 retail employees from six retail organisations. The study employed a survey with manipulated questionnaires. Some of the main findings are the following: employees in international retail chains and in stores located in capital cities deem dishonesty more prevalent compared to domestically owned shops and stores situated outside metropoles. However, employees outside capital cities were more sensitive to the motives, especially perceived injustice. Implications for retailers are discussed at the end of the paper.     

Exploring the system of digitised retail design—flattening the ontology

The objective of this article is to combine the two dominant perspectives of retail design— design and business—through systems thinking and flat ontology, in order to understand the ‘store’ as designed by retail designers in the new digital area. Using an abductive case study of the Danish retail design world, this article connects actors into a system, redefines 'the store’ as an interface between retailer and customer, and attaches the metaphors ‘observed universe’ and ‘extended self’ of owner managers to collectively designed spaces. The implication of the study is a retail design (and business) canvas.The article's practical contribution is clarifying the profession of retail design under the condition of digitised retail, and to present a first step towards a system-based theory for retail design.Managerial contributionThe article redefines the store as an interface affording customers' and retailers’ exchange of product and experiential interaction with the aim of providing adequate revenue.     

Traces of foreign retailers – local knowledge-spillovers and strategy adaption within retail internationalization

ABSTRACT

Since the 1990s certain retail companies have evolved into some of the largest and most dispersed transnational corporations worldwide. However, within the ‘new era of retail distribution’ retailers are increasingly divesting from foreign markets. This study addresses these recent and under-explored dynamics by revealing the traces transnational retail corporations leave after divesting from a country. It explores the aspect of learning of host market retailers from entering transnational corporations (TNCs) and examines how foreign knowledge is adjusted in the business strategies of these local actors. It takes a fresh empirical slant using qualitative interviews with host market retail managers including former TNCs’ subsidiaries operating under domestic ownership. The emerging economy of Turkey serves as an empirical example. The paper finds that foreign retailers transfer firm-specific resources to the local retail through (1) demonstration and imitation, (2) vertical linkages with suppliers, (3) joint ventures and acquisitions, and (4) labor turnover of TNC trained staff. Certain successful local companies adjust the foreign knowledge based on their local knowledge and strengths, their high level of flexibility and deep territorial embeddedness, and create ‘hybrid’ business strategies. These findings suggest that dynamic capabilities are crucial to successful retailing in an international competitive environment. TNC managers should work with local staff in partnerships of equals and managers of locally operating companies should incorporate new knowledge by hiring TNC trained staff.     

Retailing in the Transition Economies of Poland and Romania: A Comparative Analysis

This research compares and contrasts the current state of development in the retailing industry in the transition economies of Poland and Romania. Two issues examined in this research are (a) the process of market reforms and resulting developments in store-based and non-store retailing, including the competition among large multinational retail chains and small local retail stores, and (b) the structure of the retail industry in terms of market share of 17 different categories of retailers within their respective sectors, namely, grocery retailers, specialty retailers, and non-store retailers, and overall growth registered by these retailers in the last 5 years (2004–2009). Managerial implications of the findings in terms of the opportunities and challenges in different categories of retailing business in the two countries are discussed, and directions for future research are identified.     

城市零售流通系统的空间竞争结构及其变化--以日本为例

本文以日本为例,对城市零售流通系统的空间竞争结构及其变化问题进行了较为深入的研究。研究的初步结论是:城市零售流通系统的空间结构会随着城市的发展而不断发生变化,城市发展阶段不同,城市零售流通系统的空间结构也不同;大城市首先发生零售流通系统规模结构的变化,进而波及到地方城市或中小城市;随着城市的发展,城市零售流通系统出现了许多相互区隔、相互竞争的零售市场空间;零售商业集聚的竞争优势会不断发生变化,一些新的零售商业集聚区也会不断出现。     

Configurations of business strategy and marketing channels for e-commerce and traditional retail formats: A Qualitative Comparison Analysis (QCA) in sporting goods retailing

This article applies a configurational approach to study the fit between retail format, business strategy, and multi-channel setup. Its empirical material consists of five case studies, and a data set of 74 sporting goods retailers in Sweden. Our results show that a retailer can create strategic advantages when its multi-channel setup fits with its business strategy, and that retail format is important for explaining differences in growth and profit, the former being assigned to e-commerce and the latter to physical stores. Moreover, the study reveals that to some extent online channels also have positive performance implications for physical store retailers.     

“互联网+”还是“回归实体”？——消费模式与零售企业战略选择

互联网与移动互联网技术迅速发展，带动了许多实体零售企业投身于电子商务的创新实践，但也不乏亚马逊、阿里巴巴等网络零售企业通过投资、并购等方式积极涉足实体零售企业。文章试图解释企业进行不同战略选择的原因，采取“互联网+”或是“回归实体”的依据。在分析互联网对零售企业影响的基础上，文章建立了包括消费者与零售企业在内的一般均衡模型，分析了消费者选择不同零售企业的依据，以及零售企业的应对之策。分析结果表明，消费者在不同零售商店的相对支出比例取决于零售商店提供服务组合的相对效率。因此，基于“有限商圈”与“有限品类”的经营战略成为企业扩大销售收入的关键，现网络零售与实体零售战略选择本质上可以归纳为品类专业化与区域专业化之间的收益比较。     

Impact of Retail Internationalization on Agribusiness: The Case of Ukraine

This article aims to reveal the impact of the retail internationalization process on the Ukrainian agribusiness. Building on an in-depth survey, we delineate major changes that occur owing to the process. Talking about global retailers, an essential part of their business is connected with selling high-quality products. Because (food) quality and thereby food safety processes are considered to be the highest priority, we concentrate on the agri-food business. Our interest in Ukraine is kindled by ongoing verticalization addressed by foreign retailers and imitated by local firms. As a result, overall quality improvements are observed.     

Large format retailing in the US: a consumer experience perspective

Proponents of relationship marketing seek to develop and maintain long-term ties to their customers in the hope of having a loyal customer base. In this paper we examined large format retailing from the perspective of consumers’ experiences in these stores. Focus group interviews were conducted in two major US metropolitan areas and one medium size market. After analyzing the focus group content, several themes emerged related to patronage of large format retailers. These included the accuracy of prices when products were scanned and loyalty to store personnel based on familiarity. Large format supercenters were especially chided for their bigness and potential negative impact on smaller retailers. Attending to the details of the food retail business (accurate pricing, product availability, continuity of personnel) are ways in which consumers’ experiences in retail stores might be improved. Numerous choices and a diverse array of retail formats are available to consumers in the US market. Managerial implications are discussed in the light of a changing retail landscape.     

Turning regulation into business opportunities: A brief history of French food mass retailing (1949–2015)

Abstract

The French retail market stands out among its European counterparts as being more concentrated. Relative to its neighbors, it has a higher number of large stores, such as hypermarkets. This article explains the origins of this market structure by assessing the impact of regulation on the French food retail industry between 1949 and 2015. Despite legislation aimed at curtailing their growth, retailers were able to circumvent legal constraints. Over the period considered, three ‘regulation-adaptation’ loops are described. Retailers’ responses to regulatory regimes affected both their bargaining mechanisms with suppliers and the business models they used to sell their products. By turning regulation into business opportunities, French retailers have managed to create a powerful oligopolistic industry, and are now among the largest retail groups in the world.     

我国城市商圈内的零售业态趋同现象研究

本文从我国城市商圈内存在的零售业态趋同现象入手,运用真空地带理论、生命周期理论等多个理论对城市商圈内存在的业态趋同现象进行了分析,并提出了在业态趋同环境下,商圈内的零售业态经营者应采取的相关对策。     

Slotting Allowances in China: Perspectives of a Large Manufacturer Versus a Large Retailer in the China Grocery Market

ABSTRACT

Slotting allowances and contractual marketing agreements pervade the retail environment in the United States. They represent a profit center for large retailers who exercise market power and represent a cost center for large manufacturers. Many manufacturers have alleged that they are “held captive” to procure prime retail space. Despite the influx of retailers and manufacturers based in the United States, the deployment of slotting allowances in China is less prevalent but does pervade the grocery sector. The purpose of this study is therefore to explore the attitudes of large Western manufacturers and retailers toward the issue of slotting allowances in the China grocery market through a qualitative study. In-depth interviews were conducted with key decision-makers from Coca-Cola (manufacturer) and Carrefour (retail hypermarket) to critically explore their attitudes toward slotting allowances. The interviews reveal principal differences grounded in cultural norms.     

Retailers with traits of consumer: Exploring the existence and antecedents of brand loyalty in small unorganized retailers

Retail in most emerging countries, like India, is dominated by the informal sector consisting of small unorganized retailers and marketers selling through them desperately want to win them over because it can be a powerful competitive advantage in these markets.Small unorganized retail store is a unique setting because most of these stores are owned and managed by individual proprietors who are neither schooled in systematic business decision making and nor have access to professional expertise and scientific tools to assist in taking business decisions in a systematic way. With loads of decisions to be made by this individual, it can be assumed that heuristics and common sense drive a lot of their business decisions and this makes them very similar to the decision making done by the end consumers, who also engage in buying decisions but are not scientific in their approach.Based on this similarity, this study attempts to explore a simple but profound question that like individual consumers, do these retail customers’ buying decisions also get affected by brand loyalty? In that direction, the study assesses the role of three variables - salesperson quality, self-experience with the brand and perceived company support, for predicting brand loyalty in small unorganized retailers.Using Structured Equation Modelling on data collected from 543 retailers, the proposed hypothesized paths have been tested. The results strongly support the proposition made. This study extends the application of the existing attitudinal – behavioural framework of brand loyalty to retailers and puts forward a vital and a unique way for marketers to get these retailers on-board and work as an influencer to push their brand.     

The ‘online high street’ or the high street online? The implications for the urban retail hierarchy

The U.K. has the greatest proportion of online sales in Europe. This study seeks to explore the differential effects of online retailing on the (evolving) hierarchy of shopping centres by examining current trends and underlying forces. The overall objectives of the paper are to qualify and explore the influence of online retailing in the decision-making processes of leading retailers today; and to assess how virtual influences become manifest in the tangible built environment and have impacted the retail hierarchy? It differentiates online retail trends by sector and retailer size, and examines the consequences for different types of shopping centres. The empirical research is based on the changing location of stores of a major fashion retailer and interviews with three of Britain’s leading retailers that have seen the more substantial increase in online turnover in recent years. Major retailers are found to have integrated online offerings, such as click and collect, into a ‘multi-channel’ retailing approach. Online retailing has therefore become an inherent and central element within large retailers’ business and therefore real estate strategies, with considerations such as online marketplace penetration and possible ‘cannibalisation’ coming to the fore in decision-making about store location. Online retail sales are, to a degree, drawing sales away from shopping centres but its impact on the existing shopping hierarchy is largely to reinforce established long-term trends driven by the motor age and the shift to out of town retailing. This is symbolised by the largest ‘high street’ fashion retailer now having more branches in retail parks than town centres. Out of town shopping centres for example are benefitting because of the ease of goods collection offered by these locations.