978-1337407588 Chapter 14 Solution Manual Part 1

Unlock access to all the studying documents.

View Full Document

Chapter 4: Retailing

Review and Assignments for Chapter 14

Review Quesons

1. Discuss the possible marketing implications of the recent trend toward supercenters,

which combine a supermarket and a full-line discount store.

Supercenters have been created to meet the needs of today’s customers for convenience,

variety, and service. Customers can truly have one-stop shopping for both food and

2. Explain the function of warehouse clubs. Why are they classified as both wholesalers

and retailers?

Although students’ answers will vary, they should address some of these points.

Wholesale clubs sell a limited selection of fast-moving merchandise including brand

3. What advantages does franchising provide to franchisers as well as franchisees?

Benefits for franchisees include the use of a known name, product, and/or business

Applicaon Quesons

1. In order to fully appreciate the role retailing plays in the U.S. economy, it may be

helpful to review a selection of press articles related to the retailing industry. Search

for articles pertaining to retailing. Read a selection of articles, and report your

Chapter 4: Retailing

findings to the class.

Students answers will vary depending on the articles read. You may wish to have students ʼ

2. Form a team with three classmates to identify the different retail stores in your city

where pet supplies are sold. Team members should split up and visit all the different

retailing outlets for pet supplies. Prepare a report describing the differences in brands

and products sold at each of the retailing formats and the differences in store

characteristics and service levels. For example, look at brands that are sold via mass

merchandisers versus independent specialty stores or other venues. Suggest why

different products and brands are distributed through different types of stores.

3. Go to the Gift Center at online wine retailer wine.com’s website

http://www.wine.com/. How does this site help shoppers select gifts?

4. How much does the most powerful computer with the fastest modem, most memory,

largest monitor, biggest hard drive, and all the available peripherals cost at

http://www.dell.com? Visit a store like Best Buy or Circuit City and price a

comparable computer. How can you explain any price differences between the two

retail operations? Explain any differences in features that you encountered. What

conclusions can you draw from your research?

Computer prices change constantly; at the current time, they are decreasing due to lower

5. Most catalog companies also offer online shopping. Visit the website of one of your

favorite catalogs to see if you can buy online. If so, surf the online catalog for a few

minutes. Then compare the two retailing methods (paper and Internet) for prices,

products, and so forth. Which do you prefer—the paper catalog or online shopping?

Why?

Chapter 4: Retailing

6. Curves is the world’s largest fitness franchise and the fastest-growing franchise of any

kind. What do you need to do to become a Curves franchisee? Visit the site

(http://www.curves.com) to find out. Does anything surprise you?

7. Identify a successful retail business in your community. What marketing strategies

have led to its success?

Although students’ answers will vary, the following is a basic model of a student response:

Oak Street Market is a highly successful, small specialty grocery store in my community.

In the 1980s, Oak Street recognized a market niche that had been neglected by the local

supermarket chains. Oak Street offers a comprehensive selection of high-quality and

8. How can a company create an atmosphere on its website? Visit the websites of some

of your favorite retailers to see if they have been able to re-create the store

atmosphere on the Internet.

Students’ answers will vary. Many will cite elements of design as the ability to create

atmosphere: color, layout, graphic elements (photos, typeface, etc.), and other visual

Applicaon Exercise

After reading the chapter, you can see that differences in retailing are the result of strategy. To

better understand the relationship between strategic retailing factors and consumer perceptions,

Chapter 4: Retailing

Purpose: To have students think intentionally about differences in retailing establishments by

Setting It Up: Because this involves excursions, you may wish to set this up as a paired

exercise. Alternatively, you can pick the product for which the students will shop and direct

Activities

1 Go through each store and make careful observations on the following:

Location: Where is each store? How congested is the area of town where each store is

located? What influence does the neighborhood have on your impression of the

store? Would you travel to this store under normal circumstances? Write a detailed

paragraph on the location of each store.

Exterior atmosphere: How convenient is parking? Is parking adequate? How are other

issues concerning parking (cleanliness and size of the lot, size of spaces, well lit,

etc.)? What kinds of stores are around the store you are visiting? Do you think being

located next to them increases traffic at your store? Are direct competitors nearby? Is

the building modern or historic? Is it attractive, clean, and appealing? Is the entrance

inviting to shoppers?

Interior atmosphere: Compare the following attributes at each store: aisle width;

lighting; number of customers; noise (background music, loudspeakers, etc.); store

layout; signage; accessibility of the cashier; number of products available (depth and

width of assortment); ability to inspect the product before purchase; quality of the

fixtures (shelves, lights, etc.); availability of salespeople and their knowledge about

the product; willingness of salespeople to help.

Product: Is your product available? If not, is there a satisfactory substitute? What is

your perception of the quality of goods offered? Why do you think as you do?

Price: What is the price of the product/brand at this store? Is the price prominently

displayed? How do the prices at the two stores compare? How does the price

compare to your expectations?

2 From which of these two stores would you actually purchase the item? Why, specifically?

List the factors that played a role in your decision. Which factor is most important to you?

If you would not purchase the item at either store, why not?

Chapter 4: Retailing

3 What are the three most important differences you observed between the stores?

4 Using the results of your research, write a short paper that outlines your observations.

Conclude your paper with your answers to questions 2 and 3.

This exercise was inspired by the following Great Idea in Teaching Marketing:

Amy R. Hubbert, University of Nebraska at Omaha

Discovery of Strategic Retailing Factors

The purpose of this assignment is to give students in the Principles of Marketing course an

opportunity to discover for themselves the influence of strategic retailing factors (e.g., location,

Each student selects an item categorized as a “shopping product” for which to shop. Students

describe the product attributes desired as specifically as possible. If it is a branded product, the

Two issues are critical in the selection of specific stores. First, retailing factors will be the most

salient if two very different stores are compared. Therefore, each student chooses two types of

Each student visits the two stores he or she selects and records observations of specific strategic

A. Location Factors

What is the type of location (traditional business district, community shopping center, etc.)? How

Chapter 4: Retailing

your product?

B. Exterior Atmospherics

a How convenient is it to get into the parking lot from the street? For example, do you have

to drive by and make a U-turn or can you turn in at a stoplight?

b How adequate is the parking? What other parking issues do you notice? For example, is

C. Interior Atmospherics

a Aesthetics: Discuss aisle width in general and in comparison to the other store. Note the

lighting. Is it too bright or too dim? Is it used to emphasize the merchandise? How

b Layout: How prominent is the department in which your product is located? How long

c Display: How deep and wide are the product lines compared to others in the store, the

other store, and your own expectations? What sources of information/promotion about

d Personnel: Are salespeople available to help? If yes, by what clues are the sales staffs

D. Product

Is your product available at the store? Is there a satisfactory substitute? What are your

Chapter 4: Retailing

E. Price

What is the price of the product/brand you would purchase from this store? Is the price

prominently displayed? How does the price compare to the other store’s price? How does the

price compare to your expectations?

Students conclude their papers with reflections on the following questions:

a From which of these two stores would you actually purchase the item? Why, specifically?

On the due date, an in-class activity offers the opportunity for students to share and compare

their findings. Small groups of four to five students are formed. Each group member names their

Case Assignment: Kroger Co.

In 1883, Barney Kroger used his life savings (a total of $372) to open a grocery store on Pearl

Over its century of growth, mergers have been key to Kroger’s continued success. In

1983, Kroger merged with Dillion Companies Inc. in Kansas to become a coast-to-coast operator

In 2014, Kroger completed its merger with Harris Teeter, a regional chain in the

Chapter 4: Retailing

Kroger took this prototype and ran with it, and in late 2014, the company began testing

Kroger ClickList customers shop online for their groceries, choosing from a catalog

featuring 40,000+ items, including fresh meat and produce. After confirming the order, shoppers

ClickList transactions must be paid for with a credit or debit card. Government benefits

By 2016, Kroger had expanded ClickList services to Nashville, Tennessee; Atlanta,

Georgia; Louisville, Kentucky; Cincinnati, Ohio; Murfreesboro, Tennessee; central Virginia; and

While Kroger may have been the first to enter the click-and-collect grocery business, they

Amazon already offers AmazonFresh, home delivery of more than 500,000 items,

including fresh groceries for same-day or next-day delivery. AmazonFresh is available only in

Chapter 4: Retailing

Amazon has made no official statement about their future plans in the grocery business.

Sources: “ClickList,” Kroger, accessed October 20, 2016,

Game-Changing New Grocery Service, and Moms Are Freaking Out About It,” Business Insider,

February 17, 2016, accessed October 20, 2016,

; “History of Kroger,” Kroger, accessed October 20, 2016,

ClickList?,” Cincinnati.com, August 26, 2016, accessed October 20, 2016,

TRUE/FALSE

1. Kroger Co. is one of the world’s largest grocery retailers.

PTS: 1 OBJ: LO: 14-1 TOP: AACSB: Reflective Thinking