ADDITIONAL PROJECTS
Retailing Management 9th Edition
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STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
Example 1
ENTREPRENEUR VS CHAIN
Retail Management of Two Different Types of Stores
Students are to analyze two different retail approaches such as an independent drug store
compared to a national chain or a local small “Mom and Pop” hardware compared to a
Home Depot or Lowes. Prepare an analysis of the impact of competitive forces and
Example 2
WEB STRATEGY
Students are to prepare the actual or hypothetical start-up of an E-Commerce retailer This
may be accomplished individually or in a group.. It is suggested that the team break up
the assignment into web strategy, creative, media, integrated marketing, relationship,
ADDITIONAL PROJECTS
Retailing Management 9th Edition
Example 3
Instructions:
This research paper should be written in paragraph form, double spaced, 12 font with the
preset (normal) margins. Please use the headings listed below (A. History of the
Company, B. Retail Strategy, 1. Target Market etc. …) to make your paper flow well. A
well-researched paper should be at least 6-10 pages long.
A. History of the Company: (50 pts.)
• Who did you interview? (Full name and position.)
• How long have they been in business?
• How has their business changed over the years?
• What is their mission statement?
• Do they plan to expand, penetrate, diversify, or change their retail format in the
near future?
B. Retail Strategy
1. Who is their Target Market: (15 pts.)
2. Merchandise Assortment: (15 pts.)
• What are the major brands they carry?
ADDITIONAL PROJECTS
Retailing Management 9th Edition
3. Human Resources: (15 pts.)
• How does this store prepare and train their sales people?
4. Store Location: (15 pts.)
• Where is this retail store located? (CBD, Shopping Center, Specialty Center,
5. Pricing: (15 pts.)
• What is this stores pricing policy? (Everyday Low Pricing, High/Low Pricing
etc.)
• What other practices do they use to compete with price? (Coupons, Rebates,
6. Communication Mix: (15 pts.)
• What type of paid advertisements does this business use?
7. Store Layout: (15 pts.)
• What type of design layout does this store use? (Grid, Racetrack, Free Form etc.)
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• Is music constantly playing? What type?
• What type of scent is in the store? Does it detract or attract?
8. Customer Service: (15 pts.)
• What type of services does this store offer? (Alterations, gift-wrapping etc.)
C. Competitive Advantage: (50 pts.)
• Does this retailer have a “competitive advantage” over similar stores?
ADDITIONAL PROJECTS
Retailing Management 9th Edition
Example 4
Select a retailer that you have an interest in for this assignment and clear the retailer with
me so that we can be sure you will find the information you need to complete the
Prepare a paper and presentation about your retailer using the guidelines that follow. The
presentations will be done at the end of the semester so that this becomes a collaborative
learning experience. In researching and preparing your paper, you should use a minimum
of 5 sources of information.
1. Describe the current climate and situation that your retailer finds itself in as it
attempts to compete. Describe what is occurring in the industry. Provide a brief
overview of the retail sector in which the retailer operates. What environmental
3. Corporate Analysis – Who is the parent company of your retailer? What retailers
are parts of their portfolio? What is the parent company’s overall market strategy
and how does this retailer fit into their overall strategy?
4. Competition
a. Who are the retailers’ competitors (both direct and indirect)? How does
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5. Retail Market Strategy
a. Target Audience – Who is their target audience? (describe
demographically and psychographically, if possible) How does this
compare to the competition?
e. What is their location strategy? Why have they chosen this strategy?
f. What is their approach to managing human resources? (if this info is
available)
g. Describe their merchandising strategy – how they buy, what they buy,
breadth vs. depth of merchandise, etc. How is it reflected in their financial
strategy?
6. Do a financial analysis of your retailer and two to five of its top competitors.
Include revenue growth, ROA, Gross Margin, Net Margin, GMROI, Inventory
Turnover, etc. What does this analysis say about how your retailer operates and
its profitability? What can your retailer do to improve its profitability?
7. Summarize your retailer’s primary strengths and weaknesses and support your
assessment. What are their biggest challenges now and in the future? How are
they preparing to meet those challenges? What do they view as their
opportunities for the future?
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Example 5
Retail Strategy Assignment
To insure that you can get information about the retailer, the retailer you select should:
• Be a publicly held company so that you can access its financial statements and
Some examples of retailers that meet the first two criteria are: Whole Foods Market,
Dress Barn, Burlington Coat Factory, Ross Stores, Ann Taylor, Cato, Chico’s, Finish
Line, Foot Locker, CVS, Walgreens, Staples, Office Depot, Borders, American Eagle
Outfitter, Pacific Sunwear, Abercrombie & Fitch, Tiffany, Zales, Autozone, Pep Boys,
Hot Topics Wet Seal, Best Buy, Family Dollar, Dollar General, Michaels, PetsMart,
Macy’s, Dillard’s, Pier 1 Imports, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, Men’s
Warehouse, Kroger, Kohl’s, Radio Shack, Safeway, and Target.
Prepare an analysis of the company.
(10%) Identify direct competitors and the retailer’s strategy— the retailer’s target market
and positioning, its retail mix (merchandise variety and assortment, pricing, locations,
Finally include bibliography of articles and other sources for information used in making
your report
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COMPARISION SHOPPING ASSIGNMENTS
Chapter 2, Types of Retailers, covers the material to do these assignments; however, due
to the comprehensive nature of the assignments, they might be used after chapters 1
through 5 have been assigned.
Example 1
Compare at least seven product categories (such as cookies, breakfast cereals, carbonated
soft drinks, etc.) for four food retailers (supercenters, conveniences stores, drug stores,
supermarkets, etc.) on
❖ Variety
❖ Assortment
Use the form below to summarize your results. You should have seven forms
completed for this part of the project. From the information you gather, you are to
come to some conclusions about each retailer’s strategy. Give as much detail as you
can. For each retailer identify:
a) the target market the you think the retailer is directing its efforts and why
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TERM PROJECT: PART A
Product #___: Type of Product_____________________________________________
STORE #1
STORE #2
STORE #3
STORE #4
Variety-
How many variations
are represented?
(How many types of
choc. chip cookies?)
Price
Location (on shelf, in
store)
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Example 2
Store Format Comparison Project
Students should form teams of two to work on this project. Student pairs should then
select a broadly defined product category that can be purchased from three different types
of retail outlets, then select one retail store to represent each of the different types. The
report will compare the way the category is sold from the different retail formats. All
three formats must have a “brick and mortar” presence, although they may use multiple–
channels.
Deliverable:
The deliverable will be a written report from ranging from 5-8 pages in length. Any
attachments such as ads, circulars, etc, should be attached to the written report. The report
can be submitted in tabular form (4 columns with column 1 describing the aspect
examined, and columns 2-4 describing each store’s use of that aspect.
Due Dates:
Written reports are due by 5:00 p.m. on July 7.
What should the report cover?
The report should focus on the differences in the way the category is handled by each of
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• Store location and hours: Compare the location in terms of convenience and
distance from the target market; compare the store hours. Are the hours or
location limiting one of the stores (good vs. lousy location)?
• New items and discontinued items: How often are new items introduced and
older items discontinued? What percent of the SKUs would be considered
new in the past year?
• Sales velocity: What is their inventory turn of the category? How does that
compare with other categories carried by the store? How frequently do units
sell (on average, e.g. how many units sell per week of the average SKU)?
Which items are the big sellers for the category? How is the amount of shelf
space determined for products? Are fast movers given more shelf space than
slow movers?
• Promotions: How much of the category is sold on promotion as opposed to
regular price? How are promotions planned and executed?
• Pricing: What is the price range of the store (high, average, or low) relative to
other store formats? What are the average margins? Does the store work with
markdown allowances? How are the markdowns used?
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Retailing Management 9th Edition
• Effectiveness: How does each store appear to be doing? Is there are strong
future for the category in the format, or does it seem like a bleak future?
Grading criteria:
Grades for the project will be based on the following criteria:
Example 3
1) Description of the Assignment:
Select and visit a local retailer (I suggest you pick a ‘pure’ retailer (i.e., a retailer that
2) Format of the Assignment (Conformance to the format requirements is worth 1.5
points):
The report should be double spaced, minimum 2 pages long, and should not exceed 3
3) Submission of the Assignment:
4) Outline of the Assignment:
Below are the outline and the corresponding points (Total points: 18.5):
Section 1: Introduction of the retailer (a total of 6.5 points for this section)
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Section 2: Strategy of the retailer (a total of 10 points for this section)
• Target market (primary and secondary targets) (2.0 pts)
• Retail format (1.5 pts)
Section 3: Recommendations for the retailer (a total of 2 points for this section)
• Growth opportunities, operational, or strategic recommendations (Select two
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Retailing Management 9th Edition
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Example 4
The purpose of this assignment is to give you an opportunity to get out and examine
retailing strategy from an objective, professional, and non-consumer point of view.
Collect information on the two stores or departments by posing as a customer and
interviewing a manager or buyer. Do not be deceptive about your intent. Most stores
will be happy to help you. If they are reticent to help, please thank them and find another
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Retailing Management 9th Edition
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Example 5
The objective of this assignment is to have you take the retailer’s perspective and think
about the different retail mixes they offer and how they compare to other retailers. The
assignment is to pretend you are responsible for a merchandise category. Conduct a
1. (20%) The strategy pursued by the two retailers –each retailer’s target market and
general approach toward satisfying the needs of the target market.
2. (40%)The retail mixes used by each of the retailers with respect to a specific
merchandise category such as country music CDs, men’s dress slacks, or MP3
players including variety and depth of assortment, services, selling effort,
Data Collection
To prepare this comparison you need to visit the stores (not the websites) and observe the
retail mixes in the stores. Try to make an appointment with the department or store
manager and conduct a structured interview to collect information about the strategy of
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Retailing Management 9th Edition
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Executive Memo
Summarize the results of the comparison shopping exercise in a memo – six to ten pages,
double-spaced maximum, plus exhibits (tables and figures). Concentrate on the
Presentation by All Teams
Each presentation must be no longer than 10 minutes. Practice the timing of the
presentation, because you will have to sit down at 10 minutes. The presentation should
CROSS-CULTURAL SHOPPING EXPERIENCE
During your visit to Europe, you have several independent assignments to do. These are
potentially subject to inclusion on the final exam.
You should make sure you write at least one page in your trip diary addressing each of
these questions (total of at least 11 pages addressing these areas…one page for each of 11
areas). Your observations should try to avoid taking an ethno centric bias i.e. avoid a
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4) In at least two of the countries visited, visit familiar/unfamiliar fast food restaurants.
In each country (eating there is optional). See if the menu is adapted o local tastes or
standardized the same as in the U.S. Compare the pricing, merchandising mix of the
restaurants, merchandise layout (product displays), and services provided. Please
provide your overall evaluation of these experiences.
6) In at least two of the countries visited, what differences do you notice in “Dine In”
restaurants compared to the US? Compare the pricing, menu mix of the
restaurants, atmospherics (atmosphere or feeing you have), merchandise layout
(display), and services provided. Please provide your overall evaluation of these
experiences.
9) In at least two of the countries visited, observe people on the street. How are they
dressed? How are the people at work dressed? How do they interact? (in banks,
stores, etc). Observe business dress and compare to that in the USA. Please provide
your overall evaluation of these experiences.
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10) Describe some of the personal changes you have experienced because of your
international cultural experiences. To what do you attribute this change in
perspective? Please provide your overall evaluation of these experiences.
INTERNET RETAILING/RETAIL WEBSITES
The material for these assignments is found in Chapters 4 Multi-Channel Retailing and
Chapter 18, Store Layout, Design, and visual Merchandising
Example 1
Evaluate Web Sites.
Go to the four retail web sites and shop for a product. For example, if you were shopping
for a pair of jeans, you might try to find similar jeans at four different retailers. You
might view Victoria’s Secret, GAP, J. Crew, Levi because they all offer about the same
quality and target similar markets. Answer the following questions in detail:
1. Identify the retailers you chose and why.
2. How do you compare your experience shopping on the Internet to shopping in a local
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• closing of the sale
5. Which one of these sites would you use? Why?
Example 2
Assignment
input, if any, do retailers have to this site? Evaluate the site. What features do you like
and dislike, such as the “look and feel” of the site, navigation, special features, etc. How
would you use this site?
digital camera (Cannon Powershot SD1000). Report on your experiences with these sites
and the feature they offer. What features do they have that you like? Don’t like? How
could they be improved? Would you use them? Why or why not?
“look and feel” of the site, navigation, special features you found useful or did not like,
etc? How easy was it to locate what you were looking for? What was the checkout like?
Etc?
Go to these sites and describe your experience. What are features of the sites do you like
and dislike such as the “look and feel” of the site, navigation, special features you found
useful or did not like, etc? What are the specific services offered by these sites that you
would use.
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Retailing Management 9th Edition
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CUSTOMER SHOPPING EXPERIENCE
The materials to complete these assignments are in Chapter 4, Customer Buying
Behavior
Example 1
Customer Experience Project
Students should work individually on this project. Students should select a particular
product or product category that they or someone they know is interested in purchasing
(or recently purchased) for personal use. This should be a product (as opposed to a
Deliverable:
The deliverable will be a written report in a table form ranging from 2-4 pages in length.
Any attachments such as ads, circulars, etc, should be attached to the written report.
Due Dates:
Written reports are due at the beginning of class on xxxx.