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Chapter 02 - Types of Retailers
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7. INTERNET EXERCISE Go to Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise Zone web page at
How many of these retailers in the Top Ten have you patronized as a customer? Did you know
that they were operated as a franchise? Look at the list for previous years to see changes in the
rankings. Click on the link, About the Franchise 500, and describe what factors were used to
develop the list. Finally, what is the nature of the business that seems to lend itself to
franchising?
The Top 10 Franchises for 2013 include many familiar names. Students will likely report having
visited a Subway, McDonald’s, or 7-Eleven. Students should uncover some notable changes in
8 Bed Bath & Beyond is the number one superstore domestics retailer in the US with about 1,000
stores throughout the US and Ontario, Canada. This retailer sells domestics (bed linens,
bathroom and kitchen items) and home furnishings (cookware and cutlery, small household
appliances, picture frames, and organizing supplies). What are the SIC and NAICS codes used
by this retailer? What other retailers compete against Bed Bath & Beyond and which store
format is implemented by each competitor?
Primary SIC Code 5023: Home furnishings
Chapter 02 - Types of Retailers
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Chapter 02 - Types of Retailers
ANSWERS TO DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS
1. Distinguish between variety and assortment. Why are these important elements of retail
market structure?
The main difference between variety and assortment is that variety refers to the number of
2. What sorts of competitive pressures are confronting traditional grocery stores? What
options do these stores have to ease these pressures?
Supermarkets are under competitive pressures from supercenters, warehouse clubs, extreme-
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3. What do off-price retailers need to do to compete against other formats in the future?
The main competitive weapon for the off-price retailers is their low price. While they may
not directly compete with higher service formats, such as department and specialty stores,
4. Compare and contrast the retail mixes of convenience stores, traditional supermarkets,
superstores, and warehouse stores. Can all of these food retail institutions survive over
the long run? How? Why?
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Element of
Retail Mix
Convenience Store
Traditional
Supermarket
Superstore
Warehouse Store
Location
Typically
freestanding, easily
Typically in strip
shopping centers
Typically in strip
shopping centers
Typically in strip
shopping centers
All four types will persist because they appeal to different customer needs. The warehouse
stores typically have larger pack sizes that are very attractive to customers with large families
and to small business owners like local restaurants. In addition, due to the varying
assortments, customers who are brand loyal might not want to shop in these stores.
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The superstores are low in price but more inconvenient to shop in because of the large size.
Thus they appeal to customers who are very price conscious and are willing to drive a longer
distance and spend more time shopping in a larger store.
5. Why is Walmart, the largest retailer in the world, facing slower growth than in the
past? What can it do to accelerate its growth?
Full line discount stores, like Walmart, face challenges from category specialists that
6. Why are retailers in the limited assortment supermarket and extreme value discount
store sectors growing so rapidly? From which retailers are they getting these additional
sales.
Both limited assortment supermarkets and extreme value discount stores focus on relatively
limited merchandise offerings at highly appealing (low!) prices. The retail formats are able to
7. The same brand and model of tablet is sold by specialty computer stores, discount
stores, category specialists, online retailers and warehouse stores. Why would a
customer choose one retail format over the others?
Each type of retail store provides a unique combination of price and services tailored to the
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8. Choose a product category that both you and your parents purchase (e.g., business
clothing, casual clothing, music, electronic equipment, shampoo). In which type of store
do you typically purchase this merchandise? What about your parents? Explain why
there is (and is not) a difference in your store choices.
Students may emphasize specialty stores such as The Gap, Old Navy, Abercrombie and
Fitch, Express, and Best Buy etc. for their purchases for clothing, or electronic equipment,
9. At many optical stores you can get your eyes checked and purchase glasses or contact
lenses. How is the shopping experience different for the service as compared to the
product? Design a strategy designed to get customers to purchase both the service and
the product. In so doing, delineate specific actions that should be taken to acquire and
retain optical customers.
Optical stores present an interesting mix of service and related merchandise. On one hand,
the eye examination is usually done by a trained and licensed eye doctor and here the service
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10. There are services and products involved when buying or renting a car, and in both
cases, the customer drives away in a car. But buying a car focuses more on the product,
whereas renting involves the service. Explain four ways in which marketing for a
rental car company differs from marketing for an automobile dealership.
The differences in offerings provided by service retailers include (1) intangibility, (2)
simultaneous production and consumption, (3) perishability, and (4) inconsistency of the offering
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ANCILLARY LECTURES
LECTURE # 2-1: FRANCHISING
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Instructor’s Note: Franchising is one of the most popular and successful ways for individuals to start their
own business. The growth in franchising as a retail format will probably continue in the near future.
Many students who take a retailing course have intentions of someday starting their own business and this
lecture may provide them with an interesting possibility to consider. Instructors might want to use this
lecture as a stimulus to a class discussion on the topic. PowerPoint slides 2-59 to 2-67 can be used with
this lecture.
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Introduction
The growth of franchising
Franchising has had a steady stream of growth. Some of the reasons include
1. Technological advances,
2. Profitable utilization of capital resources,
3. Attainment of the American dream,
4. Demographic expansion, and
5. Product/service consistency.
Technological advances
Equipment and systems--reduce product variability and more efficient marketing and
distribution systems.
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Product/service consistency
Due to geographic mobility, franchises have provided a level of homogeneous (boring)
quality in its product or service.
For example: A Big Mac tastes the same everywhere.
Types of franchise systems
There are various types of franchise systems including
1. Territorial,
2. Operating,
Territorial franchise
The franchise granted encompasses several counties or states.
The holder of the franchise assumes the responsibility for setting up and training individual
franchisees within his territory and obtains an ‘override” on all sales in his territory.
For example: McDonalds and Burger King Regional franchises.
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The distributor has exclusive coverage of a wide geographical area and acts as a supply
house for the franchisee that carries the product.
For example: Texaco gasoline supply centers.
Leasing/Licensing
The franchisor leases/licenses the franchisee to use his trademarks and business techniques.
The franchisor either supplies the product or provides franchisees with a list of approved
suppliers.
For example: Sheraton Hotels.
Manufacturing
The franchisor grants a franchise to manufacture its product through the use of specified
materials and techniques.
Why franchises fail
Individuals who are interested in franchising need to recognize that there is risk despite the
high potential for success.
Franchises can fail for several reasons including
1. Inept management,
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Inept management
Poor finances, product/service mix rejected, grew too quickly.
Manufacturer-retailer franchise
Automobile dealers and service stations.
Manufacturer-wholesaler franchise
Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Seven-Up, etc. sell syrup they manufacture to franchised wholesalers who
bottle and distribute to retailers.
Franchisor benefits
Franchisees (the store) provide benefits for the franchisor (the parent company).
Continuous market
Insured through consistent quantity and quality and strong promotion.
Market information
Information such as sales, local advertising, employee turnover, profits, etc. is usually
provided.
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Sales of products
Often the franchisor supplies raw materials and finished products to the franchisee at a profit.
For example, Coke supplies syrup, Holiday Inn supplies furniture and carpeting.
Franchisee benefits
Franchisors provide benefits for the franchisee through initial and continuous services. .
Initial services
There are a number of initial services that franchisors provide for franchisees including
1. Market survey and site selection,
2. Facility design and layout,
Continuous Services
There are also a number of continuous services that franchisors offer to franchisees including
1. Field supervision,
2. Merchandising and promotional materials,
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10. Group insurance plans.
Franchisor advantages/disadvantages
Depending upon which viewpoint one takes (the franchisor or franchisee) there are many
advantages and disadvantages of franchising.
From the perspective of the franchisor, the advantages include
1. Rapid expansion,
Franchisee advantages/disadvantages
From the viewpoint of the franchisee the advantages include
1. Established/proven product/service,
2. Business and technical assistance, and
Franchising trends for the New Millennium
Most of the growth of franchising occurred in the 1980s in the retailing of goods and
services. However, there two basic types of franchising that merit consideration.
The first, product and trade franchising, a common form of retailing in the automobile and
petroleum industry, focuses on what is sold.
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1. Sustained growth,
2. Enduring plus unimagined applications,
Sustained Growth
It is perceived that franchising will continue to grow steadily, a trend begun in the 1980s.
One of the possible explanations for this growth is that franchising offers franchisors rapid
Enduring plus unimagined applications
Today, such things like video yearbooks, house-sitting services, and house calls by doctors
may be owned by franchises.
International expansion
Franchisors are currently exploring foreign markets.
In fact, in 1988 one-sixth of all business-format franchisors had businesses outside the United
States.
Increasing tensions
Despite the overwhelming of franchisors on the whole, there is still a major source of
contention.
That is, franchisor-franchisee relations have witnessed a rise in class-action suits and
arbitration hearings.
Chapter 02 - Types of Retailers
Greater emphasis on financial returns
The main sources of financial returns include: dual operations in which a franchisee may be
permitted to run two or more franchises from a common or adjacent area; reduced costs due
to downsizing; and incentives for ownership.
