RETAIL MANAGEMENT

What is management ?
Management refers to the process of bringing people together on a common platform and make them work as a single unit to achieve the goals and objectives of an organization. Management is required in all aspects of life and forms an integral part of all businesses.

Retail management:
The various processes which help the customers to procure the desired merchandise from the retail stores for their end use refer to retail management. Retail management includes all the steps required to bring the customers into the store and fulfill their buying needs. Retail management makes shopping a pleasurable experience and ensures the customers leave the store with a smile. In simpler words, retail management helps customers shop without any difficulty.

Definition
A process of promoting greater sales and customer satisfaction by gaining a better understanding of the consumers of goods and services produced by a company. A typical retail management strategy for a manufacturing business might research the retail process that distributes the finished products created by the business to consumers to determine and satisfy what buyers want and require.

Need for Retail Management - Why retail management ? Peter wanted to gift his wife a nice watch on her birthday. He went to the nearby store to check out few options. The retailer took almost an hour to find the watches. This

irritated Peter and he vowed not to visit the store again.-An example of poor management. You just cant afford to make the customer wait for long. The merchandise needs to be well organized to avoid unnecessary searching. Such situations are common in mom and pop stores (kirana stores). One can never enjoy shopping at such stores. Retail management saves time and ensures the customers easily locate their An effective management avoids unnecessary chaos at the store. Effective Management controls shopliftings to a large extent. The retailer must keep a record of all the products coming into the store. The products must be well arranged on the assigned shelves according to size, Plan the store layout well. The range of products available at the store must be divided into small groups

desired merchandise and return home satisfied.

colour, gender, patterns etc.

comprising of similar products. Such groups are called categories. A customer can simply walk up to a particular category and look for products without much assistance. A unique SKU code must be assigned to each and every product for easy Necessary labels must be put on the shelves for the customers to locate the Dont keep the customers waiting. Make sure the sales representatives attend the customers well. Assist them in The retailer must ensure enough stock is available at the store. Make sure the store is kept clean. Dont stock unnecessary furniture as it gives a The store manager, department managers, cashier and all other employees tracking. merchandise on their own.

their shopping. Greet them with a smile

cluttered look to the store. The customers must be able to move freely. should be trained from time to time to extract the best out of them. They should be well

aware of their roles and responsibilities and customer oriented. They should be experts in their respective areas. The store manager must make daily sales reports to keep a track of the cash Remove the unsold merchandise from the shelves. Keep them somewhere else. Create an attractive display. Plan things well in advance to avoid confusions later on. Ask the customers to produce bills in case of exchange. Assign fixed timings for flow. Use softwares or maintain registers for the same.

the same. Dont entertain customers after a week. Advantages: Performance based conversations Targeted Staff Development Encouragement to staff Rewards staff for a job well done Underperformers identified and eliminated Documented history of employee performance Allows for employee growth Definition of a retail strategy enables areas within the organizations Sales/Marketing Management The definition of a retail strategy enables other areas within the organizations to determine their strategies. Primary among these are: 1) Store Location 2) Merchandising 3) Pricing 4) Marketing The primary areas that is influenced by the business strategy to be adopted by the retailer, is the decision on store location,. For years, experts have argued that the three most important aspects of any retail business were Location, Depending on the business model that is to be

adopted by a retailer, the store location to be chosen. A strategy for tapping the up market consumer requires that the store be located in a place where such a consumer will shop. Similarly for building a model based in discounting may not really require prime locations in which case a lager place may be what is needed. The second factor that is influenced by the strategy is the type of merchandise to be stocked. If the retailer chooses to dominate the market place based on product selection he needs to ensure that he has the largest and widest selection of a product category imaginable or merchandise that is so unique, people will seek out the store. The merchandising strategy has to draw from the overall business strategy to understand and determine the types of products that will be needed in the store and the kind of prices that will have to be determined. The merchandising strategy has to match the selling strategy. Very often, the merchandising strategy is based more on long term vendor relationships or competitive distribution issues than on well thought out business strategy that is written down and communicated throughout the organization. Merchandize strategies should be based on consumer research. Selling strategies should also be based on research, but not merchandise based research that indicates to the retailer what consumers want consumers to buy, but relationship based research which indicates to the retailer how they want to be treated when they buy. Related to the concept of merchandising is the concept of pricing which again is influenced by the business model that the retailer has chosen to adopt. Very often, being the price leader is till a valid strategy. However, it is not necessary to be low price leader. The other and of the pricing spectrum also presents an opportunity. Lastly, the complete marketing strategy adopted by the retailer is a reflection of the overall strategy of the overall business strategy. It is a combination of the advertising, promotions communication, sales staff, the level of customer service and the complete shopping experience offered to the end consumer. The process of strategy formulation in retail is the same as that for any other industry. It starts with retailer defining or stating the mission for the organization. The mission is at the core of the existence of the retailer. The other aspects of the strategy may change over a period of time or may vary for different markets. After defining the mission of the organization, an analysis of the internal strengths and weakness and external threats and

opportunities is undertaken to help management decide on the best way to carry out the organizations mission. The options that can be pursued are then examined and the objectives set. Reality Companies and Retail Investors: The demand for real estate comes from enhanced economic activity as a result of constant growth in GDP over past few years and the optimism that this growth will continue for a few more years. Commercial and housing needs itself in our country is huge. This is due to historical reasons, current size of the population, demographic changes, economic growth and change income levels that we are witnessing. It is estimated that every year for next 25 years or so, about 7 million new small to medium size houses will be needed to take care of demand. When all this young population enters workforce, commercial space is further needed employing them and so on. So there is no debate about the potential of this sector. Before we make a case for investment in real estate it is important to understand the risk return profile of various asset classes. It is important to note some fundamental differences between other markets and real estate markets. Most large markets have ease of transaction and low costs there of which is not the case with real estate market. The table below shows that there is a probability of high return with comparatively lower risk as compared to stock market. However do not forget that if the real estate company shares are listed on stock exchange then one has to combine the profile of shares as well as real estate investment. Investment Avenue Return Volatility Liquidity Risk Stock Market High High High High Bond Medium Medium High Low Bank Deposits Medium Low High Low Precious metals High Medium Medium Low Real Estates High Low Low Medium