Search results

Peter McGoldrick offers some thoughts on generic positioning and some comments on the progress of generics over the last seven years. He also takes up points made by Robert Pieczka in his article in our last issue.

For some years now the technique of setting up “concessions” or shops within shops has been familiar in department stores. But with the closing of Bournes in London's Oxford Street, one of the most extensive practitioners of the technique — doubts began to set in. Dr Peter McGoldrick and his colleagues at UMIST have recently carried out a study into the question of shops within shops, based mainly on consumers' perceptions of them. They found that most retailers have now become more measured in their approach to concessions. It has been recognised that a diversity of names, design formats and staff loyalties may not produce the most coherent or powerful image for the retailer. Awareness of concessions amongst shoppers, however, is rather higher than expected. Younger and more affluent consumers tended to be the most aware, but most shoppers did not express strong preferences between concessions and own departments. The survey concludes that it would be a mistake to assume that concessions are entering a sharp decline — in fact there are signs of considerable growth potential in the superstore and variety store sectors. The major department store groups are however likely to seek even more control over their concessionaires, giving them less autonomy in their design and selling styles.

Discusses individual generic ranges based on a series of interviews with senior personnel in major retail companies. Presents data from a survey of 200 generic purchasers, outlining the methodology and findings. Reveals that, in the UK, conditions are suitable for the development of generic ranges within the grocery sector.

Carrefour in France were (he first retailers to introduce the idea of “produits libres” — or generics, as they came to be called. In this country only three retailers so far include them in their range — International, Carrefour, and Fine Fare. UMIST have carried out a survey into the subject, which indicates that generics are compatible with attempts to upgrade a retailer's quality image, a major objective of some at the present time. In the writer's view, the recession is providing the right conditions for the development of generic ranges — and their appeal is likely to remain.

Recent studies indicate that in recent years customers' price awareness (involving both recall and sensitivity) has diminished, but it is still affected by direct means such as advertising, promotion and display, and also, at a deeper level, by socio‐economic factors. The weak product identification process in which a product's market trends, market performance and financial performance are considered by the manufacturing company are also outlined. The study of price awareness can offer important insights into the consumer buying process, and there is scope for a re‐examination of the effect of pricing in the current retail marketing scene.

In spite of their importance within pricing strategies, “seasonal sales” have received little attention within the literature. The recent interest in “high‐low” pricing has, however, increased the attention given to temporal shifts in store‐wide, rather than item level, prices. Following a brief review, this paper draws upon two case studies of leading retailers of apparel in the UK. Evidence is also presented from audits of pricing and markdown activities over a three‐year period, illustrating some contrasts between stated strategies and actual pricing activities. A cost‐benefit analysis of high‐low pricing requires knowledge of consumer preferences and attitudes. Results are drawn from a study of over 2,600 “sale” shoppers, indicating stated preferences for markdown frequency, depth and coverage. In general “sale” shoppers appear to prefer a variety of markdown levels, increasing their scope to succeed as bargain hunters.

Whereas price was the major marketing weapon in food retailing in the 1960s and early 70s, most food retailers now acknowledge that this has been superseded by other more subtle approaches. From the customer's viewpoint, to what degree is s/he aware of a store's prices, in this changing economic climate? The Economic and Social Research Council sponsored a study in which the two authors set out to measure price awareness levels at two supermarkets in the Manchester area. The differences in awareness that emerged between product groups and between brand types are, the authors claim, “of the utmost importance to retail price makers.”

The librarian and researcher have to be able to uncover specific articles in their areas of interest. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume IV, like Volume III, contains features to help the reader to retrieve relevant literature from MCB University Press' considerable output. Each entry within has been indexed according to author(s) and the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus. The latter thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid retrieval. Each article or book is assigned its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. This Volume indexes 29 journals indicating the depth, coverage and expansion of MCB's portfolio.

Notes that, in the UK, the introduction of unit pricing has been met with fierce opposition. Reveals the empirical results from interviews which were conducted with managers in major grocery retail companies. Also provides data from a price/size audit carried out in five major grocery stores. Concludes that results from both of these indicate that a widespread unit pricing programme would be considered an asset by a significant number of shoppers if this was to be explained adequately.

The Hong Kong department store market offers an example of considerable success in repositioning by international retailers, most notably Japanese. Presents results from a comparative survey of the image and positioning of Mitsukoshi, Sogo and Marks & Spencer. Each of these has, in its own way, adapted its positioning successfully to the particular needs, preferences and opportunities within this market. Given the additional costs and risks associated with international expansion, it is clearly vital to use the available research tools to reduce uncertainties and increase understanding of each competitive context.