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Large supermarkets, chain stores and enterprises with large-scale warehousing put forward higher standards and requirements for the automation and informatization of warehouses. As one of the fast-growing commercial supermarkets in China, the traditional warehouse management mode has restricted the rapid development of Yonghui Superstores to a certain extent. The purpose of this paper is to find out how the existing warehouse mode can be changed and to solve the existing problems of warehouse management of Yonghui Superstores.

This research puts forward construction of warehouse center, which is based on radio frequency identification (RFID) and sensor technology, then designs the model for receiving, storage, operations management, distribution and outbound to solve the existing problems of warehouse management of Yonghui Superstores.

What technologies should be adopted to meet storage requirements? How to monitor the storage environment in real time and improve the operation and management level of the warehouse? This study found that building a warehouse center based on RFID and sensor technology was a good solution.

The Yonghui Superstores warehouse center model lacks corresponding simulation experiments, and the investment and income are difficult to estimate quantitatively.

This paper has designed and discussed the warehouse center model based on RFID and sensor technology, which provides a few references for the actual investment and construction of a warehouse center. In addition, the warehouse center model has strong generalized applicability and could be widely used in various enterprises.

The warehouse center could improve the warehouse management level of Yonghui Superstores and change the traditional warehouse management mode. To some extent, it improves the enterprise flexibility of the market, which will be of great significance to improve business efficiency and enhance brand image and competitiveness.

This study takes Yonghui Superstores as a case to analyze the problems of warehousing management in detail and then designs a warehouse center based on RFID and sensor technology. The study discusses the location and distribution, software and hardware selection, benefits evaluation, significances and return on investment, which makes the warehouse center model versatile, technically feasible and economically applicable.

This article assesses the specific employment opportunities for women in the retail superstore. The result of a sample survey (part of a wider study of retail employment) are compared with the responses to comparable questions from the Department of Employment survey of the late 1970s. The focus is on three areas: occupational segregation in a changing retail environment; female employment and life cycle stage; and female attitudes towards employment.

The nature of retail service varies from personal service to the provision of greater ambience. Indeed, anything that adds value to the merchandise itself can be considered part of the service provided by the retailer. The focus of this paper is on that part of retail service that involves direct interactivity between the store and the customer. There are two main types of physical interactivity, namely personal service and store design and atmosphere. This paper aims to develop constructs of these two types of interactivity and analyse their impact on store loyalty. An extra dimension is added to this study by contrasting the role of service between superstores and traditional specialist stores in two retail categories. A key finding was that the major difference between the service provided by superstores compared to traditional specialist stores relates to store design and atmosphere. This leads to the suggestion that the recent wave of superstores has ushered in a new paradigm of retail service, one with elevated emphasis on self‐service principles. A further finding was that store design and atmosphere was one of the more important determinants of store loyalty. The paper shows that superstores have revolutionised the nature of retail service, mainly by more effective configuration of self‐service, mediated through store design.

In the early 1990s, several new entrants extended “category‐killer, big‐box” retailing concepts to the marketing of used vehicles. Despite promise, each entrant has either exited the market or changed its business plan. Based on both primary and secondary data, the authors find that, although the superstore maintains some advantages over traditional used‐vehicle retailers, it has cost disadvantages over the traditional retailer. These findings on both the demand and the supply side of the business explain the observed market failures.

In the May/June 1982 issue of RDM we published an article by Stuart Eliot of UMIST which discussed the contribution that superstores can make to inner city areas. In this article Leigh Sparks develops some of the points made by Stuart Eliot, and in particular discusses the employment and locational policies of superstore retailers in more detail. However, there are considerable costs involved for retailers in opting for inner city location, as has already been pointed out by more than one major retailer. Occupancy costs — especially rates and car‐parking — are considerably more than the same costs in an edge‐of‐town location. There are also indirect costs in terms of the greater risks arising out of vandalism and shrinkage. Distribution and handling costs are, in general terms, lower in single‐storey stores which are more suited to edge‐of‐town locations. But, argues Leigh Sparks, why should retailers be expected to pay the cost of the government's inner city dilemma? The government should recognise the contribution that inner city superstores can make in employment and social terms, and extend inducements to retailers by way of capital expenditure and rates allowances.

Explores the economic advantages of superstore (food and non‐food) development especially to the consumer. Looks at the increasing difficulties facing superstore retailers and developers in the UK. Provides some recommendations for superstore retailers and developers. Concludes that superstore and retail parks enhance retail competition and thus are of benefit to the consumer.

In a case study at Waterlooville, Hants, parking is top of two lists of “hindrances” and “helpful factors” viewed by other retailers in the light of superstore competition. Alan Hallsworth draws the conclusion that superstore competition can again be confirmed as not “paramountly important” in the minds of other traders.

Superstores, convenience stores, supermarkets, limited line stores, the future for own brand and generic products, the growth in DIY, the non‐food sector. All these subjects are covered by John Allan of Fine Fare who puts his assessment of the market within the context of the developments of the last decade and his predictions for the next. Also tackled are such questions as the fate of the department stores and specialist multiples and chain stores, as well as the prospect for in‐home shopping. This paper was presented to the Oyez IBC conference, “Retailing in the Eighties” in London recently.

In recent years a great deal of information has been collected and published (much of it in this journal) on the perpetually contentious issue of the hypermarket and the superstore — their effect on other forms of retailing, their capacity to reduce operating costs and therefore prices, their impact on the consumer. Many generalisations have also been made about the attitudes of local authorities to these large‐scale units, and some leading hypermarket operators have made bitter accusations against local authorities for endlessly protracted planning negotiations which inevitably lead to increased construction costs. But little information has been gathered up to now (so far as we know) on the precise attitudes of planning authorities, and little attempt has been made to define the highly variable range of responses which they have expressed over the years. This study by Jennifer Sumner and Keri Davies of St David's University College sets out to throw light on this murky area. The broad trend is one of increasing acceptance of the superstore, but not of the hypermarket. In general the attitude to large‐scale retailing developments seems vague and non‐committal, with some councils adopting the attitude of “we won't worry about the problem until it arises.” But the authors believe that trends are changing and that, with further co‐operation between developers and planning authorities, an agreeable compromise could be made.

The growth of the hypermarket and superstore has been one of the retail phenomena of the past few years. Peter Jones estimates that in the UK these large units have provided gross floorspace equivalent to 20 shopping centres the size of Brent Cross. Looking at future trends, he suggests there may be a polarisation between the large hypermarket selling both food and non‐food, and the smaller superstore concentrating on high volume food sales. This is an edited version of a paper Peter Jones presented to an URPI conference on “Retail Planning in the 1980s” earlier this year. A full report on the conference will be published by the unit later this year.