KARPAGAM INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

SECOND INTERNALS (FIFTH TRIMESTER)
SUBJECT: RETAIL MANAGEMENT

TIME: 3 HRS

Date: 27/01/2011 (Forenoon)

SUBJECT CODE: MBA 09 M 05

MARKS: 100
PART-A (10*2=20)

ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS:

1) Define Retail format.
2) Define the unorganized retail format?
3) What are the formats in Indian organized Retail sector?
4) Brief about specialty stores.
5) Write about Retail external atmospherics.
6) Write about visual merchandising.
7) Brief about Retail location.
8) How will you prevent the theft of Inventory?
9) Brief about merchandise management.
10) Define Online Retail.
PART-B (5*12=60)
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
11) Briefly overview the organized and unorganized Retailing in India?
12) Explain about Retail service quality management?
13) Explain about Retail supply chain management?
14) Illustrate the Retail pricing decisions?
15) Write in brief about Merchandise management?

16) Explain in brief about Retail Inventory management?

17) What is space management? Explain in detail
18) Brief about Online retailing?
PART-C (1*20=20) CASE STUDY
THE STORE FACADE:
When a customer goes shopping, it is the faade of the store that makes him or her decide
whether to enter or not. It is the store faade that creates a lasting impression in the customers
mind. A combination of elements such as design and ambience, product and service offerings to
help form an image of the store. This retail identity impacts customers to a large extent.
For example, the faade of the Harrods store is instantly identifiable because of its
distinctive architecture. The store is not a museum, but customers know a Harrods store from afar!
It is hence important for the store to say something about itself.
In creating an identity for the faade, a retailer has to ask himself these questions:
What does my faade tell my customers?
Does it have a distinct identity?
Does it have distinguishable features to set it apart from others in the category?
Is the faade in tune with the understanding of the target profile of customers?
Lets now take a look at how strong identities are created. Nike is an ideal example. The Nike
swoosh and its Just Do It slogan have become so synonymous with the brand that its retail stores
even in India can sport just the swoosh in the signage for customers to identify the brand! The
identity is so strong that it just swooshes customers in. McDonalds is yet another example of a
great faade identity that has taken deep root in customers minds. The red running all through the
frontage creates the characteristics faade of McDonalds and the significant yellow M on its own
style beckons the customer.
The faade identity helps a retail store in the following ways:
A great faade invites customers silently: When it comes to facades extending a silent invitation
for the customer to enter the store, we find an excellent example in Bata stores, especially in India.
The Bata faade stands distinct with its red-and-white logo and unique show windows. The Bata
show windows are known for the unique way in which they display merchandise with a seasonal
motif, punctuated with its odd price points.

A great faade makes the store memorable: The look and feel of the store is exemplified in the
faade itself and one immediately knows whether the store matches the requirements of its target
customer profile. The stronger elements of store design- which creates an impact on the greatest
number of people, including passersby are embedded in the faade. Its design integrity makes a
store memorable.
A great faade creates top-of-the-mind awareness of the store among customers: A lasting
impression is created in the minds of the customers when the faade of the store has distinctive
features. And consistency is faade design makes recall easier. The McDonalds storefront is one
such example.
A great faade conveys what is in store: Theres a saying that the face is the index of the mind.
A great faade conveys the promises the store holds for its customers; a Disney store means fun
and frolic and this is writ large on its faade. The largest Disney store in Japan features a nighttime
light show set to popular Disney songs on its faade!
The Scenario in India
The concept of retail identity (rather than just faade identity) is yet to take shape in India. What
makes creating an identity difficult in India is the real estate oriented nature of the business. More
often than not, retail stores are built by real estate developers, for whom retailing is just one among
various activities.
As store planning and design concepts have not evolved in India in a professional way, it is the
architect of the building who dictates the look of the store, or the advertising agency that design the
image elements. Managers change, and so do the advertising agencies hired by the retailers.
Identities too undergo drastic changes whenever their custodians change. Customers are therefore
confused as a result of this lack of consistency.
An important fixture in the store faade is the security guard in his own agencys uniform instead of
a greater! These security personnel scan customers belonging at a counter adjacent to the
entrance. This often drives away the happy frame of mind that customers have when they go
shopping. It is important to detail every element of the faade identity to create a lasting impression
and thus ensure that customers visit again and again.
Question for Discussion
1. What factors should retail stores consider while designing the store faade?
2. Discuss importance of the store faade identity in the retail business
3. What is your opinion should organized retail stores in India do to create the required store
faade identity for themselves?