Assignment on SRM (08MBAMM312) __________________________________________________________________________________

1. What is retailing? What are the characteristics of retailing? Retailing is a distribution channel function where one organization buys products from supplying firms or manufactures the product themselves, and then sells these directly to consumers.[1] A retailer is a reseller (i.e., obtains product from one party in order to sell to another from which a consumer purchases products Retailers Manufacturer Distributors/Wholesalers Consumers

Retailing also called as the set of business activities that adds value to the products and services sold to consumers for their personal or family use .often people thin! of retailing
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only ass the sale of products in stores but retailing also involves the sale of services overnight lodging in a hotel, a doctor e"am,a hair cut ,a #$# rental ,or a home delivery pizza Retailing involves selling products and services to consumers for their personal or family use. #epartment stores, li!e %urdines and &acy's, discount stores li!e (al) &art and *)&art, and specialty stores li!e +he ,ap, -ewelers and +oys 'R' .s, are all e"amples of retail stores. /ervice providers, li!e dentists, hotels and hair salons, and on)line stores, li!e Amazon.com, are also retailers. &any businesses, li!e 0ome #epot, are both wholesalers and retailers because they sell to consumers and building contractors. 1ther businesses, li!e +he 2imited, are both manufactures and retailers. Regardless of other functions these businesses perform, they are still retailers when they interact with the final user of the product or service.

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Characteristics of retailing Retailing can be distinguish in various ways from other businesses such as manufacturing .retailing differs from manufacturing in the following ways 1 +here is direct end user interaction in retailing. 3 it is the only point in the value chain to provide a platform for promotions 4 sales at the retail level are generally in smaller unit sizes 5 location is a critical factor in retail business 6 in most retail business services are as important as core products 7 there are a large number of retail units compared to other members of the value chain

2. Explain retail industr in !ndia? Explain the role of retail in !ndia?

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8n 8ndia ,the retail sector is the second largest employer after agriculture.[3]+he retailing sector in 8ndia is highly fragmented and consist predominantly of small ,independent and owner 9managed shops there are some 13million retail outlets in 8ndia .beside ,the country is also dotted with low cost !ios!s and pushcarts in 3::1 retail trade in 8ndia was worth Rs 1133;.<billion. +here has been a boom in the retail trade in 8ndia owing a gradual increase in the disposable income of the middle)class households. more and more players in venturing into the retail business in 8ndia to introduce new attractive retail formats li!e malls, supermar!ets, discount stores department store and even changing the traditional loo! of the boo! stores chemist shops, and furnishing stores .food sales constitute a high proportion of the total retail sales .the share was 73.<=in 3::1,worth appro"imately Rs <:4>.3billion,while non)food sales were worth Rs51;>.6billion.however,the non food sales
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retailing sector registered faster year on year growth than food sales. +he retail industry in 8ndia is of late often being hailed as one of the sunrise sectors in the economy. A+ *earney, the well)!nown international management consultancy, recently identified 8ndia as the ?second most attractive retail destination@ globally from among thirty emergent mar!ets. 8t has made 8ndia the cause of a good deal of e"citement and the cynosure of many foreign eyes. (ith a contribution of 15= to the national ,#A and employing <= of the total wor!force (only agriculture employs more in the country, the retail industry is definitely one of the pillars of the 8ndian economy. "he !ndian #cenario$ +rade or retailing is the single largest component of the services sector in terms of contribution to ,#A. [4] 8ts massive share of 15= is double the figure of the ne"t largest broad economic activity in the sector.
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+he retail industry is divided into organised and unorganised sectors.1rganised retailing refers to trading activities underta!en by licensed retailers, that is, those who are registered for sales ta", income ta", etc.+hese include the corporate)bac!ed hypermar!ets and retail chains, and also the privately owned large retail businesses. .norganised retailing, on the other hand, refers to the traditional formats of low)cost retailing, for e"ample, the local !irana shops, owner manned general stores, paan/beedi shops, convenience stores, hand cart and pavement vendors, etc.

.norganized retailing is by far the prevalent form of trade in 8ndia 9 constituting >;= of total trade, while organised trade
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accounts only for the remaining 3=. Bstimates vary widely about the true size of the retail business in 8ndia. A+ *earney estimated it to be Rs. 5,::,::: crores and poised to double in 3::6.3 1n the other hand, if one used the ,overnment@s figures the retail trade in 3::3):4 amounted to Rs. 4,;3,::: crores. 1ne thing all consultants are agreed upon is that the total size of the corporate owned retail business was Rs. 16,::: crores in 1>>> and poised to grow to Rs.46, ::: crores by 3::6 and !eep growing at a rate of 5:= per annum.4 8n a recent presentation, C8DD8 has estimated the total retail business to be Rs. 11, ::,::: crores or 55= of ,#A. According to this report dated Eov. 3::4, sales now account for 55= of the total ,#A and food sales account for 74= of the total retail sales, increasing to Rs.1:: billion from Fust Rs. 4;.1 billion in 1>>7. Cood retail trade is a very large segment of the total economic activity of our country and due to its vast employment potential, it deserves very special focused attention. Bfficiency
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enhancements and increase in the food retail sales activity would have a cascading effect on employment and economic activity in the rural areas for the marginalized wor!ers. +hus even without C#8 driving it, the corporate owned sector is e"panding at a furious rate.

8t is the largest private industry, ahead of finance and engineering, contributing over ;= to the ,#A in the west. 1ver 6: of fortune 6:: and about 36 of the Asian top 3:: companies are retailers .8ndia is li!ely to have over 33: shopping malls by 3::7,the retail business in 8ndia is e"pected to reach Rs1>,:7>.4billion this year. +oday organized retailing
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8n 8ndia is 3= of the total retail business, it is e"pected to 7=by 3::7.

%. Explain trends in retailing? 1. #ocial responsibilit Relatively affluent consumers in affluent countries are increasingly concerned about the impact that companies have on society, which includes the impact on the physical environment, on wor!ers in countries that supply products, and the impact that products have on the consumers who purchase them. [5] +his focus on social responsibility and product safety is li!ely to grow, especially as more consumers become aware of these issues through mass media. 2. &lobal consumer gro'th shifts a'a from the (# #uring the past decade, the e"traordinary growth of consumer spending in the ./ was a driving force for the global economy and for the global retailing industry in particular. Guite the opposite is true in the rest of the world )
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particularly in Asia. 8n Dhina, for e"ample, economic growth has been fueled by e"ports. %. Commoditisation run amo) (e live in an age of great technological innovation. +his has enabled ordinary people to enFoy standards of living unimaginable even to royalty a century ago. 8mprovements in manufacturing efficiency enable the highest Huality products to be sold at amazingly low prices. Dommoditisation ta!es place when consumers view products as essentially undifferentiated other than on the basis of price. +raditionally, basic products were considered

commodities ) petrol, coo!ing oil, basic apparel. Iet today, consumers see electronics, fashion and processed foods as commodities. Avoiding commoditisation, therefore, is becoming one of the signal challenges of our time for global retailers. +hose that differentiate on the basis of something other than price will be the winners of the future.
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*. "he rise of +long tail, retailing /ome of the most successful stories in retailing in recent years have come not so much from industry giants that target the mass mar!et but from smaller chains with a narrower focus +he mass mar!et has become saturated while the population of developed countries has become more fragmented in terms of incomes and shopping behavior. (ithin the mass mar!et, retailers and their suppliers have become highly focused on price competition, thereby driving down margins and failing to provide consumers with clearly differentiated offerings. %ut what is the long tailJ Donsider how consumer income in any country is distributed. 8t resembles bell)shaped curve in what statisticians call a normal distribution. +he middle of this bell is the mass)mar!et, where the greatest share of income e"ists and where most retailers compete. +he ends of the tail are 5smaller, representing a smaller share of
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income. Iet these ends have often been ignored by retailers intention reaping the economies of scale associated with the mass mar!et in the middle. +his is starting to change. As a result of improvements in information technology, it is now possible to operate a portfolio of small, targeted businesses Fust as efficiently as one large business. 0ence, retailers see!ing growth can invest in new businesses along the long tail rather than e"panding e"isting mass mar!et formats. -. "he fight to plant the flag in !ndia 8ndia has become the ne"t big thing for the world's leading retailers. 1n the surface, this seems to represent the triumph of hope over e"perience. 8ndia is, after all, a country with more than a billion people which is moving towards a true mar!et economy. Cor the world's leading retailers, 8ndia is a gamble, but one worth ta!ing. .. Retail in/estment in ser/ices

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As countries grow and achieve economic affluence, consumer spending on goods as a share of ,#A tends to decline, while spending on services grows disproportionately. +his has certainly been the case in developed nations such as the B., -apan and the ./. 8n part, this is due to the higher rate of inflation in)services. +hat, in turn, is due to the lower productivity growth in service industries. +he relative decline in the prices of goods leaves consumers with comparatively more cash to spend on services. Retailers that can successfully sell services related to their core merchandise or simply based on the strength of their brand names, can increase their growth through e"panded share of the wallet. 0. Emerging mar)et in/estment in de/eloped retailers 1ne of the notable aspects of the global economy lately has been the huge surpluses of !ey emerging countries. Dhina, for e"ample, has accumulated K1.5 trillion of foreign currency reserves. Russia and &iddle Bastern oil e"porters have, li!ewise, accumulated vast reserves. 8n the past, such funds
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were normally invested in low)yielding government securities howeverL countries are diverting some of these reserves into investment funds that purchase (estern companies or sizable interests in those Dompanies. 1. Multi2channel integration +he rise of online retailing has ta!en mar!et share from store retailers in some mar!ets. Iet in the ./, 5:=of online retail sales are conducted by store retailers themselves. +he opportunity to create a seamless multi)channel e"perience for consumers e"ists. +he reality, however, is that many store retailers are failing to do this and that most do not integrate their online businesses with their store businesses. 8n addition, store retailers are competing with non)store retailers who own a sizable share of online retailing. +o win this battle, the best retailers will most li!ely focus on enriching the brand e"perience for distinct customer segments across multiple channels. 3. 4ocus on customer experience
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1ne of the leading problems faced by many retailers is ci lac! of differentiation among competitors that leads consumers to view stores as commodities. 1ne way to tac!le this problem is to focus on improving the e"perience of consumers in the store. +his encompasses far more than customer service ) important though that is ) and includes all the elements influencing consumers such as store layout, signage, lighting, service, and the ease and speed of transactions. 156 Retailers as 'orld2class mar)eters 8n the past, manufacturers of fast moving consumer goods (C&D, were considered the leading mar!eters in the world. As retailers became bigger and more powerful, suppliers had to focus more on relationships with their customers than their consumers. +rade spending became more important than mass media advertising. Retailers became the principal holders of relationships with consumers. &oreover, through their sale of private label goods, they became leading suppliers in their
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own right. +oday, some of the world's top retailers are aggressively hiring top mar!eters away from C&D, companies. +heir goal is to become mar!eting powerhouses, to build strong brand identity in order to compete with other retailers and, increasingly, to compete with branded suppliers through private label sales.

*. Explain emergence of organi7ation of retailing? !ntroduction2 Retailing as a concept is not new in 8ndia. 8n fact, it #ates bac! to the period of hard)core traditional formats of retailing that prevailed in the form of 0aats, /handis, Aainth, (ee!ly %azaar and the famous !irana or %aniya !i #u!an.[6]8t is only during recent past that 8ndian retail sector is witnessing a Arocess of Dhange and is poised to undergo dynamic +ransformation. RA, group forays into organized retailing with new and improved formats. 8ndia is now developing into a retail power where both organized and unorganized retail sector compete with each other.
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Aresently the 8ndian retail business employs nearly 31 million Aeople, which is around <= of total employment. "he E/olution of !ndian Retail !ndustr 2Cor 8ndian retailing things started to change slowly in the 1>;:s.+e"tiles sector li!e %ombay #yeing, Raymond's, / *umar's and ,rasim was the first to see the emergence of retail chains. 2ater on, +itan ma!er of premium watches, successfully created on organized retailing concept in 8ndia by establishing a series of Blegant /howrooms. Although, the co)operative stores li!e /uper %azar, *endriya %handar and D/# were already established by that time. Cor long, these remained the only organized retailers, but the later half of the 1>>:s saw a fresh wave of entrants in the retailing business. +his time around it was not the manufacturer loo!ing for an alternative sales channel. +hese were pure retailers with no serious plans of getting into manufacturing. +hese entrants were in various fields li!e)Cood
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(orld, /ubhi!sha and Eilgiris in food and C&D,LAlanet & and &usic (orld in musicL Drossword and Countainhead in %oo!s. "he "raditional Retail 4ormats2 8ndian retail sector is pre) dominantly controlled by traditional and un organized formats of retailing. +hese formats have emerged and developed with the growth of population in the country in rural and semi urban areas, the haatsMwea!ly bazaars e"ist since long time. +he traditional N!irana Nor N%aniya !i #u!anN still enFoy the leadership and commanding position in retail trade. 8n smaller towns and urban areas we may see the power of small family run independent 'mom and pop' store offering a wide range of merchandise mi". +hese store formats are traditional and do not enFoy professionalism. A large number of these stores are family business involving more than one generation. +hese retailers have developed a rapport and goodwill among customers and popularly !nown asN #u!an (ala bhaiya N

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&ostly these stores are managed by family members and in some cases even involve the services of one)two hired wor!ers which depend upon the turnover. 8rgani7ed formats of retailing2 +he last decade have witnessed dynamism in 8ndian retail sectors. $arious urban areas have been the center of attraction wit emergence of different !inds of organized retail formats gaining momentum. 8t is largely due to rising 8ncome, increase purchasing power credit facilities, changing patter of consumer behavior, increased consumer awareness etc.Although the share of organized retailing is mere 4= of the total retail till 3::5,and it has e"pected to be >= till 3:1:. Retailing has emerged as one of the most important sector of 8ndian economy since 1>>:s.A large number of retail model retail formats have come in force offering a wide spectrum of merchandise and services. +he professional orientation and incorporation of various technology)enabled software has offered these retailers better customer relationship
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management, merchandise o offering, store atmosphere and inventory management etc. $arious new and improved formats of Retailing li!e departmental stores, supermar!et, hypermar!et, #iscount stores, convenient stores and even up)mar!et specialty stores are no longer a dream. (e have seen the mushrooming growth and proliferation of these formats of retailing in various metro cities of 8ndia Categor 'ise ma9or retailers$ Categor !nternational Retailers 4ood :&D hut Aizza)Dorner, +,8C, Ruby 9#onald,Eirulas, 0aldiram, %arista, Aizza)DafO Doffee #ay, /agar ratna, (impy, &+R, Rameshwar's !ndian Retailers

;e/erages #ominos,

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+uesday, /ubway, %as!in Robbins

<pparel : sporting goods

%enetton, Dooper 2evis, 2acoste ,

2eeRaymond's, Ei!e,2iberty, Reebo!,Aantaloons,

(oodland, /hoes, *umar, /.

Action

&ar!sP /pencer,/hopper /top, 2ife /tyle

Durables /ony, Ahilips, 2,,$ideocon, %A2, /inger, /amsung, Blectrolu", Eo!ia, &rocer &etro DashPDarry, /hoprite holdings =uxur 2$&0, Bsprit, Dartier
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1nida,

Cood (&#, Eilgirinanz, /ubhi!ha

/watch,+anishH, +itan, #+D %ulgari,

Assignment on SRM (08MBAMM312) __________________________________________________________________________________

Retailing 4ormats in !ndia /ome of the prevalent relating formats in 8ndia include)

Malls 2 &ost malls gives floor space out to individual shops on lease, and these are enticed by the economies resulting from the sharing of cost. 8ndia's largest shopping arcade /pencer Alaza (7::,:::)sH)ft in Dhennai is an e"ample. 8n malls li!e these, the combined brand pull of all outlets is used to create a pull for the mall. ;randed #tores > B"clusive showrooms run by premium brands have been the catalyst in pushing up the 8ndian retail scenario. +his concept is now being used to introduce organized retailing to the second rung towns. &adure ,arments has started setting up e"clusive outlets in cities li!e +richy and +hanFavur.

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Departmental #tores > #epartmental stores are e"pected to ta!e over the apparel business from e"clusive brand showrooms, for e"ample * RaheFa's /hoppers /top.

#pecialt

#tores > +hese types of stores generally

concern on a specific area of mar!et as chain such as *ids *emp and &umbai based boo! retailer Drossword has gain popularity in their segments. -. Explain retail location and la out plan? #efinitionQ A space you lease for the selling of goods to consumers is called as retail location Retail space comes in a variety of shapes and sizes and may be located in free)standing buildings, enclosed malls, strip shopping centers, downtown shopping districts, or mi"ed)use facilities. [5] Iou will also find retail space in airports and other transportation facilities, hotel lobbies, sports stadiums, and temporary or special)event venues.

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(hen it comes to business, retailers have one overall goalQ to sell merchandise. +hat's why they focus on sales floor space, adeHuate par!ing for customers, and an overall image that draws in customers. 1f secondary interest to many retail operations are office space and storage reHuirements, since most inventory is on the sales floor. !mportance of location decision 8nvolves large capital investment Affects transportation costs Affects human resource cost Affects the amount of customer traffic Affects the volume of business " pes of retail location ?lanned shopping centers Regional shopping centers or malls Eeighborhood Mcommunity shopping center /pecialized mar!ets
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Aeriodic mar!ets 4ree standing stores Eeighborhood stores 0ighways stores (nplanned business districts /centers #owntown or central business district /econdary business district Eeighborhood business district /uburban business district =a out ?lan +he last element which is integral to the internal loo! of the store is the store layout. /imply put, the layout of the store is the manner in which merchandise or products have been arranged in a retail store. 8t helps the movement of the customer within the store. An ideal layout stro!es the balance between the merchandise to be displayed and productivity. A layout is li!e a plan for the store. 8t is meant to aid movement and flow of customers, so that they move through
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the entire store. Areas within the store need to be demarcated as prime selling areas, impulse merchandise areas, destination areas and seasonal or special merchandise areas. %y balancing the destination areas the impulse buying areas, the flow of the traffic through the store can be directed. +he entrance are of the store is often referred to as the ?decompression zone@ or the ?transition zone@. +his is the area near the entrance to the store. (hen the customer enters the store, he is ma!ing a transition to a new environment. &erchandise placed right near the entrance is usually lost on the customer entering the store. At this point, he is adFusting to the new environment and very rarely does buying occur right there. /ales staff greeting the customers with a pleasant R&ay 8 assist youJ' may more often be met with a prompt REo' as a reply. +he retailer needs to understand it at this point, the customer is still ta!ing in the environment of the shop, he may have a predefined list of items to buy or may Fust have

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come there to browse around. 0e needs to be given to adFust to the new environment before trying to sell him products. +he Huestion that then arises is, why should retailer stoc! merchandise in this part of the store what can he do with the transition zoneJ /ince retail space is premium, it needs to be utilized. Retailers use this zone to sell deeply discounted merchandise, or put up a power display, offer the customer a coupon, a bas!et, or simply sell products li!e flowers. &any stores also start displaying selling seasonal products before the main section of the store. +he Amarsons store in %andra , &umbai, sells seasonal merchandise li!e raincoats, umbrellas, torans, divas and artificial flowers in area before the main entrance to the shop. +his allows customers to adFust to the environment. 1nce the customer has passed this decompression zone, he would on most occasions, turn right. +he cash wrap or billing counters are usually placed to the left and high impulse merchandise placed near these counters. +he cash counter is
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the place where the retailer has a captive audience in the customer and it is here that most of the impulse sales are made . +he layout of the store would vary across retailers. 8n

some cases, the high demand merchandise may be placed at the rear end of the store, so that the customers will move through there and the merchandise before they reach the reHuired merchandise. " picall 6 store la outs ma be classified intoQ S ,rid S Race trac! and, S Creeform &rid la out +he grid layout is the one most commonly used in supermar!ets and discount stores. (hile one area of display is along the walls of the store, the other merchandise is displayed parallel manner. 8t allows for movement within the area and
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uses space effectively. 8t is therefore, a preferred layout in many retail stores that adopt self)service.

Race "rac) la out +he race trac! layout is also called the loop layout. As the name suggests, display is in the form of a racetrac! or a loop, with a maFor aisle running through the store. +he asile provides access to various shop)in)shops or departments within the store. +his layout is popularly found in department
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stores. /econdary aisles within each section may lin! individual merchandise sections within the departments.

4reeform la out

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8n a free form, merchandise is arranged in an asymmetrical manner. 8t allows free movement and is often used in department stores to encourage people to browse and shop. is type of a layout may not allow for ma"imum utilization of the retail space available.(hile there is no standardized principle as to what needs to be a layout for a particular type of store, a retailer may choose the same on the basis of the target customer that he chooses to serve the general image and loo! that he wishes to create for the store. Aopular form ostentation of merchandise is termed as the boutiHue layout, wherein the sales floor is segregated in terms of various areas, with each area focusing on a particular theme. +he entire store may bear

.. Explain career in retailing? Retail is a people)centric industry, and is one industry which can. /imultaneously e"pose you to many s!ills and
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disciplines. [5] 8t offers many choices in terms of a career, chief among them beingQ

;u ing and Merchandising &erchandising and buying is often termed as a combination of art and statistics. 8t is a !ey function for any retailer as this department is responsible for the procurement of merchandise to be sold in the stores by sourcing it from vendors or manufacturers. *ey tas!s in this career area include selection of vendors, costing of merchandise procured, allocation of merchandise to the stores, developing distribution plans and calculating gross margins. A !ey aspect to be remembered is that very often, it may reHuire e"tensive traveling to locate vendors and e"clusive merchandise for the retail stores. Mar)eting

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8n retail mar!eting, functions may be centralized and may include different departments li!e advertising, sales promotion and publicMpress relations. &ar!eting would also loo! at ways of understanding the customer and his behavior by way of focus groups and analyzing of customer buying patterns to develop strategies and plans that guide mar!eting components li!e ads, websites, store signage, etc. +he size of the retail organization would determine whether the various functions would be in one department or would be divided into various combinations. #tore 8perations Retail professionals in the store operations career area oversee overall store operations and profits. Aositions include 0ead of /tore 1perations, Regional &anager and #istrict &anager, and responsibilities in this area may include managing staff functions li!e loss prevention andMor human resources. Responsibilities in operations may vary from being responsible for a department, floor, the entire store or for a
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group of stores. /uccessful store managers have the ability to lead and motivate employees as well as have an eye for detail. /tore management involves all the disciplines necessary to run a successful business. #ales $ery often, sales are considered as a part of store operations. Areas in sales include positions li!e sales associate, cashier, store stoc! associate and stoc! receiver. (hile the primary duty of a sales staff is to serve customers on the selling floor, actually selling goodsL front)end sales staff may also be involved in receiving merchandise into the store, counting it and then displaying it on the store shelf. Responsibilities would also include receiving merchandise returned by customers. +hese front)end positions need the ability to deal with people, fle"ibility and importantly, the ability to wor! in teams. $ery often, a sales position may be the entry position in retail. 1n the other hand, a cashier would wor! behind the cash register des! and would be responsible
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for billing of the merchandise purchased by the customer and the collection of the reHuired amount of money. &any organizations would see! to train persons across functions in sales 4inance +he finance retail career area includes all accounting and treasury functions li!e accounting for income, paying e"penses, compiling and maintaining financial records, money management and cash flow control, ban!ing, investment and credit lines. Auditing of stores for merchandise and money may also be a part of the responsibilities of this department. (ith the rapid development of retail in the country, understanding and implementing proFect finance may also emerge as a !ey area of responsibility in the ne"t few years. @uman Resources 0uman Resource in retail may range from recruiting and hiring employees to larger areas li!e@ identifying training
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needs at various levels within the organization and then designing and implementing the programmers. Responsibilities may also include overseeing compensation and benefits, and planning for and ensuring legal compliance in hiring and employment practices. 8t is necessary to remember that retail is a people focused business, but at the same time, it calls for long wor!ing hours at both the front and bac! end. +he human resource needs to understand these aspects of the retail business while creating and implementing performance appraisals and Aromotions. "echnolog and E2commerce Retail is one of the most mature users of information technology. Crom RC8# implementation to e) commerce websites, technology needs to be geared to tac!le comple" inventory systems, from technology)driven training programs delivered over satellites or the 8nternet to state)of)the)art cash register and credit systems. Dareers in this department may range from overall responsibility for the data processing
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efforts

within

the

chain,

including

systems

design,

programming, computer operations and information systems (8/ . /ystems development may be another area, which would responsible for programming one segment of the business such as merchandising, finance or logistics. A retailer who has a presence in the e)commerce segment may also loo! for 8ndividuals who may be responsible for strategy development, procurement of merchandise and the fulfillment orders and payments as specific areas.

Aisual Merchandising $isual merchandising is largely associated with creating the loo! of the store. $isual merchandisers are responsible for the total merchandise or service presentation, the overall business image, and even the building and placement of design elements. +he increase in competition has necessitated
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retailers to differentiate themselves from the competition. (hile products and services are the primary methods of differentiation, visual merchandising is fast becoming an area of differential advantage, as it is believed that attractive displays attract and stimulate, which in turn is believed to create increased sales.

#uppl Chain Management and =ogistics /upply chain management and logistics are fast emerging as !ey focus areas in retail. /upply chain management is the integrated management of the flow of materials and products, services and information from raw material suppliers, through operations, to the final customer, and bac! again. /upply chain management and logistics is an integral factor affecting cost. Bffective management of the supply chain enhances profitability. #epending on the size of the organization, a Fob in supply chain management may involve analyzing and negotiating contracts with suppliers, manufacturers andMor
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distributors, capacity and production planning, resource allocation destination. and facility location and scheduling the transportation and logistics of productsMservices to their final

References B1C TRetailing Management TMichael le/ : <9a ?andit6 sixth Edition

B2C TRetail Management T Chethan ;a9a9

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B%C D4D! in !ndiaEs Retail #ector More ;ad than &ood?F ; Mohan &urus'am www.cpasind.com %rowsed on 3;M1:M3::> B*C TRetailing Management T #'apna ?radhan6 "hird Edition [-] http$//'''.managementparadise.com %rowsed on 3;M1:M3::>

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