Retail Management - Assignment Example

Retail Management Contents Contents 2 Introduction 4 Answer 3 4 Answer 3.2 8 Advertisement 9 Offers and coupons 10 Friendly interaction with the customers 10 Loyalty programs 10 Answer 3.3 11 Conclusion 12 References 14 Introduction Retail management is the way of promoting and selling goods and services by understanding customers in an efficient way. By managing the retail store properly, a company gets an opportunity of satisfying customers. Retail management includes various processes and practices which facilitate customers in purchasing products from a retail stores. Proper management of retail store helps to bring customers. A firm can provide pleasurable experience of shopping to the customers by enhancing the management processes of its retail stores. This assignment aims to describe the retail management of SPAR. It is a multinational retail chain having its retail business in 35 countries of the world. The retail business of SPAR was established in 1932 by Adriaan van Well. Presently the company has around 12,500 retail stores worldwide. Answer 3.1 I am a store manager of SPAR’s retail store in city centre Dublin of Ireland. I work in this retail store of SPAR for last few years. In the second and third year of my job I have considered and implemented some modules which contributed a lot in enhancing the operations and processes of the retail store. The modules comprise of different elements helped me to make the retail business more effective. In the second year of my job the things I have implemented in the business model of the retail store are as follows: HRM in retail Few years ago the retail shop of SPAR in city centre Dublin required some good and efficient employees for dealing with customers effectively. As per the requirement of the store some efficient and capable people were hired who can increase the productivity and sales of the store. Intensive training was provided to them for making them understand the rules and regulations of the company as well as the retail shop. I have encouraged and supported them for interacting with the customers. Training and support programs helped the employees in performing their job efficiently. For the effective HRM policies, the sale of this retail store gradually improved a lot. This motivated all the employees of store to deliver better performance (Price, 2011). Economics Managing the retail store has a strong connecting with economic development of the retail outlet. The retail store of SPAR sells different variety of goods. The income level of Dublin’s people is high. Therefore their disposable income is also high which facilitates this retail store in selling more products. This economic condition helped me in influencing the customers of SPAR for purchasing more products. Store Design RPL Design of a retail store plays a vital role in the sale of its products. I have designed the retail store of SPAR in a very attracting way for which revenue of the stores has increased a lot. The store design of SPAR helps the customers in purchasing their products easily. Technology has been used in the store for making purchase process quick and efficient. By implementing RPL process in designing the store I have controlled the administration processes of this retail outlet (Onkvisit and Shaw, 2009). Retail Management Effective management of the retail store has contributed a lot in increasing its revenue. The employees of the retail shop behave in a very polite way with the customers and assist them in their shopping. This creates a positive image of the brand and also of the store. The employees of this store are often given training for managing any problem within the store. This management system helped the store in attracting many new customers. Therefore this facilitated the growth and development of this retail store. Business Info Systems I have implemented Business information system in the retail store of SPAR. With the help of this system the retail store established a strong communication with all of its suppliers. This contributed a lot in the growth and development of this store. Inventory of the store are managed properly which facilitate the store in increasing its sales. Business information system also benefited the store in passing on information properly to the employees. The store is centrally managed by this system. Customer Care Customers are the important thing of the business. By satisfying the customers a company is able to increase its sales and profit. I improved the customer care department of SPAR’s retail store in city centre Dublin. The customers are treated in such a way by which they feel that they are very important for the store. In case of any problem the employees of the retail store properly co-ordinate with the customers for solving their problems (Picton and Broderick, 2009). A department of customer care has been formed within the retail store. For increasing the revenues and sales of the store I have implemented some more things in the third year of my job. Those things are as follows: Operations Management I improved the operational management of the retail store. Retail operation involves various processes and practices which help the store in maximizing the profit of the store. Cash handling process of the stores was improved which helped the customers and the employees in making the purchase process fast and efficient. Effective operational management system of this retail store helped to prevent shoplifting. Customer service of the store is also improved by its operational management. Buyer Behaviour I analyzed the behaviour of the buyer in a detailed way. This helped me in providing various offers and discount which influence the buyers in purchasing products from this retail store. I trained all the employees in interacting with the customers which will facilitate them in understanding the behaviours of the customers. By this process they are able to establish good bonding with the buyers which help the store in retailing its customers. Financial Management in Retail The retail store of SPAR involves various types of financial activities. Huge amount of transaction takes place in retail stores. Financial management helps a lot in managing the transactions efficiently. As a store manager I controlled different unnecessary expenses which lower the profit of the shop. For achieving the financial target I divided the target among the employees which benefited the employees in performing in a better way (Percy, 2008). This helped the store in achieving its financial goals and objectives. Entrepreneurship and Innovation The skills of entrepreneurship and innovation of retail store employees are enhanced by providing effective training to them. These skills helped the retail store in developing many new processes and practices for attracting and retaining its customers. Both of these skills are needed for the growth and development of any business. Purchasing and Supply Chain Management Managing purchase and supply chain management are some of the important things in retail business. SPAR’s supply chain management system is very effective. It facilitated the store in selling large amount of products. High quality of products is purchased in the retail store which helps to satisfy large number of customers. The efficient management of these systems contributes a lot in increasing the profitability of the store. Answer 3.2 The retail store of SPAR in city centre Dublin is always involved in different types of activities. By this process the awareness of the people regarding the store is increased. In last two years I was involved in a major project of this retail store. As a manager of this store I had to perform various activities and functions for making the project successful. The project was regarding the implementation of sales and marketing plan for the store. This retail store of SPAR was generating less revenue for a particular period of time. This project was implementing for getting connected with the customers and by that way increasing the sale of the store. Some effective sales and marketing plan were established which created a positive impact on the business and increased its revenue (Onkvisit and Shaw, 2009). Sales and marketing plans undertaken by this retail stores are as follows: Advertisement Advertisement of the retail store helped a lot in attracting customers. Different types of advertisements were made for making the customers aware of the retail store and the types of goods this store sells. In the TV commercial ads the type of services which this retail store provides to the customers were highlighted. This helped the viewers to understand that this retail store tries to satisfy its customers at a maximum level. The advertisements were designed in a very interesting way which influenced the viewers in purchasing products from this store. As a store manager I had to select the ad campaign. Before forecasting the ad, I had analyzed the impact it will create on the viewers regarding the retail store and the brand. As per my instruction the selected ad campaign was forecasted in various area of Ireland (Picton and Broderick, 2009). I put a huge effort in improving the processes and practices of the stores which were shown in the advertisements. The commercial advertisement attracted many customers and when they got pleasurable shopping experience in the retail store they became satisfied and continued their shopping. This helped the retail store in increasing its revenue. I have given newspaper advertisement of the retail store. By this process I was able to highlight different offers and discounts which the store was giving. This facilitated the retail outlets in attracting more customers. With the help of newspaper ads the location of the store was also highlighted which made the customers aware of the store location. I have also advertised about the store in various hoardings (Percy, 2008). On those hoarding advertisements attracting offers of the stores mentioned which helped to attract many customers. These different types of advertisement contributed a lot in generating more revenue of the retail store. Offers and coupons For increasing the sale of the retail store I started giving coupons to the customers. This marketing strategy facilitates the store in influencing customers for purchasing more products. I had given offers on the products whose sales were less. Coupons facilitate the customers in purchasing products at a low price. As a result footfall of the customer within the store was increased gradually and this contributed a lot in increasing the revenue of the store. Promotional offers were given during the launch of different products which helped to increase the sale of those products. Friendly interaction with the customers As a store manager I instructed all the staffs of the retail store in interacting with the customers in a friendly way. By implementing this marketing plan I wanted to have proper understanding about the needs and requirements of the customers. According to that understanding I improved the business operations and practices of the retail store which contributed a lot in satisfying the customers. Interaction of the store staffs with the customers created a good bonding among them. By this process the employees became aware which types of goods should be present in the store for attracting more customers. I also guided the employees in solving problems with the customers in an effective way. I always motivated the employees in satisfying the customers by their service and behaviour (Onkvisit and Shaw, 2009). Loyalty programs In the past two years I have conducted some loyalty programs for the customers. With the help of those programs the loyal customers of the retail store were given rewards, gifts and vouchers for purchasing large amount of products for a long period of time. By organizing those programs I tried to satisfy and retain the loyal customers for bringing more business. Those loyalty programs encouraged other customers of the retail store for purchasing many products from this retail outlet. I gave instructions to the employees for conducting the loyalty programs in a successful way. Answer 3.3 Each and every employees of a company need to learn different things for achieving their growth and objectives. Being a store manager I always encouraged the employees in learning new things and implementing those things efficiently. This facilitated the employees in advancing their careers and delivering good performance. For example I spread learning by frequently conducting training and development programs. These programs help the employees in knowing and understanding many new things which will enhance their skills and capabilities. The training and development programs influence the employees in increasing their commitment level towards the organization. The employees have the access to SPAR’s virtual academy from where they can get training materials online. I have continuously insisted the employees to read those materials and gather knowledge regarding the retail business and its processes. Some employees do not feel interested in learning things from book or materials provided for by the company. For this reason I have insisted them in learning various things from their practical experiences. This helped them to learn from real facts. Some theoretical knowledge cannot be implemented in real situations. Therefore by learning from real thing, facilitates the employees in making more practical decisions (Price, 2011). I supported the employees by sharing my knowledge and experience regarding the retail business processes. This learning has motivated the employees in performing their job responsibilities effectively. I conducted meetings with all the employees of the store for discussing the growth and development of the retail outlet. In the meetings I discussed and explained various things with the employees. These facilitated them in learning and knowing many new things which contribute a lot in growth and development of their career. Another important example of spreading learning is Future Leader Programme of SPAR. This program is held annually by the company where staffs of this company from worldwide participated in this program. Practical training is provided in this program with the help of which management skills of the employees are enhanced. This is an important learning program for the company. As a store manager I encouraged the employees in taking part in this program. Future Leader Programme of SPAR mainly focuses on the key aspect of the business, retail operations, strategies, customer service etc (SPAR, 2015). Workshop activities are also a part of this program. Employees learn various things by exchanging their ideas with each others. This learning process is very effective in innovating business process and services. By taking part in this training employee become capable of developing creative ideas for enhancing the productivity of the retail store. I selected the employees who deliver better performance for participating in the training program. They gathered different types of knowledge in Future Leader Programme. After the training I instructed these employees in assisting other employees of the store in enhancing their knowledge and skills. Through all these ways I tried to spread learning within the organization. Conclusion This assignment deals with some of the major contribution of SPAR’s store manager. The store manager of this multinational company has many responsibilities and duties. In this assignment various activities and functions of the store manager of SPAR in city centre Dublin were highlighted. In second and third year of his job the store manager was involved in performing and implementing various functions which helped in the growth and development of the retail outlet. In the assignment it was highlighted that the manager controls various department of the store. He contributes a lot in managing all the processes and operations of the store. He developed and implemented marketing and sales plan of the store. References Onkvisit, S. and Shaw, J., 2009. International marketing: strategy and theory. New York: Routledge. Percy, L., 2008. Strategic integrated marketing communication. Oxford: Elsevier. Picton, D. and Broderick, A., 2009. Integrated marketing communications, 3rd edition. Harlow: FT- Prentice Hall. Price, A., 2011. Human resource management. UK: Cengage Learning. SPAR., 2015. Our People Making the Difference. [Online]. < http://www.spar-international.com/aboutsparinternational/spar-people.html > [Accessed 2 July 2015]. Read More