Table Of ContentRetail Product Management
Retail Product Managementintroduces students to the product management process and gives an insight
into the operations and practices used by retailers to achieve their product strategy objectives. Blending
theoretical approaches from a number of management perspectives, including marketing, purchasing
and logistics, this text illustrates the breadth of knowledge that retail product managers need to
undertake this complex managerial task.
Thoroughly revised and updated since the first edition, this important text integrates theory and
practice using a broad range of up-to-date case studies and practical examples from a variety of retail
sectors. This text:
■ uses photos, figures, tables and conceptual diagrams to support key ideas;
■ examines the practical elements of product management;
■ incorporates important new chapters covering topics such as the relationship between the product
range and promotional activity and retailers’ response to consumer demands;
■ integrates discussions on the relationship between the product and its selling environment and the
overall retail brand.
Retail Product Managementbuilds on the foundations of the highly successful last edition and provides
readers with a comprehensive and accessible introduction to this important subject.
Rosemary VVarley is a senior lecturer within the Department of Management and Marketing at the
Huddersfield University Business School, where she teaches a wide range of retail management and
marketing modules. Prior to her academic career, she worked in product management and buying in a
variety of retail sectors.
Retail Product
Management
Buying and
merchandising
Second edition
Rosemary Varley
First published 2001
by Routledge
2 Park Square,Milton Park,Abingdon,Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave,New York,NY 10016
Reprinted 2001,2002,2003 (twice),2004 (twice)
Second edition 2006
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
© 2001,2006 Rosemary Varley
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
All rights reserved.No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic,mechanical,or other means,
now known or hereafter invented,including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system,without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record of this book has been requested
ISBN10:0–415–32714–8 ISBN13:0–415–32714–5 (hbk)
ISBN10:0–415–32715–6 ISBN13:0–415–32715–2 (pbk)
Contents
List of figures xiii
List of tables xv
List of boxes xvii
List of case studies xix
Preface xxi
Acknowledgements xxiii
Introduction xxv
Chapter map xxviii
Part II UNDERSTANDING RRETAIL PPRODUCT MMANAGEMENT 1
1 INTRODUCTION TTO RRETAIL PPRODUCT MMANAGEMENT:
SCOPE AAND CCONCEPTS 3
Introduction 3
Products 3
A product defined 4
Retail product sectors 4
The role of product management in retailing 6
The strategic role of product management 6
The strategic role of the product range 8
Retail positioning 9
Price positioning 13
The scope of retail product management 14
Retail product management: an evolving discipline 15
Summary 17
Questions 19
References and further reading 19
2 THE RROLE OOF RRETAIL PPRODUCT MMANAGERS 21
Introduction 21
Retail buying organisations 21
CONTENTS
The retail product management process: a traditional view 22
Complexity of buying tasks 24
Limitations of the traditional buying process models 25
Consumer-led approaches to retail product management 25
Centralised retail buying organisations 28
Decentralised buying 30
Buying organisation managerial roles 31
Additional buying decision-makers 34
Buying committees 36
Desirable attributes in retail product managers 39
Buying groups 41
Summary 41
Questions 43
References and further reading 43
3 CATEGORY MMANAGEMENT 45
Introduction 45
Category management 46
Category management as a philosophy 46
Category champions 47
The category management process 47
Product category lifecycles 50
The role of the category within the retailer’s total assortment 52
Establish the performance measures for the category 52
Formulate a strategy for the category 53
The category mix 53
Category management as an organisational concept 53
Category management and efficient consumer response (ECR) 54
Category management limitations 59
Summary 60
Questions 62
References and further reading 63
Part III THE RRETAIL PPRODUCT MMANAGEMENT PPROCESS:
FROM CCONCEPTION TTO DDELIVERY 65
4 PRODUCT RRANGE PPLANNING AAND SSELECTION 67
Introduction 67
The product range 67
The assortment plan (model stock list) 69
Considerations for the assortment plan 70
Products and consumers 72
The influence of consumer trends on the retail offer 72
New product development 75
The product selection process 76
vi
CONTENTS
Product selection criteria 76
The product specification 81
Brand 82
Retailer branding 82
Concessions 84
Price/value as a product feature 85
Monitoring the product range 85
The product range review 85
Tracking product/market trends 86
Exercise: retailer branding 87
Summary 87
Questions 89
References and further reading 89
5 MANAGING TTHE SSUPPLY BBASE 91
Introduction 91
Types of supplier 91
The supplier search 94
The choice of supplier 97
Supplier development 99
Supplier evaluation and monitoring 100
Retailer–supplier relationship development 101
The interaction approach 102
Stages of development in retailer–supplier relationships 104
Supply chain management 105
Summary 107
Questions 108
References and further reading 108
6 PRODUCT QQUANTITY DDECISIONS AAND SSTOCK MMANAGEMENT 110
Introduction 110
Stock management 110
Stock management for staple items 111
Stock management by periodic review 111
The economic order quantity (EOQ) 112
The need for stock investment 115
Stock management systems 115
Sales forecasting 116
The involvement of branch stores in determining quantities 120
Forecasting at distribution centre level 121
The merchandise budget plan 121
Summary 125
Exercise: forecasting the sales of a staple product 126
Questions 127
References and further reading 128
vii
CONTENTS
7 MANAGING TTHE RRESPONSE TTO SSALES 130
Introduction 130
Response 130
Sales-based ordering (SBO) 131
Automatic replenishment 131
Efficient consumer response (ECR) and quick response 132
Supplier involvement in responsive replenishment systems 133
Collaborative planning forecasting and replenishment (CPFR) 133
Drawbacks of sales responsive replenishment systems 134
Supplier-managed inventory 135
Strategic response to sales 136
Summary 137
Questions 138
References and further reading 139
Part IIII THE RRETAIL PPRODUCT MMANAGEMENT PPROCESS:
IMPLEMENTATION AAND EEVALUATION 141
8 ALLOCATING RRETAILSPACE TTO PPRODUCTS 143
Introduction 143
Space management 143
The space management process 144
Stage 1: measuring retail space 144
Stage 2: dividing the space into selling areas 144
Stage 3: determining the layout and deciding on product adjacencies 147
Stage 4: allocating space to individual products 149
Practical and customer considerations 153
Space allocation systems 155
Space allocation and category management 156
Store grading 157
Trial and error 158
Summary 158
Exercise: Maltmans 159
Questions 161
References and further reading 161
9 RETAIL DDESIGN 163
Introduction 163
Outlet design 163
Formulating a store design 164
Materials 165
Atmospherics 166
Lighting 168
Signage 169
Store design and the corporate image 169
viii
CONTENTS
The exterior design 170
Location 173
Store image 173
The retail brand 174
Lifestyle retailing 174
Planning retail designs 174
Flagship stores 176
The strategic role of store design 178
Summary 179
Questions 180
References and further reading 180
10 VISUAL MMERCHANDISING 182
Introduction 182
The scope of visual merchandising 182
Visual merchandising planning systems 183
Responsibility for visual merchandising within the retail structure 184
Visual merchandising as a support for a positioning strategy 185
Fixtures and fittings 185
Product presentation 188
Store layout 189
Displays 191
Window displays 196
Visual merchandising in non-store retailing 197
Summary 197
Questions 197
References and further reading 198
11 COMMUNICATING TTHE PPRODUCT OOFFER 199
Introduction 199
Retailer to customer communications 200
Retail communication channels 201
Advertising 201
Product specific promotional communications 203
Promotional product planning 204
Strategic product communications 205
Publicity 206
Personal communications 207
Communications through packaging 208
Integrating product related communications 209
Internal communications 209
Retailer–supplier related issues 210
Co-operative promotional campaigns 212
Evaluation of product related communications 212
Summary 212
ix
