Half-Course: Retailing

Course Number 1955

Senior Lecturer José Alvarez
Late Winter, 15 session half-course
1.5 credits
Exam

Introduction

HC: Retailing is a course about delivery mechanisms for consumer goods and services (but, at present, mostly goods). Primarily this means delivery through retail stores, but also by catalog and the web. "Delivery" encompasses all activities of the company that has direct dealings with the consumer, including, but not limited to, buying, storing, merchandising, selling, store siting, expansion strategies, marketing.... Since the course considers all aspects of the management of retail companies, it may be viewed as a general management course more than specifically a marketing course; as part of our case analyses we will cover, at various times, strategy, finance, organization, marketing, competition & even accounting.

Though subject to change, the course currently is organized as follows:

Module 1: Retail Strategy

Retail Positioning looks at a number of companies that have created, or are striving to create, a unique positioning in the minds of consumers. Positioning is what the store stands for in the minds of consumers. To many Americans "Sears" means tools and appliances. They recently tried to adopt a more department store/apparel image, but this failed because the traditional view prevailed. Merchandising is an important element of Positioning and this module will allow us to explore retailers' decisions with respect to pricing, assortment, display and presentation.

Module 2: Procurement and Distribution of Goods and Information

In this module we will focus on the movement of flow of goods and information in a retailing organization. While the issues of logistics and distribution are typically offered in a course on supply chains, the link between flow of goods and information and its consequences for decision making have not been clearly established. We recognize that many of you may know a lot about supply chains and information systems from the elective course in the fall, this module will explore the demands on the supply chain as determined by the need to execute the retail strategy.

Module 3: Retailing Organizations

Between the functions of supplying what customers want and making it available to the consumers in a way that is appealing to them sits the retail organization. This module will be devoted to issues in buying, store operations, and human resource management.

Module 4: Expansion Strategies

Retail Expansion looks at how chains grow. Neiman Marcus already has a department store in most large U.S. cities - so now what can they do? Ahold has saturated the Dutch supermarket business. Now what? Expansion strategies require thought about competition, control and investment return. We will also use this module to explore issues related to real estate strategies given the criticality of location to the success of a retail enterprise.

Module 5: Multichannel Retailing

We close with a couple of cases on managing a multi-channel retailer.

Who Should Take the Course? Traditionally students who take the course are either:

1. interested in consumer goods marketing or
2. expect to be consultants/investment bankers/venture capitalists and want to learn more about one of the biggest sectors of the economy.

It should also be attractive to those who would like a general management course, albeit one focused on a particular industry segment.