DYMOCKS – PHYSICAL vs. ONLINE STORE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The book retailing industry is going through a very difficult time in these days. According to some researches, what happened in the music retailing industry is happening to the book industry with a 3-5 years of delay: customers are more and more buying physical or e-books online, rather than going down to stores. Due to this change in the reading and buying habits, physical stores chains, like Dymocks, is losing customers and significant profit. Although Dymocks was the biggest bookseller company in Australia during the last decade, it is now struggling to keep its stores and the chain profitable.
This paper focuses on Dymocks’ difficult business situation and proposes an integrated research project which can provide important information for the top management of the company to make a decision: should Dymocks keep its store chains, close them down or keep some of the stores and close the majority.
According to our estimation, such a research project would take around 3 months. In order to stay in a limited budget, the research would start with a thorough secondary data analysis. This would be followed by interviews with former heavy-buyer end-users from Dymocks’ database. With the data answers collected, a structured and detailed questionnaire would be developed both for online (internet) and off-line (in store) application.
Upon analysis of the gathered information and reporting, it would be essential and sufficient for Dymocks to make a strategic business decision about necessary steps to remain competitive in the business.
BUSINESS RESEARCH PROJECT
DYMOCKS – PHYSICAL vs. ONLINE STORE
1. INTRODUCTION
The objective of this group assignment is to develop an understanding of research methods for business in decision making. It limits to qualitative research methodology with fewer selected methods to investigate the management problem.