RETAIL MANAGEMENT
The word 'retail' is derived from the French word 'retailer' meaning 'to cut a piece off’ or ‘to break bulk'. In simple terms it involves activities whereby product or services are sold to final consumers in small quantities. Although retailing in its various formats has been around our country for many decades, it has been confined for a long time to family owned corner shops.
Retail marketing is an essential component of an overall marketing strategy. It supports the use of external marketing campaign efforts including advertising, events and promotions. Retail marketing tactics include in-store signage, copies of newspaper sales circulars, coupons, demonstrations and in-aisle promotions and displays. Effectively executed, retail marketing serves to "close" the sale once shoppers come inside the store. Incentives and navigational devices are strategically used to sell specially advertised products and cross-sell additional products and services.
Englishmen are great soccer enthusiasts, and they strongly think that one should never give Indians a corner. It stems from the belief that, if you give an Indian a corner he would end up setting a shop. That is how great Indians retail management skill is considered.
The Facts Retailing in more developed countries are big business and better organized that what it is in India. Report published by McKinsey & Co. in partnership with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) states that the global retail business is worth a staggering US $ 7 trillion. The ratio of organized retailing to unorganized in US is around 80 to 20, in Europe it is 70 to 30, while in Asia it comes to around 20 to 80. In India the scenario is quiet unique, organized retailing accounts for a mere 5% of the total retail sector. Although there are around 5 million retail stores in India, 90% of these have a floor space area of 500 sq.ft. Or less. The emergence of organized