You need answers to :-

•What are main factors that create a potential threat to your retail operation?

•Which threats are most serious to your future retailing operation?

•What changes could take place that could threaten your business?

6.Priorities Your Actions

Having carried out a SWOT analysis on your business you now need to priorities your findings. You will need to make your decision bases on response you believe you will get from your team and their capabilities. You will also need to take into consideration your economic situation and your technical skills and abilities.

7.Consider Human Reaction to Change

How will your team respond to change and how will you measure their response. Consider whether you will need to involve your customers and how you will involve your team.

You probably need to do a professional selling approach when you address issues with your team.

8.Consider Your Financial Position

How will change effect your retail business? Why should change be made, will they reduce costs, increase profits or both and will increase your market share?

What are major indicators that financial decisions have to be made?

Do you have to resources to make economic changes?

9.Understand Technical Considerations

You need to evaluate how technical developments will enhance your business, especially as far as customers is concerned.

Do you have internal resources to deal with technical changes and does your team have knowledge and understanding to deal with changes.

10.Carry Out a Critical Examination o Main Areas you Plan to Change

A critical examination is where you critique each development change in detail. You must examine all information available to you and ask:

What When Where Who How and Why

It is critical that all aspects are examined.

Management Memo

When analysing change in your retail business you only need to look at internal aspects of your business, you also need to develop a Positioning Statement.

You need detailed, accurate answers to:

Out customer are__________ They come to us for__________ Because_________ We are better than__________for following reasons__________ Customers prefer us because_________

Ref Effective Marketing to Retail Environment Workshop UK

You need to consider what are common products on majority of your customers shopping list and then place these products at regular intervals around store. The aim is to bounce customer around store.

For example:-

Shopping List Items:

1.Milk4.Toilet Paper 2.Bread5.Detergent 3.Sugar6.Coffee

These shopping list items are often called “anchor” products.

6.Maximise Use of Your Sign Lines

Sight lines are important in all styles of layout, but are far more important in a boutique layout than in a grid layout. Positive, appealing sightlines will draw customers around your store. Sightlines should use colour, lighting and product effectively to draw customer through store.

7.Develop Destination Department

Develop destination departments in corners of your store and at furthest points from entrance and exit. Promote these departments and become famous for them.

Examples of these are:-

The Power Tool Department(hardware) The Seedling or Bedding Plant department(gardening) The Ski Department(sports cloths) The In-house Deli(supermarket)

Management Memo

Many retailers are opting for high gondolas – well above eye level. There are of course advantages and disadvantages with this concept and these are worth reviewing.

Advantages

Back up stock in ‘on floor’ and is always in sight allowing for better stock control and perhaps les labour intensive in terms of replenishment (avoids double handling to some extent).

Out of stock at lower selling levels can be replenished quicker by ‘pulling down’ back up stock. Lost sales are often averted when customer sees line on top shelf that has not been replenished below.

Visual impact and merchandise statements can be more effective.

The range appears to be greater even though in fact that may not be case.

Disadvantages

Lighting of lower shelves is more difficult and thus merchandise visibility may suffer.

Aisles need to be wider than eye level height fixtures to increase merchandise visibility – 7’ wide would be a suitable average width.

There is a tendency to an overwhelming ‘tunnel effect’ and classifications are not as easy to find due to inability to see throughout store.

Shoplifting is more likely for same reason.

Back up stock above 6’ can readily become untidy and lack cohesiveness with lines below.

Ref Peter Lalchford, Merchandising Hardware and Electrical