International School of Business & Media, Pune

Retail Management

Assignment 1 Mystery shopping observation (retail store)

Store Name – Brand Factory

Address - Hara Rama Mall, No 14/1, Hombegowda Nagar, Lakkasandra, Bengaluru,

1) Were you greeted when arriving at the store?

 Yes

2) Were shopping baskets/carts available and/or offered?

 Yes

3) Were salespeople visible on the store floor?

 Yes

4) Did anyone ask if they could assist you in finding an item?

 Yes

5) When asking for assistance, did the salesperson take you to the item or point to the

item?

 Yes

6) Were salespeople using product knowledge when speaking with their guests?

 Yes

7) Describe the store layout - e.g., overall feel of the store, promotions, signs, pleasing to

shop at, etc... Were aisles clear?

8) Was the store clean and neat?

 Needs Improvement
9) Did employees appear friendly? Were they smiling?

 Yes, they were friendly and smiling

10) Were prices displayed prominently in the store?

 Yes

11) Were sale items/store circulars displayed and/or available?

 Yes

12) Is the store easy to shop?

 Yes

13) Is there a large variety of products?

 Yes

14) Examine two different categories of products in the store (e.g., cereal, dairy, deli). Is

there a lot of choice within this category? Are there name brands and store brands?

How are these displayed? Is product available on the shelf?

15) Does the product look fresh and of high quality? Are there noticeable problems with

any products?

 Needs Improvement, Yes some clothes were dirty

16) Check the restrooms - are they clean, clearly marked, are paper products and soap

available?

 Needs Improvement

17) Were samples offered anywhere in the store? If yes, describe.

 Not Applicable

18) If you used a credit card or check, did the cashier use your name? If you did not use

either, did you notice

 No
19) Provide comments on the quality of products/services.

 Quality is good according to the price

20) Provide comments on the overall service - especially the checkout.

 Overall service was good as employees were helpful and polite.

21) Was there anything noticeably wrong during your visit?

 Security check was only for gents not ladies

Assignment 2 Retailer analysis

Select and visit a local retailer. Based on the observation made, write a report covering

following points

1) Introduction of the retailer

a. Location

b. Type of retailer

c. Competitor

d. Variety and assortment it offers

e. Channels

2) Retailer’s strategy

a. Target market

b. Retail format

c. How it can build sustainable competitive advantage

d. Describe its customer loyalty program

e. How store performance is evaluated

3) Recommendation for the retailer

a. Growth opportunities
Assignment 3 Retailer’s segment and role of dominant logic

Primarily due to the structure of retailing, a retailer exists in either of following segments -

innovative, big middle, low price and in trouble.

You all need to submit hand written write up to-

1) understand each of these segments

2) identify which existing Indian retailers represent these segments with justification

3) due to presence of dominant logic - retailers find difficulties in moving towards innovative

segment.. you need to explain the meaning of dominant logic and argue how it is creating

hindrance for the retailer to move towards the segment of innovative.