Michael Levy,
Babson College Barton A. Weitz,
University of Florida
ISBN: 007301978x Copyright year: 2007
Feature Summary
An interesting read for modern students: This book is organized around a retail decision making framework and many of the text's examples highlight current practices and show the reasons why retailers undertake these activities. Students also enjoy the profiles of successful executives and rising stars that introduce each chapter, the retailing views that apply concepts to industry practices, and the margin REFACTs that showcase retail factoids.
Good balance of descriptive, how-to, and conceptual information:
Students use the descriptive information throughout the text to learn about the vocabulary and practice of retailing.
Examples include:
Leading U.S. and international retailers (Chapter 1).
Types of store-based and non-store retailers (Chapter 2).
Approaches for entering international markets (Chapter 5).
Organization structure of typical retailers (Chapter 9).
Methods for communicating with customers (Chapter 16).
Approaches of motivating store employees (Chapter 17).
Step-by-Step procedures with examples go beyond this descriptive information to illustrate how and why retailers, large and small, make decisions.
Examples include:
Managing a multi-channel outreach to customers (Chapter 3).
Scanning the environment and developing a retail strategy (Chapter 5).
Analyzing the financial implications of retail strategy (Chapter 6).
Pricing merchandise (Chapter 15).
Designing the layout for a store (Chapter 18).
Providing good customer service (Chapter 19).
Students understand why decisions are made by understanding conceptual information such as:
Customers' decision-making process (Chapter 4).
Development of strategic advantage (Chapter 5).
Building vendor relationships (Chapter 14).
Price theory and marginal analysis for making communications decisions (Chapters 15 and 16).
Motivation principles (Chapter 17).
The gaps model for service quality management (Chapter 19).
Refacts. Interesting facts about retailing, called Refacts, in the margin of each chapter.
Retailing Views. Throughout the text are vignettes called Retailing Views. These vignettes include major retailers like Wal-Mart, 7-Eleven, Sears, JCPenney, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, and Home Depot that interview students on campus for management training positions; innovative retailers like REI, Community Pride, Starbucks, The Container Store, Sephora, Harry Rosen, Wet Seal, Chico’s, and the Bass Pro Shop.
Profile of Retail Managers. To illustrate the challenges and opportunities in retailing, each chapter begins with a brief profile of a manager or industry expert whose job or expertise is related to the material in the chapter. These profiles range from Lary Sinewitz, Executive Vice-President, BrandsMart USA, to Jennifer O’Neill, Buyer, at Dillards. The profiles illustrate both how senior executives view the industry and the career opportunities for college students. They provide students with firsthand information about what people in retailing do and what are their rewards and challenges.
Get Out and Do It! Exercises found at the end of each chapter suggest projects that students can undertake by visiting local retail stores, surfing the Internet, or using the Student CD accompanying the textbook. A continuing assignment exercise is included so that students can engage in an exercise involving the same retailer throughout the course. The exercises are designed to provide a hands-on learning experience for students.
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2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education