New Features:

Retailing is a very dynamic industry with extensive changes in the competitive (i.e. merger of May and Macy’s) and consumer environment (increasing importance of environmental issues). This edition provides up-to-date current information. Most of the examples are new and the previously used examples are updated. 

1. Increased treatment of how multi-channel retailers provide information and sell products and services to customers. In this edition, we have gone beyond Chapter 3, which is dedicated to multi-channel retailing, to discuss Internet retailing applications throughout the textbook. For example,

• The impact of social networks on buying behavior (Chapter 4)
• Use of the Internet for training (Chapters 9 and 17)
• Communicating with customers through m-commerce, social shopping, email, websites (Chapter 16)
• Internet-based digital signage in stores (Chapter 18)
• Providing information and customer service through web-enabled kiosks and POS terminals (Chapter 19)

2. Greater Emphasis on Social Responsibility of Retailers

• Consumer interest in green products (Chapter 4).
• Issues in sourcing merchandise globally (Chapter 14)
• Considering sustainability issues in store operation (Chapter 17) and design (Chapter 18).

3. More extensive treatment of private label strategies

• Strategic importance of private labels (Chapter 5)
• Private label approaches and types. (Chapter 14).
• Process for developing and sourcing private labels (Chapter 14).

4. Two new Appendices for students who might consider starting there own business.

• Appendix for starting your own retail business
• Appendix for staring a franchisee business.

5. Thirteen New Cases

• New case include Social responsibility at Wal-Mart, Tractor Supply’s retail strategy, use of blogs and customer reviews, Macy’s rebranding, Apple’s retail stores, Retailing in India, PetsMart and the pet retail market, and Nordstrom’s’ new loyalty program.
• The remaining 25 cases have been updated.

 Retained Features:

• 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:

Descriptive Information Students can learn about the vocabulary and practice of retailing from the descriptive information throughout the text. Examples of this material are

• Leading U.S. and international retailers (Chapter 1).
• Management decisions made by retailers (Chapter 1).
• Types of store-based and non-store retailers (Chapter 2).
• Approaches for entering international markets (Chapter 5).
• Types of locations (Chapter 7).
• Organization structure of typical retailers (Chapter 9).
• Flow of information and merchandise (Chapter 10).
• Branding strategies (Chapter 14).
• Methods for communicating with customers (Chapter 16).
• Approaches of motivating store employees (Chapter 17)
• Store layout options and merchandise display equipment (Chapter 18).
• Career opportunities (Appendix 1A to Chapter 1).

How-to Information Retailing Management goes beyond this descriptive information to illustrate how and why retailers, large and small, make decisions. Step-by-Step procedures with examples are provided for making the following decisions:

• Comparison shopping (Appendix 2A to Chapter 2).
• Managing a multichannel outreach to customers (Chapter 3).
• Scanning the environment and developing a retail strategy (Chapter 5).
• Analyzing the financial implications of a retail strategy (Chapter 6).
• Evaluating location opportunities (Chapter 8).
• Calculating the lifetime value of a customer (Chapter 11)
• Developing a merchandise assortment and budget plan (Chapters 12 and 13).
• Negotiating with vendors (Chapter 14).
• Pricing merchandise (Chapter 15).
• Setting a promotional budget (Chapter 16)
• Recruiting, selecting, training, evaluating, and compensating sales associates (Chapter 17).
• Designing the layout for a store (Chapter 18)
• Providing good customer service (Chapter 19).
• Starting your own retail business (Appendices at end of text.)

Conceptual Information Retailing Management also includes conceptual information that enables students to understand why decisions are made as outlined in the text:

• Customers’ decision-making process (Chapter 4).
• Development of strategic advantage (Chapter 5)
• Market attractiveness/competitive position matrix for evaluating strategic alternatives (Appendix 5A to Chapter 5).
• Factors driving financial performance - the strategic profit model (Chapter 6).
• Theories of organization structure (Chapter 9
• Lifetime value of customers (Chapter 11)
• Building vendor relationships (Chapter 14)
• Price theory and marginal analysis (Chapters 15 and 16).
• Motivation principles (Chapter 17)
• Perceptions of customer service (Chapter 19)
• The gaps model for service quality management (Chapter 19).

• Extensive Treatment of New Technologies and Methods are highlighted throughout the text, underscoring to students the importance of the use of the Internet for providing information and selling products and services to customers (Chapter 3); Application of geographic information system (GIS) technology for store location (Chapter 8); Internet applications for effective human resource management (Chapter 9); Integrated supply chain management systems, RFID, and CPFR (collaboration, planning, forecasting and replenishment) systems (Chapter 10); Analysis of customer databases to identify and tailor offering to best customer (Chapter 11); Reverse auctions for buying merchandise (Chapter 14); Use of profit optimization decision support systems for setting prices in different markets and taking markdowns (Chapter 15); Development of targeted promotions using customer databases (Chapter 16); Decision support systems for scheduling sales associates (Chapter 17); Creation of planograms to optimize the sales and profits from merchandise categories (Chapter 18); and Use of in-store kiosks, digital signage, and the Internet to improve customer service (Chapter 19).

• International Retailing material covers the cultural impacts on buying behavior (Chapter 4); keys to successful entry into international markets (Chapter 5); evaluation of international growth opportunities (Chapter 6); global sourcing of merchandise (Chapter 14); and employee management issues in international markets (Chapters 9 and 17).

• Material on Legal and Ethical Issues Confronting Retailers includes diversity and the glass ceiling (Chapter 9); legal issues affecting purchasing and pricing merchandise (Chapter 14, 15); sexual harassment and discrimination in hiring and promotions (Chapter 16); and store design in light of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) (Chapter 18).

• Get Out and Do It! Exercises found at the end of each chapter suggest projects that students can undertake by visiting local retail stores or surfing the Internet. 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.