Strategic Market Management, 10th Edition

CASE CHALLENGES FOR PART I

Understanding and Working with Industry Trends

TRENDS IN RETAILING

Consider the following trends in food and nonfood retailing.

Nonfood Retailing

1. Moving away from the middle. Retailers are offering a more upscale experience. Macy's locations are getting a face-lift and image advertising. Bath & Body Works is transforming into an affordable beauty boutique. High-end retailers such as Saks, Neiman's, Cole Hand, and Coach are clearly positioned to offer self-expressive benefits.

   At the same time, other retailers are moving down to compete with the discount stores. Discount stores such as TJ Maxx, Target, and outlet malls are becoming more important especially as consumers react to the recession.

2. Toward a better shopping lifestyle. Enclosed malls are in decline; they are being replaced by the “lifestyle center,” which is a combination of stores such as Pottery Barn, Barnes & Noble, Gap, Victoria's Secret, and Williams-Sonoma, with open walkways and no department store. These are often in a revitalized urban setting.
3. Customers are looking and then buying where the price is lower. Retailers like Best Buy are simply showrooms for Amazon and others. Customers can scan the product code and instantly find and even buy the item over the Internet.
4. Faster fashion. The ability of retailers such as Zara, H&M, Forever 21, Target's Go International, and Uniclo to capture in-season trends by a fast-turnaround design and manufacturing cycle means that their stores are ...