Audience: Roland’s Management; Sandy Richnafsky

Date: October 19, 2016

Thesis: A series of outdated freezer display units in Roland’s of Chesapeake Station is costing
the company about 15 hours a month in labor and $1,000 every few months for repairs.

Introduction: The intent of this report is to help Roland’s realize that purchasing new freezers
coincide with its long term financial goals.

I.Roland’s has outdated, insufficient appliances that are increasing expenses by nearly $4,000 a
year.

A. Roland’s freezers are nearly 25 years old and require constant,

costly repairs averaging $1,000 per (Richnafsky, Kyle).

1. Month to month repairs on this specific freezer aisle are a recurring

$1,000 expense
2. This money can be put to better use by reinvesting it in a plan to
renovate the aisle.
3. The freezers are rusted and leaking resulting in an unpleasant
physical appeal to shoppers and employees alike.
4. The lackluster appeal of the appliances can affect in store sales
based on the fact that 76% of people care about appliance
appearance when making purchases (Richnafsky, Kyle).

B. Besides the upfront costs, there are negative externalities that result
from
having outdated appliances.

1. Leaking water puts customers and employees in danger. Also, it

could give customers an opportunity to file a lawsuit which could
incur serious costs as told by the Injury Claim Coach (Calisi,
Anthony P.).

2. Based on experience, a potential freezer malfunction can result in a loss of nearly 100
wasted products or more.

3. According to Clearly Energy, old freezers use more than

twice as much energy than the current models (Zelljadt, Lisa).

4. The possibility that a customer loses appeal and does not

buy an item based on its display is a crucial point of sale pitfall.
According to the survey, 80 percent of respondents agreed that
store appearance is a deciding factor in store choice (Chhetri,
 Sophiya).

II.The use of environmentally friendly, aesthetically appealing business tactics give customers
incentive to buy products from a particular business.

A. According to Environmental and Energy Management News more than half of global
consumers (53 percent/representing 1.1 billion people) prefer to purchase products and services
from a company with a strong environmental reputation (Natsu, Paul).

1. The findings clearly suggest a relationship between a company’s

environmental reputation and its brand value.

B. According to Environmental and Energy Management News, in The

United States alone, 42 percent of consumers prefer to shop at an
environmentally friendly store (Natsu, Paul).

C. According to our survey, physical attributes of sales shelves affect buying

decisions and tendencies.

1. 76 percent of people said that physical attributes of display cases

affect their buying decisions (Richnafsky, Kyle).

2. Over half (52 percent) of people said that aesthetically pleasing display cases would
promote them to spend more money while shopping (Richnafsky, Kyle).
III. Based on research Roland’s has the ability to not only fix a critical problem, but profit off of
its solution as well.

A. The funds used to maintain the freezers should be redirected toward investing in new
freezers that provide the store with more value.

B. Roland’s image stands to suffer if the freezers aren’t replaced.

C. Becoming less reliant on high energy use further dispels the costs of the
units in the long run

Conclusion: The lack of action by management has already had negative effects on business.
Therefore, to reduce future costs, Roland’s should invest in new refrigeration systems.

Recommendations: Roland’s of Chesapeake Station should complete the following tasks within a
timely manner.

1. Create a budget plan to responsibly pay for the new units.

2. Weigh the costs of the new freezers and base buying decisions around the money
available.

3. Replace the freezers by December and carefully monitor sales growth in the section as it
is imperative to the success of the operation.

Work Cited

Calisi, Anthony P. "Supermarket Accident Claims for Injuries." Supermarket Accident Claims,
Injury Compensation. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
<http://m.injuryclaimcoach.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.injuryclaimcoach.com%2Fsuperm
arket-accident.html&width=412>.

Chhetri, Sophiya. “Display Survey 2.” October 2016. Web. 18 Oct. 2016

Nastu, By: Paul. "Environmental Leader." RSS. N.p., 02 Oct. 2007. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.environmentalleader.com/2007/10/02/53-of-consumers-prefer-to-buy-from-
companies-with-green-rep/>.

Richnafsky, Kyle. “Display Case Survey.” October 2016. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.

Zelljadt, Lisa. "The Chilling Truth: Which Freezers Save the Most Money?"ClearlyEnergy. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2016. <https://www.clearlyenergy.com/blog/posts/the-chilling-truth-which-
freezers-save-the-most-money>.