The Retail marketing Mix by V S RAMA RAO Products are also termed as merchandise.

The different products that the store o ffers is termed as the merchandise mix. As has been mentioned earlier: A merchandise line consists of a group of product that is closely related becaus e they are intended for the same end use, are sold to the same customer group or fall within the same price range. For example, if we consider the menswear sect ion at a department store, the merchandise line would comprise of formal wear, c asual wear accessories etc The variety of the merchandise mix refers to the number of different lines that the retailer stocks in the store. Thus, the merchandise lines in a department st ore would be menswear ladies wear, childrens wear, home fashion, jewelry etc. The same in case of a grocery retailer would comprise of cereals , pulses, personal acre products , ready to serve foods packaged foods like biscuits , snacks etc. The breadth also called assortment refers to the number of merchandise brands in the merchandise line. If the merchandise line is menswear, an example of breadt h of the formal wear shirts would be the number of brands of shirts that the sto re stocks. The depth of the merchandise refers to the average number of Stock keeping units within each brand of the merchandise line. Stock keeping units, or SKUs they as they are commonly referred to, are the individual products that the store carri es, defined by brand, size, color, price, style and pattern. Let us understand t his with the help of an example. Let us assume that the merchandise line under c onsideration is mens formal shirts. The department store under consideration stoc ks three different brands of shirts Arrow, Louis Philippe and Van Heusen. The st ore then needs to stock them in different sizes, colors, styles and price points . Let us assume that the store stocks them in four sizes at five different price points in five colors and in two styles each. Their total would determine the t otal number of SKUs in that particular merchandise line. Depth of product Mix Shirts 3 brands (Arrow, Louis Philippe, Van Heusen ) = 3 SKUs X 4 sizes = 12 SKUs X 5 price points = 60 SKUs X 5 colors = 300 SKUs X 2 styles = 600 SKUs Can you imagine the magnitude of the SKUs that a large department store, or a lar ge grocery store or hypermarket would handle? All this is done with the view of being able to provide the consumer with the right product at the right place. Price Pricing is an integral part of the retail marketing mix. The price policy that t he organization decides to follow depends on the customer profile that is the ta rget audience for its range of products. It also depends on whether the product offering is unique or has other substitutes available. For example designer clot hing is always expensive as compared to the prt lines offered. Place For a very long time the location of the retail store was considered to be the m ost important element of the retail marketing mix. However, with the advances in technology and the advent of television shopping and the Internet many retailer s are now going in for a click and mortar approach. Promotion The advertising budget the sales promotions publicity and public relations play a very important role in competitive world of retailing. Retailers need to devel op a communication strategy in line with target market and the products that the y stock in store. Presentation The manner in which the merchandise is presented at the store level is very impo rtant. This aspect not only deals with the store layout and ambience created, bu t also with visual merchandising Visual Merchandising is the orderly systematic and intelligent way of putting stock on display in the retail store. Many large

retail organizations employ visual merchandisers to aid the store in this functi on. Customer service The support services that a retailer has have become very important today. The c redit policies, product returns policies etc need to clear not only to the sales staff but also to the end customer Relationship marketing , data warehousing an d customer relations management are the new buzzwords in the industry today, and all these are aimed at enhancing customer service, People Retailers operate in a unique environment. The retail industry is characterized by a large number of inexperienced workers, who need to put in ling hours of wor k. Most of the time, these employees are in direct contact wit the customer and may face irate or unreasonable customers. The people who work at the front end o f a retail organization are very important, as they are the face the organizatio n for the customers. Their attitude behavior manners and product knowledge play a very important role in building long term relations wt the customers.