Book of Management
Book of Management
Book of Management
6.0 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you should be able to:
● describe the types of retail formats; and
● explain the VM approaches for various formats.
6.1 INTRODUCTION
In the pervious unit you have learnt about Planogram steps involved in creating new
Planogram. Now you are aware with the terms like Fixtures, Gondals, Bins and Hanging
Rails etc.
Moreover as a learner of Retailing, you must be familiar with retail industry. In fact the
retail industry is divided into two sectors i.e organized and unorganized .Organized
retailing refers to trading activities undertaken by licencesed retailers that is those
who are registered for sales tax ,income tax etc .These includes the corporate –backed
hypermarkets and retails chains and also the privately owned large retail businesses.
On the other hand, unorganized retailing refers to the traditional formats of low cost
retailing for example the local Kiranaa shops ,owner manned general stores ,paan shop
,convenience store, hand craft and pavement vendors ,etc. In this unit you will learn
about the types of Retail format and VM approach for various Retail format. Before
starting on the types of retail outlets, let us first understand what the term retail means.
Retail equates to sale of merchandise or services from a fixed location, directly to the
end user. These merchandise may be manufactured or imported by the retailer and may
or may not involve a whole seller or trader.
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Retail Formats and
6.2 TYPES OF RETAIL FORMATS VM Approach
In today’s retail scenario we have different forms or outlets that are competing amongst
themselves and with each other to grab the attention of the shopper and make a sale.
Let us learn different types of retail formats which are as follows:
1) Malls: Usually an enclosed building structure that houses a variety of retail stores
all under one roof. This is one of the most convenient formats for the customer. As
a variant of different stores selling different category merchandise like clothes,
footwear, furniture, etc. are all at the same place. This saves time for the customer,
which would have been otherwise wasted in travelling. Similarly since there are
outlets that sell the same merchandise as well the customer also gets a wider
choice for purchase. However this creates a stuff competition between the outlets
to attract the customers inside. This is where the visual merchandising is extremely
important. The number or malls in India are increasing every day. We have luxury
malls like DHL in Delhi and Palladium in Mumbai, then we also have other malls
like Korum mall in Thane, Forum Mall in Bangalore, and many more. Look at
Figure 6.1 which shows the outside and inside view of mall.
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Visual Merchandising and
Store Management
Figure 6.6: The Italian men’s wear brand, Viavero’s flagship store in Gurgaon’s
Ambi Mall, designed by Lotus
7) Kirana/Mom and Pop Stores: These are local family owned businesses. These
neighborhood stores are however fast reducing in number due to stiff competition
from the big organized retailers. These stores could sell any merchandise from
clothes, shoes, grocery, etc. They are best known with the local region from which
they operate. In the below figure 6.7 and 6.8 show the Local Kirana Stores and
Mom and Pop Stores.
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Visual Merchandising and
Store Management 4. Which of the following statements are True / False?
a) Departmental stores is a large store that offers aerially of product categories
with a large assortment.
b) Supermarkets are smaller than a next door grocery store.
c) Hypermarkets are Luxury Stores
98 Fig.ure 6.14: Good Earth at Khan Market, New Delhi design by Lotus
Retail Formats and
VM Approach
6.3.2 Mall
As discussed earlier in this unit that Malls are the house of various stores in a building
structure. In general each mall has a couple of anchor stores that act as a destination
stores for the customers. More often they are the large departmental stores within the
mall or a supermarket/hypermarket. The special features of Malls are as follows:
I) Entrance: A mall entrance is one of the most important points in a mall design. It
is the first point of contact between the mall and the customer. It is not just a face
and reputation of the mall at stake, but also the face for the brands that it houses
inside. Any prestigious brand will make sure that the mall is up to its particular
standard before renting space in it. Hence, a mall has to match the image of the
brands it intends to attract for rentals.
II) Mall décor: Mall décor and theme similar to store interiors is infused architectures
and light fixtures and fittings. However unlike a store where the merchandise is
the highlight of all the interior efforts, in a mall the ambiance is everything. There
are large number of malls and the same shop and brands are available at a lot of
places. It is the service and facility that a mall can provide which becomes the
deciding factor between the malls. When it comes to mall, ambiance is everything
in attracting shopper.
III) Customer convenience: Malls have gained importance for obvious reasons like
the convenience of finding a large number of retail outlets and brands in one place.
It can cater to the need of all types for women, men, kids or house furnishing.
Special services like charging points, baby day care, baby changing rooms, etc.
that distinguishes a good mall for an ordinary one. Mall seating provided for tired
shoppers should equally be comfortable as well as complement the mall theme and
décor.
IV) Brands/store: The outlets that are available in a mall have to follow certain
guidelines of the mall in terms of the façade, window display (some mall do not
allow to be stuck on the store window glass), safety measures, etc. Most of the
mall has a pre designed and standard space allocated for the store branding. This
is done to maintain the mall aesthetics. Hence unlike in a standalone store in a high
street a brand cannot modify and alter the façade to suit its convenience. Look at 99
the figure 6.16 which shows interior look of Mall.
Visual Merchandising and
Store Management
Figure 6.17: Louis Philippe in the men’s wear department of Shoppers Stop, Delhi
Figure 6.19: Outfits, a local apparels store in Bandra, Water field Road Mumbai
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