R ETAIL I MAGE

1. W HY IS IT DIFFICULT FOR A RETAILER TO SOMETIMES CONVEY ITS IMAGE ? A retailers’ image is created from its retail strategy mix (product, price, place, communication and operations management), its positioning and its target market. It is difficult to convey an image because Image is created by many factors, both controllable and uncontrollable. Coordinating all the controllable factors alone can be difficult. Image relies on consumers’ perceptions. Uncontrollable elements (like competition) can inflate or deflate a store’s image.

2. W HAT IS ‘ ATMOSPHERE ’ IN A RETAIL CONTEXT ? C OMPARED WITH BRICKS - AND - MORTAR STORES, IS ATMOSPHERE DIFFERENT FOR ONLINE RETAILERS ? Store atmosphere plays a large part in establishing the retailer’s image Atmosphere is the psychological feeling a customer gets when visiting a retailer. It refers to a store’s physical characteristics that project an image and draw customers.  Exterior  Layout  General interior  Interior displays Non-store retailers’ atmospheres are created by the physical characteristics of their tangible “face” (catalogues, web sites, vending machines)

3. W ITHIN THREE SECONDS A SHOPPER SHOULD BE ABLE TO DETERMINE A RETAILER ’ S : NAME, LINE OF TRADE, ‘ CLAIM TO FAME ’ ( I. E. WHAT THEY DO BEST ), ITS PRICE POINT AND ITS PERSONALITY. T HINK OF A RETAILER THAT DOES THIS EFFECTIVELY.

4. In the Leonard’s case assigned for discussion in today’s class, you were asked to identify the retail value propositions (RVP) of the community based pharmacy (such as Leonard’s) and their cross channel competitors (like Wal-Mart and Superstore). You should have come up with an answer similar to this: Community based pharmacy RVP (Leonard’s) Experience - Pharmacist competency Selection Convenience Cross Channel competitor RVP Emphasis on price and convenience Commoditization of pharmacist (which attacks core positioning of community pharmacies) If you were designing a new store for Leonard’s, what design features would you use to convey each of its RVPs as stated above? Pharmacist competency focus on pharmacist space, space for clinics, private rooms for consultations, information displays Selection store layout and product display, signage Convenience Store layout (traffic flow), signage, parking, drive-thru, size of entry/exit, number of cash registers

5. H OW WELL DOES THE PROPOSED EXTERIOR OF L EONARD ’ S CONVEY THE ‘ WHOLE LIFE HEALTH SOLUTION PROVIDER ’ POSITIONING ? A PPLY THE THREE - SECOND TEST FROM Q UESTION #3 ABOVE TO THIS EXTERIOR AS WELL.

6. H OW WOULD YOU CLASSIFY L EONARD ’ S SELLING SPACE GROUPINGS ? J USTIFY YOUR ANSWER. selling space merchandise space personnel space customer space functional product groupings purchase motivation product groupings market segment product groupings storability product groupings (see page 444 of your textbook) Retail floor space: Selling space organized by:

7. T RAFFIC FLOW PATTERNS CAN BE ‘ GRIDIRON ’ OR ‘ CURVING ’ ( SEE P ). H OW WOULD YOU CLASSIFY L EONARD ’ S TRAFFIC FLOW PATTERN ? W HAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES TO THIS PATTERN ?

8. H OW WELL DOES THE NEW DESIGN MEET THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES STATED IN THE CASE ? Objectives of new design: Customer centric shopping experience Integrated marketing communications Meet business goals and bottom line profitability Create a proprietary brand aesthetic Accentuate convenience and service functions

9. I F YOU WERE M AC R AYMOND, WOULD YOU PROCEED WITH THE PROPOSED DESIGN ?