Department Stores
The landscape of the business world is a constantly changing one and thus it is seen that the kind of business options are available to the organizations were not available to the business enterprises in the earlier times (Erkip and Ozuduru 2015). The changes in the preferences of the customers as well as their demands have also contributed in a significant manner towards this particular change (Erkip and Ozuduru 2015). Furthermore, at the same time in order to succeed within the ever competitive business world the business enterprises need to adapt themselves to the changes within the business world. Many experts are of the viewpoint that the effectiveness as well as the success of a particular business enterprise depends on the extent to which the concerned organization is being to adapt to these changes in the landscape of the business world (Pantano et al. 2017). The retail industry is an example of such an industry which has undergone a significant amount of transition in the present times keeping in pace with the changes in the business world itself. This report will discuss about the historical development of the retail industry from the past to the present times.
The various departmental stores can be seen as retail establishments which emerged in the early part of the 19th century (Molenaar 2016). The specialty of these stores is the fact that they offer wide range of products or services to the customers under one roof which are often segregated as departments (Jones and Tadajewski 2016). The customers can get hold of the majority of their favorite brand products or services at one place and this basic factor has contributed much towards the success attained by these stores (Jones and Tadajewski 2016). Many experts are of the viewpoint that the emergence of these retail or departmental stores has changed the shopping habits or the behavior of the customers in a significant manner within a very short time and as a matter of fact it is seen that various new business enterprises are taking the help of the basic idea of these departmental stores for the establishment of their business (McIntyre, Melewar and Dennis 2016). Some of the notable examples of these kinds of business enterprises are Amazon, Flipkart and others (McIntyre, Melewar and Dennis 2016).
The departmental stores made their first appearance way back in the 19th century and some of the earliest examples are Bennett’s in Derby in UK (1734), Harding, Howell & Co in UK (1796), the Tapis Rouge in France (1784), Appleton & Jones in Australia in 1895 and others (Maixé-Altés 2018). However, it is significant to note that the pace of process of establishment of these departmental stores got enhanced after the Industrial Revolution (Yu et al. 2017). The Industrial Revolution enabled the various organizations to produce a much larger amount of goods or services and to sell these products or services at a much faster rate the individuals came up with the idea of the departmental stores wherein the business owners would be able to sell the surplus products or good produced by them at a much faster rate and at the same time in a much earlier manner (Yu et al. 2017). However, the process of globalization provided the much needed impetus to these establishments and made available the products or the services manufactured by the different companies to the customers (Pinto, Soares and Brazdil 2015). Furthermore, to sell these products in a much easier manner the business owners established these stores which were in existence in miniature forms in the earlier times so that they would be able to provide better services to the customers and at the same time earn a much higher revenue.
Historical development of departmental stores
It is significant to note that within the last decade or 15 years these stores have undergone drastic change and are taking the help of diverse innovative strategies like e-commerce, use of social media for the process of business and others so as to offer better services to the customers and earn a higher amount of profit. David Jones Limited is one of the major departmental stores of the nation of Australia as well as one of the oldest ones (David Jones 2018). The store was initially opened by David Jones in 1825 however in 1835 he entered into collaboration with Appleton and the present version of the store emerged (David Jones 2018). In addition to this, in the year 2014 the store entered into a merger with Myers to improve the prospects of their business. Initially the store used to offer various kinds of groceries as well as food products to the customers however in the present times they offer a wide range of products or services to the customers starting from cosmetics, food products, furniture, hardware and others (David Jones 2018). The store utilizes the concept of scramble merchandising for the process of procuring the products offered by them to the customers. This store is more convenient for the working class people since time is a primary concern for them and by offering all kind of products under one roof these stores encourage these people to take the help of the services offered by them (Pinto, Soares and Brazdil 2015). Furthermore, in the present times it is also seen that this store has undergone mergers or collaborations with the various brands or companies so that they can offer the products or services offered by these companies in one single store. This has diversified the range of products offered by the store in a significant manner and at the same time it is seen that the price for the products charged by them is also very affordable. Furthermore, in the present times the power has shifted to the customers or the shoppers and thus the departmental store is taking the help of the concept of value driven retailing to achieve better success rate. The store follows the strategy of cost leadership to provide the best quality products to the customers at the lowest possible rate (Cachon and Feldman 2015). Furthermore, in the recent times it is seen that the concerned store is taking the help of omni-channel business strategy for the process of their business. It is significant to note that the effective use of all these factors has not only contributed in an important manner towards the success attained by the store but at the same time has much changed the manner in which people shop as well.
Discount Stores
The discount stores are the ones which offer products or services to the customers at a much discounted rate than the ones offered by the other business enterprises (Hortaçsu and Syverson 2015). These stores take the help of the strategy of cost leadership for the purpose of providing the best quality products or services to the customers at very affordable prices (Hortaçsu and Syverson 2015). In the present times it is seen that many discount stores have gained a considerable amount of success taking the help of the strategy of cost leadership, omni-channel business strategy and others. Furthermore, the various discount stores are also known for the periodical discounted sales that they organize and this particular technique has helped various stores in a significant manner. Some of the most famous discount stores of the world are Walmart, Aldi and others (Hortaçsu and Syverson 2015).
The concept of discount stores gained popularity after the Second World War and it is seen that even in the present they hold a prominent place within the retail industry of the world. It is significant to note that during the Great War there were various individuals who used to sell bootlegged or smuggled products to the individuals at a much cheap or discounted price (Howard 2015). The idea of these discounted stores wherein the people or the customers would be able to purchase products at a much discounted rate came from this practice of the bootleggers or the smugglers (Howard 2015). In the present times however it is seen that this basic is used in a much sophisticated manner by the various discount stores of the world.
Target Australia is one of the most popular discount stores not only of the nation of Australia but also of the entire world. The discount store was established in 1926 and has currently more than 302 different stores in the nation of Australia (www.target.com.au 2018). Furthermore, it was seen that the store under discussion here was owned by various business enterprises at different point of time Coles Myer and others (www.target.com.au 2018). However, currently the store is being owned by Wesfarmers and is 2nd largest discount store of the nation in terms of the number of operational stores it has (www.target.com.au 2018). The store provides a wide range of products or services to the customers like cosmetics, branded clothing, electronics, fitness equipments and others (www.target.com.au 2018). One of the major reasons for the unprecedented success attained by the concerned store is the wide diversity of products or services that it offers to the customers. The store takes the help of scramble merchandising for the process of procuring the products offered by them to the customers. Customers from all walks of life take the help of the services offered by these stores. In addition to this, the merger that the concerned discount store has undertaken with Wesfarmers, the largest retail organization of the nation is another factor that has helped the concerned store in a significant manner (www.target.com.au 2018). Furthermore, one of the major factors that attract the different customers to the concerned store is the fact that the store takes the help of the strategy of cost leadership for the process of selling their products to the customers while using the concept of value driven retailing to achieve better results. An important marketing strategy that the concerned store uses for the process of their business is the arrangement of regular discount sales.
Historical development of discount stores
The departmental as well as discount stores are likely to undergo a significant amount of change within the next 10 to 15 years as it evident from the business practices of Amazon and others. The rise of the strategy of omni-channel strategy and the benefits that it provides to the organizations has much transformed the retail industry of the present times and is likely to change it even more in the future times (Chang and Wang 2014). Furthermore, the stores of the future times will be different since they will be dependent on the omni-channel business model and the shopping experience of the shoppers will be way better than it is in the present times (Chang and Wang 2014). Moreover, the stores of the future times will be based on the concept of wheel of retailing, that is, they will start as discount stores but once they will establish themselves they will change to the department model of stores (Chang and Wang 2014). In addition to this, the retail life cycle which consists of the innovation, development, maturity and decline will still be applicable to the majority of the stores (Howard 2015). Moreover, the use of effective promotional means like advertisement, use of social media and others are likely to help these stores to attract the customers in a significant manner (Howard 2015).
Online shopping provides various kinds of benefits to the customers like they save the time of the customers, customers can get the products at their home, the price that the customers have to pay are relatively less and others (Yu et al. 2017). On the other hand, there are various disadvantages of the process as well for example it is sometimes that the quality of the products delivered is not as per the expectations of the customers, the return policy is very lengthy and others (Cachon and Feldman 2015).
Conclusion
To conclude, the retail industry has undergone a significant amount of transition in the recent times. The emergence of the various discount as well as the departmental stores are examples of the changes that the concerned industry has undergone in the present times. In addition to this, it is also seen that these stores are taking the help of diverse strategies to have better chances of gaining success in the retail industry and as a matter of fact it is seen that various stores have been able to gain a considerable amount of success within the retail industry taking the help of innovative strategies.
References
Cachon, G.P. and Feldman, P., 2015. Price commitments with strategic consumers: Why it can be optimal to discount more frequently… than optimal. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, 17(3), pp.399-410.
Chang, S.H. and Wang, K.Y., 2014. Investigating the antecedents and consequences of an overall store price image in retail settings. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 22(3), pp.299-314.
David Jones. 2018. David Jones Online | Shop Fashion, Beauty, Home & More. [online] Available at: https://www.davidjones.com/ [Accessed 25 Aug. 2018].
Erkip, F. and Ozuduru, B.H., 2015. Retail development in Turkey: An account after two decades of shopping malls in the urban scene. Progress in Planning, 102, pp.1-33.
Hortaçsu, A. and Syverson, C., 2015. The ongoing evolution of US retail: A format tug-of-war. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 29(4), pp.89-112.
Howard, V., 2015. From Main Street to Mall: the rise and fall of the American department store. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Jones, D.B. and Tadajewski, M., 2016. The study of British retail history: progress and agenda. In The Routledge Companion to Marketing History (pp. 179-196). Routledge.
Maixé-Altés, J.C., 2018. Retail trade and payment innovations in the digital era: a cross-industry and multi-country approach. Business History, pp.1-25.
McIntyre, C., Melewar, T.C. and Dennis, C. eds., 2016. Multi-channel Marketing, Branding and Retail Design: New Challenges and Opportunities. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Molenaar, C., 2016. Shopping 3.0: Shopping, the Internet Or Both?. Routledge.
Pantano, E., Priporas, C.V., Sorace, S. and Iazzolino, G., 2017. Does innovation-orientation lead to retail industry growth? Empirical evidence from patent analysis. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 34, pp.88-94.
Pinto, F., Soares, C. and Brazdil, P., 2015. Combining regression models and metaheuristics to optimize space allocation in the retail industry. Intelligent Data Analysis, 19(s1), pp.S149-S162.
Target Online Shopping. 2018. Target Online Shopping. [online] Available at: https://www.target.com.au/ [Accessed 25 Aug. 2018].
Yu, Q., Wang, K., Strandhagen, J.O. and Wang, Y., 2017, September. Application of Long Short-Term Memory Neural Network to Sales Forecasting in Retail—A Case Study. In International Workshop of Advanced Manufacturing and Automation (pp. 11-17). Springer, Singapore.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
