Retailing and wholesaling Submitted by: Sunil jaura

Retailing

Retailing includes all of the activities involved in selling goods or services directly to final consumers for personal, non business use

A retailer or retail store is any business enterprise whose sales volume comes primarily from retailing.

Any organization that sells to final consumerswhether a manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer is engaged in retailing

Services provided by retailers

Self-service: Self-service is the cornerstone of all discount operations, allowing customers to save money by carrying out their own locate-compare-select process.

Self-selection: Customers find their own goodsalthough they can ask for assistance and they then complete the transaction by paying a salesperson for the item.

Limited service: These retailers carry more shopping goods, and customers need more information and assistance. The stores also offer services (such as credit and merchandise-return privileges).

Full service: Salespeople are ready to assist in every phase of the locate-compare-select process. The high staffing cost, along with the higher proportion of specialty goods and slower-moving items plus more services, result in high-cost retailing.

Types of retailers

Specialty Store: Narrow product line with a deep assortment, such as apparel stores, sporting-goods stores, furniture stores, florists, and bookstores.ex- adidas, music world.

Department Store: Several product linestypically clothing, home furnishings, and household goodswith each line operated as a separate department managed by specialist buyers or merchandisers. Example: big bazaar.

Supermarket: Relatively large, low-cost, low-margin, high-volume, self-service operation designed to serve total needs for foods and household products. Supermarkets earn an operating profit of only about 1 percent on sales and 10 percent on net worth. Example: spencers,Largest supermarket chain in India; part of RPG Enterprises; has 125 stores spread across 25 cities; product profile covers groceries & staples, home care & personal care products, garments, jewellery etc

Discount Store: Standard merchandise sold at lower prices with lower margins and higher volumes. Example: All-purpose: vmart.

Off-Price Retailer: Merchandise bought at less than regular wholesale prices and sold at less than retail: often leftover goods, overruns, and irregulars obtained at reduced prices from manufacturers or other retailers

Superstore: Averages 35,000 square feet of selling space traditionally aimed at meeting consumers total needs for routinely purchased food and nonfood items; usually includes services such as laundry, dry cleaning, shoe repair, check cashing, and bill paying.

Trends in retailing

New retail forms and combinations continually emerge: Bank branches have opened in supermarkets; With a low start-up cost and low rents, pushcarts help budding entrepreneurs test their retailing dreams without a major investment.

New retail forms have a shorter life span. They are rapidly copied and quickly lose their novelty The electronic age has significantly increased the growth of nonstore retailing. Consumers now receive sales offers via mail, e-mail, television, and telephoneand they can respond immediately by calling a toll-free number or visiting a Web site.

Competition is increasingly intertype, or between different types of retailers. Discount stores,department stores, and Web sites are all competing for the same consumers. Yet many independent retailers thrive by knowing their customers better and providing them with more personal service.

Marketing channels are increasingly becoming professionally managed and programmed. Retail organizations are increasingly designing and launching new store formats targeted to different lifestyle groups. And instead of sticking to one format, they are moving into a mix of retail formats.

Retailers with unique formats and strong brand positioning are increasingly moving into other countries.13 Many U.S. retailers, such as McDonalds, The Limited, Gap, and WalMart, have gone global to boost profits

wholesaling
Wholesaling includes all of the activities involved in selling goods or services to those who buy for resale or business use. Wholesaling excludes manufacturers and farmers (because they are engaged primarily in production) and retailers.

Functions of wholesaling

Selling and promoting: Wholesalers provide a sales force that helps manufacturers reach many small business customers at a relatively low cost.

Buying and assortment building: Wholesalers are able to select items and build the assortments their customers need, saving their customers considerable work.

Bulk breaking: Wholesalers can achieve savings for their customers through buying in large lots and breaking the bulk into smaller units.

Transportation: Wholesalers can often provide quicker delivery because they are closer to buyers.

Financing: Wholesalers often finance customers by granting credit, and they finance suppliers by ordering early and paying bills on time.

Risk bearing: Some wholesalers absorb part of the risk by taking title and bearing the cost of theft, damage, spoilage, and obsolescence.

Market information: Wholesalers usually supply information to suppliers and customers regarding competitors activities, new products, price developments, and so on.

Types of wholesaling

Merchant Wholesalers: Independently owned businesses that take title to the nmerchandise they handle.

Full-Service Wholesalers: Carry stock, maintain a sales force, offer credit, make deliveries,and provide management assistance. Wholesale merchants sell primarily to retailers and provide a full range of services

Limited-service wholesalers, who offer fewer services to their customers and suppliers, emerged in order to reduce the costs of service. There are several types of limited-service wholesalers. Cash-and-carry wholesalers usually handle a limited line of fast-moving merchandise, selling to smaller retailers on a cashonly basis and not delivering goods.

Brokers and Agents:This are the persons who buy and sell goods for others on commission basis

Manufacturer's sale branches-This are the units which sell good on their own which are manufactured by themselves.they are a types of a factory outlets.

Specialised wholesellers-This are a special type of wholesellers which include cooperative marketting association which mainly trade in grains, fish, petroleum products etc.

Trends in wholesaling

wholesalers seemed to be headed for a significant decline as large manufacturers, and retailers such as Wal-Mart, moved aggressively into direct buying.

They have also reduced their operating costs by investing in materials-handling technology

and information systems, including Internet, Intranet technology.