Course Outline: Retail Marketing (MRK2301)

Area: Marketing | Credit: 3

Programme: PGDM | Duration: October 2022 to January 2023 | Term: V
_______________________________________________________________________
Instructor(s) Name : Professor Mohua Banerjee
Email : m.banerjee@imi-k.edu.in
Phone (Extn no.) : 03366529611
Meeting Hours : Mon – Fri: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
_______________________________________________________________________

PART 1

INTRODUCTION
This course will offer a thorough examination of the retail sector for students interested in the
field of retail marketing – for those who will be employed in retail organizations or will work in
their own businesses. The present day retail business-model transformation is marked by systemic
shifts with greater innovation, integration and responsiveness that are to be understood for
managing the challenges of the dynamic retail environment. The course will look at the broader
politico-legal, economic and social retail marketing environment, along with the concepts of
traditional and modern retailing, location and layout analysis, merchandise and category
management, retail branding and private labels, supply chain management in retail, store
operations, visual merchandising and POP communication, technology in retailing, key retail
metrics, retail pricing and promotion strategy. The emphasis is on the application of retail
marketing theory to practical issues.

COURSE OBJECTIVES (CO)

The course aims to provide learners an opportunity to:
1. Understand retailing as a business.
2. Familiarize themselves with the evolving dimensions of the Indian and global retail market
structures.
3. Learn the fundamentals of merchandising, retail branding and private labels, pricing,
location, retail communication, visual merchandising, etc. in the context of retail
marketing.
4. Understand retail strategies across formats and apply concepts to help effective decision-
making.
5. Equip students to apply the concepts and principles of retail marketing to become a good
retail planner, decision maker and be able to adapt to change in the dynamic market context.

1
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES (CLO)
At the end of this course, students would be able to:
CLO1 – Understand the impact of various factors that affect a retailer’s marketing environment
and assess the impact of external environment on its performance (PLO1 and PLO2)

CLO2 – Prepare a strategy for managing a business in an environment of unpredictable change,

with agility, flexibility and resilience (PLO6)

CLO3 – Identify key challenges specific to retail business cases and suggest alternative
solutions to achieve the business objectives ethically (PLO5)

CLO4 –Effectively prepare and present a project highlighting current retail marketing trends
and practices by identifying inter-linkages among the retailer’s functional areas (PLO3 and
PLO4)

COURSE CONTENT
 Evolution of Retailing
 Omni-channel Retailing
 Retail Location and Layout
 Merchandising and Category Management
 Retail Pricing, Promotions and Positioning
 Retail Communication, Visual Merchandising and POP
 Retail Branding and Private Labels
 Supply Chain and Technology in Retail
 Retail Marketing and Strategy

PRESCRIBED TEXT BOOK

- Retail Management – A Strategic Approach, Barry Berman, Joel R. Evans, Mini Mathur,
Pearson Publication, 11th edition

OTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES

- Managing Retailing – Piyush Kumar Sinha, Dwarka Prasad Uniyal, Oxford
- Retailing Management – Michael Levy, Barton A.Weitz, Ajay Pandit, Tata McGraw-Hill
POLICY ON PLAGIARISM:
Plagiarism of any kind and to any extent would attract penalties. The assessment would be
‘zero’ for that particular component, with no further opportunity to improve. Repetition of the
offence would result in failure in the subject.

2
ASSESSMENT SCHEME AND WEIGHTAGE:

{a} MID-TERM & END-TERM

Weightage Duration (in CLO

Evaluation Open/close Book
(%) minutes) Tested

End-Term 30 90 Closed Book CLO1

{b} OTHER ASSESSMENTS

Sl. Unit of
Evaluation Item Weight Time CLO
No. Evaluation

Assignment: Building
Competitive Advantage in
Retailing (Using “Eight Ways
1 Group 10% After session 3 CLO3
to Win in Retailing” –
pentagon & triangle
framework)

2 Quiz 1 Individual 10% After 8th Session

After 14th
3 Quiz 2 Individual 10%
Session

Case Analysis: Shoppers Stop

Limited: Developing Sense-
and-Respond Capabilities
4 (Using “Adaptive Enterprise: Group 10% After session 14 CLO2
Creating and Leading Sense-
and-Respond Organizations”
model)

Project Report and Individual + (15 + 15

5 Sessions 19-20 CLO4
Presentations Group = 30%)

3
 PART 2: SESSION PLAN
Session Topics Pedagogy Reading
1-3 Introduction to Book Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 18
Retail Marketing  Indian retail in the global landscape
- Lecturing,  India’s Retail Policy timeline, FDI & e-
Basic Concepts Class room commerce Rules
discussion,  Retail organization structures by
Retail PPTs Ownership, Store-based Strategy Mix,
Marketing Omni-channel.
Environment  Evolution and relevance of retail –
traditional & modern trade, online &
Situation omni-channel retailing, cash and carry
Analysis format
 D2C model vs. Marketplace: the
preferred choice of consumers

Articles:
 The Future – Amazon – Reliance
situation
 The Walmart-Flipkart deal
 Metro Cash & Carry in the Indian Market
 D2C gives brands an exclusive outlet
presence online, but the model has
limitations
 Macro, Miso and Micro level impact of
the pandemic on retail
 Demand, capacity and stakeholder issues
faced by retailers
 Providing Transformative Service
through Innovative Business Models
The Pandemic-  Merchandising, Promotions & Marketing
induced PPT and Communication, Resilient service
4 Transition to classroom delivery
Omni-channel discussion
Retail Article:
 The Mega-disruption of the Pandemic –
Retailer’s brand-building through a
Transformative Service Lens
 How Retail Leaders handled the
Pandemic and won

4
 Book Chapter: 7
 Trading-Area Analysis
 Site Selection
Class room
Choosing a discussion Article:
5-6
Store Location and  Growing importance of geo-targeting for
Computation brands and business
 Strategies, Objectives, blueprints and
vision behind choosing new locations in
Tier I, II and III cities

 New multi-layered strategies retailers use

for private labels
 Effective responses developed by brand
Lecturing, manufacturers
Private Label
Class room
7-8 and Retail
discussion, Articles:
Branding
PPT  Reliance Retail Private Labels
 Ikea’s Value Creation in an Emerging
Market

Book Chapters: 12, 13

 Developing a retail price strategy
 External factors affecting retail price
Pricing &
strategy
Promotional Class room
Strategy in discussion  Elements of retail promotional mix
9-10
Retailing, and  Planning a retail promotional strategy
Repositioning Computation
Retail Brands Case study:
Spencer’s Retail Limited: Repositioning in a
Changing Retail Environment W14060-PDF-
ENG
Book Chapter: 15
 Retail image and atmospherics
 Store planning, color planning and
Visual
fixtures
Merchandising
 Merchandise presentation, window
11-12 &
display and other important tools
POP
communication Articles:
 The Evolution of Retail Design
 The Need of Visual Merchandising

5
 Book Chapters: 10, 11
 Developing and implementing
Merchandise Plans
 Metrics – GMROI, GMROF, GMROL,
GMV, Revenue Growth Management
Lecturing, (RGM), Net Merchandise Value (NMV),
Merchandise & Computation Unit Economics, financial concepts in
13-14 Category and Class retail, computations
Management room  Category roles in Category Management,
discussion Category Management Process

Articles:
 Category expansion: Is it a profitable
retail proposition?

Book Chapter: 9
 Partnership among retailers and vendors
in SCM
Supply Chain  Distribution Centres and their Activities
Lecturing and  Challenges in developing effective
Management in
15 Class room Supply Chains
Retail – Design
discussion
and Integration
Articles:
 Building Agile and Seamless supply
chains

 Building a successful Omni-channel

retail strategy
 Phygital Retail – strategies, innovation
and technological developments
 Factors influencing Omni-channel
strategy
 Omni-channel & consumer
Lecturing and empowerment, satisfaction
Omni-channel
16 Class room  Impact of utilitarian, hedonic & social
Retailing
discussion value on Omni-channel choice
 Barriers hindering Omni-channel reverse
logistics

Articles:
 Why building Omni-channel capabilities
are crucial for retail business

6
 Book Chapter: 9
 Obtaining IT capabilities by an enterprise
through process design and
Technology and standardization
Lecturing and
Information
17 Class room Articles:
Systems in
Retail
discussion  Role of Technology, Automation,
Blockchain in Retail
 Building impeccable customer
experience

18 Guest Lecture Session by Industry Practitioner

19-20 Project Presentations (30%)

PART 3: SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

* Project Details –
The project will be assigned to student teams of 6-7 members each. A group is expected to
report and present on any of the current issues/ trends in retail by covering materials discussed
in class and integrating the same with marketing practices. The teams need to decide on a
project theme unique to each group that is relevant to successful retail marketing practice.
Presentation pertaining to the project will be evaluated during the final sessions.

PLO MAPPING FOR THE COURSE

Addressed by CLO
PLO# Program Level Learning Goal Course? (Yes / No) No.
Application of Fundamentals
PLO1 Traits: Demonstrate application of functional / conceptual Yes CLO1
knowledge to business situations
Problem Identification and Solution
PLO2 Traits: Demonstrate ability to identify a problem, critically Yes CLO1
assess various alternatives and suggest appropriate solution
Integrative Thinking
Traits: Demonstrate ability to identify inter-linkages among CLO4
PLO3 Yes
functional areas within an enterprise and assess the impact of
external environment on its performance
Effective Communication
PLO4 Traits: Demonstrate proficiency in Oral and Written No CLO4
Communication
Ethical Responsibility
PLO5 Traits: Demonstrate awareness and assess impact of ethical No CLO3
behavior on business
Leadership
PLO6 Traits: Demonstrate capability to take leadership role in a No CLO2
business situation