Susan S. Fiorito

A Marketing Strategy Analysis of Small Retailers

Although the need for small firm marketing strategy research is widely acknowledged, few empirical studies have been conducted to date. The present study investigates the marketing strategies of a group of small retailers. Two levels of marketing strategy are identified and tested. The findings suggest the importance of developing an integrated marketing strategy which will effectively position the retailer against other store types, yet also provide a differential advantage for competing against stores of the same type. The article concludes with several suggestions for future strategy research.

Quick response: perceptions of UK fashion retailers

Defines and discusses the level of quick response implementation by fashion retailers, their understanding of quality response (QR) is explored and the processes for replenishments examined. This exploratory study, based on a survey of fashion retailers trading in the UK, revealed that information technology is particularly important to the large, multiple “own brand” fashion retailers as it enables the various parties in the supply chain to communicate and to respond to demand. Results indicate that retailers have not fully understood the benefits of implementing a QR strategy and perceive it more often as a strategy for internal supply chain management rather than an external supply chain strategy.

Quick response in retailing: components and implementation

Defines and discusses quick response (QR), with its relationship to vendor partnering, short‐cycle manufacturing, demand‐flow manufacturing, “virtual integration”, re‐engineering, just‐in‐time and efficient consumer response as an introduction to the results of a study on which firms are implementing QR and at what stage they are regarding their implementation strategy. The results of the study show that 73 per cent of the responding retailers claimed to be implementing some phase of QR. Implementation is slow, however, with only two of 15 QR components reported to be as much as half‐implemented among the retail respondents.

Acceptance of online customization for apparel shopping

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the determinants of successful customization of apparel in e‐retailing and to provide managerial suggestions for strategic planning.Design/methodology/approach – Using an online survey, data are collected from 300 female adults in the US secured through a nationwide random sampling method. AMOS 7.0 and SPSS 15.0 are used to analyze the data.Findings – Customers recognize the benefits of online customization of apparel when they perceive the website to be useful and competent. Additionally, customers perceive customization websites to be more useful when the websites are secure for the information customers provide. Interestingly, the ease of operation of a website is negatively related to the perception of a competent website and does not influence a positive attitude toward the online customization of apparel.Practical implications – In order to give the impression of competent and useful websites, marketers need to develop secure websites. Ease of opera...

Korean women’s clothing brand loyalty

To be a dominant company (in other words, a long‐term successful company), it is an enormous task to build brand loyalty, to reach brand loyal customers, and to give those customers’ product satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to identify clothing brand loyal customers regarding their buying behavior, self‐image, and demographics. Also, brand loyal customers’ post‐purchase outcomes based on clothing attributes were investigated. The questionnaire was based on a self‐administrated pilot study and included measuring brand loyalty, consumer decision making, and demographics. Data were from 328 questionnaires completed by adult women living in Seoul, Korea. The results showed that in purchasing tee shirts, 24.4 percent of the sample were brand loyal customers, 42.2 percent were brand loyal customers in purchasing trousers and 38.7 percent were brand loyal customers in purchasing jackets. The multiple discriminant analysis indicated several significant variables for profiling brand loyal customers and non‐brand loyal customers. High price, brand loyal customers and low/medium price, brand loyal customers significantly differed in post‐purchase satisfaction.

The impact of vendor incentives on Quick Response

Quick Response (QR) is an important business strategy that was initiated in the mid 1980s to deal with competition, slow growth, and reduced margins in the apparel industry. The purpose of this paper was to explore QR strategies focusing on the development of vendor partnerships. A vendor partnership model of QR implementation and channel relationships was developed using an exploratory sample of US retail firms. The model was tested using correlation analysis. Major findings indicated that these firms gave vendors incentives to adopt QR and that firms having more advanced QR programmes perceived fewer problems than those with less advanced programmes. A partial relationship was found between QR and improved financial performance. Finally, the length of time firms had been practicing QR did not guarantee a more advanced QR programme.

Retail buyers’ perceptions of quick response systems

Quick response (QR) systems are being implemented by retail firms at an ever quickening pace throughout the USA. While dramatic changes occur throughout the retail company adopting QR strategies, it is the buyers and buyers’ assistants that are more affected by these changes than other executives in the retail firm. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions, attitudes and opinions of retail buyers toward QR. Over 200 buyers from leading department and specialty store firms that have implemented, or are beginning to implement, QR participated. In general, the findings indicated that buyers had a positive view of QR systems; felt QR would save them time but not reduce the number of buyers currently employed; and that they used technology as an integral part of their job. The study also found several significant factors describing buyers’ perceptions of QR that were related to the size of their organization.

Retail buyers' decision-making process: an investigation of contributing variables

A retail stores profitability is contingent, to some degree, on the performance of the retail buyer. The present research examines selected constructs from a model (Sheth 1981) that serve as heuristic devices used by retail buyers of fashion goods that may influence the decision-making process of the buyer. The decision reached affects the performance of the retail buyer which is judged by gross margin return on inventory investment. Based on the results from questionnaires distributed to department store buyers, the major influences on gross margin return on inventory investment are type of merchandise the buyer selected, type of buying decision, job experience and training received by the buyer. These findings are not only useful in the development of a retail buyer behavior model, but also in executive training programs.

Supplier perceptions of quick response systems

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to explore supply chain management issues in the Scottish textile and clothing industry, such as company awareness of automatic replenishment (AR) systems, quick response implementation (QRI), and relationships within the supply chain.Design/methodology/approach – Face‐to‐face interviews were undertaken with 33 Scottish suppliers.Findings – Results indicate that less than a third of the companies surveyed in Scotland had implemented AR/QRI systems and that many supply chain members had not fully understood the benefits of implementing information technology (IT) to support an AR/QRI strategy. They perceive it more as a strategy for retailers than as a virtual supply chain strategy.Research limitations/implications – Since this study was limited to 33 Scottish suppliers, findings can only be used as a guide for further research into the area. The next stage of this research will be to gather more responses from UK and US suppliers of fashion garments, as well as to...

Testing a Portion of Sheth's Theory of Merchandise Buying Behavior with Small Apparel Retail Firms

Buying decisions in a retail store are among the most important and the most often made. Yet we have little empirical work that has contributed to our understanding of buyer decision-making in a retail setting. This study tested a portion of Sheths (1981) theory on merchandise requirements in order to better understand the components in buyer decision-making in the small apparel retail firm. Simple and multivariate regression analyses were used with vendor selection criteria as dependent variables. The results indicated that several of the merchandise requirement variables were significant in explaining vendor selection criteria. However, product specific variables—quality, color, position on fashion cycle, styling, distinctiveness, brand name, and price—were by far the most potent predictors of vendor selection criteria in all regression analyses.