This work deals with the logistics processes in the retail chain. The theoretical part describes the development and current state of logistics chains in delivering of the goods from the suppliers to the store shelves. The practical part of this work tries to use the application of the principles of logistics to movement of customers in the store space. Among the methods used belongs the study and application of literature, mainly foreign. The thesis also discusses checkout of customer. The analysis is based on data provided by one specific retailer. At the end of the practical part, the author attempts to draft the proposals enabling the company the improvement of the productivity of checkout and also describes possible changes in metrics that measure the productivity. The aim is to map productivity measurement of checkout of customers in the retail chain and suggest improvements. The second goal of this thesis is to try to prove that logistics is not standing outside the rest of functional departments of the company (neither above them nor below them) and should therefore cooperate very closely with these departments.

Despite the large volume of research in the area of loyalty-repurchase-satisfaction, the findings on the relationship between these variables are conflicting. It seems that links between loyalty, repurchase, and satisfaction are not fully understood yet. The study provided the theoretical background on loyalty, repurchase, satisfaction, and their interrelationships. The Theory of Planned Behavior and the Expectation Confirmation Theory were discussed. The loyalty-repurchase differentiation with five contributing factors was addressed. From the literature review nine hypotheses were proposed. The study was conducted in three phases. The purpose of the first phase was to statistically identify the magnitude and the direction of relationships: loyalty-satisfaction, repurchase-satisfaction, and loyalty-repurchase by providing a quantitative review. A Hunter and Schmidt (1990) meta-analysis technique was employed. The results demonstrated that those three constructs have positive, strong relationships. However, the relationships were moderated by a number of factors, including the geographic region of the collected sample, the category (products versus service), and the business setting (B2B versus B2C). The purpose of the second phase was to statistically identify relationships between the research constructs, such as loyalty dimensions (commitment, trust, involvement, and word of mouth), repurchase/repurchase intent, and satisfaction, by conducting a field study with customers of apparel products. A structural equation modeling technique was employed to test the proposed hypotheses. Eight hypotheses were supported. The results indicated that although positive relationships between the research constructs exist, not all relationships are significantly strong. The purpose of the third phase was to compare the meta-analysis results, obtained from the large number of independent empirical studies, with the field study results, obtained from surveying consumers of apparel products. The overall findings of this research indicated that while meta-analysis and the field study results agree on positive relationships between the research constructs, the differences lay within the strength of the investigated relationships. The possible explanation was provided based on the theoretical foundation from the literature review. The study contributes to the growing knowledge of the relationships between loyalty, repurchase, and satisfaction by assessing the current state of the empirical research on those three variables. This research addresses the existing gap in the literature, and attempts to resolve the existing mixed views on the studied concepts. The mixed results of meta-analysis and the field study in terms of the strength of the investigated relationships indicate the need to expand this area of research further.

Retail geography is an expanding field that is becoming increasingly important within academia, the business environment, and the national and global economy. The focus of this study is to provide insight and additional understanding of the site selection processes employed by Wal-Mart in the United States. The research studies Wal-Mart from a national perspective and investigates the patterns of retail store expansion across the United States from 1990 to 2005. The study employs the use of a continuous Poisson model to check for significant clustering, and a single and multiple correlation analysis to identify the types of relationships that exist between retail stores and location. The results of the study make apparent several distinct patterns of retail store dispersion within the United States between the years 1990 to 2005.

In South Africa, there has been a steady increase in the number of armed robberies within the retail industry which have many negative consequences for the victims, their families, and the community. Materialism and economic advantage are major factors, as these robberies are very lucrative, although socio-economic factors such as unemployment, poverty, and relative deprivation can also contribute to the phenomenon. The climate of violence prevalent in South Africa, the ineffectiveness of the criminal justice system, as well as the availability of illegal firearms also contributes to this climate of lawlessness. The intense fear aroused by these robberies, as well as the extent of this crime necessitates empirical research in this regard. A literature search of South African databases reflects that no specific research regarding retail robberies has been undertaken. In order to fill this void, it was decided to investigate the modus operandi of retail robbers from the victims' perspective, as well as relevant situational factors, victim reactions and the consequences of these robberies. The Model of the victim's experience after a retail robbery (see Figure 2) was formulated to serve as a theoretical framework to give direction to the study and interpret the findings. In order to actualise the set research expectations, various victims of retail robberies within Gauteng were selected to participate in this study. The sample was drawn according to the purposive theoretical and snowball sampling methods. The sample consisted of 20 victims. Individual interviews were conducted with these respondents. Upon analysis and interpretation of the data, it was found that most retail robberies occur in areas with a high crime-rate. The main reason for the selection of a specific target seems to be the obtaining of money. The findings further indicate that retail robberies are committed by groups of offenders who predominantly make use of handguns during these robberies and usually have getaway vehicles waiting outside the stores. It was also apparent in the study that verbal threats and violence are usually employed during retail robberies in order to ensure compliance by the victims and that victims are less likely to resist if the offenders are armed with firearms. Findings indicate that the robbers become more aggressive when resisted and that aggression is influenced by the size of the group. The findings further show that stores with few customers are more likely to become the victims of retail robberies. It was found that security measures such as armed response, alarms and panic buttons do not necessarily deter retail robbers, but most stores improved their security following a robbery. Stores with no surveillance appear to be more vulnerable. Another situational factor pertinent to the study was that most of the stores' interiors were visible to passers-by from the outside. Finally, the impact of retail robberies upon the lives of the victims in terms of financial, physical, emotional and social consequences was also investigated. Based on the findings, recommendations are made with regard to further research. Stemming from this, various suggestions concerning the prevention of retail robberies are also made. / Dissertation (MA (Criminology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

Magíster en Economía Aplicada / Ingeniero Civil Industrial / Este estudio se orienta a buscar las variables que explican la existencia de firmas de retail ofreciendo productos financieros en el mundo. Durante la última década, se ha prestado particular atención a la relación entre ambos negocios, en particular en Chile, Estados Unidos, y el Reino Unido. Este estudio contribuye a comprender por qué dos segmentos tan distintos como ventas minoristas y servicios financieros son ofrecidos por la misma firma, y qué podría hacer esta estrategia rentable. La hipótesis general es que el ambiente legal, regulatorio y económico explican la ventaja comparativa que los retailers tienen para ofrecer productos financieros, las cuales los llevarían a diversificar a esta línea de negocios en particular. Utilizando una base de sobre 1.200 firmas, abarcando 37 países para el período 2000-2003, este estudio trabajo la relación entre la existencia e importancia del negocio financiero dentro de cada retailer utilizando variables comunes en la literatura, así como otras propias de este estudio, tanto a nivel de firma como a nivel de país. La evidencia sugiere que la regulación financiera es un buen predictor de la existencia de este fenómeno. Adicionalmente, éste es más prevalente en países con mayor desarrollo del sector bancario, y su presencia se asocia a una menor rentabilidad en este sector. Lo anterior sugiere que los retailers actúan como sustitutos de la banca en vez de un complemento. Finalmente, retailers que añaden intermediación financiera a sus líneas de negocio presentan mayores oportunidades de crecimiento, y retailers más grandes le dan más importancia a esta diversificación. Sin embargo, las características particulares del negocio del retail que le generan una ventaja comparativa siguen siendo una interrogante. Probablemente la calidad de información de comportamiento que los retailers son capaces de recolectar y explotar les permiten un mejor conocimiento de sus clientes, así como una mejor gestión de riesgo, más allá de la cobertura de los burós de información comercial y la eficiencia del sistema legal. En este sentido, la oportunidad y actitud de los clientes de adquirir servicios financieros al momento de la decisión de compra puede ser clave. De los resultados empíricos, así como de la evidencia particular de Chile, se puede desprender que en ausencia de una adecuada regulación, el negocio financiero de la industria del retail puede llegar a representar una fracción importante de la industria financiera total, por lo que es recomendable el desarrollo de un marco regulatorio que permita la convivencia de la banca tradicional con instituciones no financieras sin poner en riesgo la estabilidad del sistema, asegurando que la competencia en el mercado del crédito sea beneficiosa desde el punto de vista social, previniendo arbitraje regulatorio y niveles de endeudamiento excesivo.

Retail small business leaders face the challenges of retaining their employees. Retail small business leaders are concerned with ineffective retention strategies, which can increase employee turnover and collapse their businesses. Grounded in Herzberg's two-factor theory the objective of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore small retail business leaders' strategies to retain employees. The participants comprised 5 small retail business leaders from Minneapolis, Minnesota, who had 5 to 10 years of employee retention experience. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and business documents. Data were analyzed using Yin's 5-phase process; 5 themes emerged to include frequent communication between management and employees, employee compensation and welfare, employee engagement, employee recognition, and employee advancement. The implications for positive social change include the potential small business leaders to explore effective retention strategies, which can result in stable employment for employees and their families.

Ingeniero Civil Industrial / El presente informe, muestra las bases del desarrollo de la memoria para optar al título de Ingeniero Civil Industrial en la Universidad de Chile. La memoria, titulada Diseño operacional de un eCommerce para una tienda de retail , se realizará en un retailer especializado en productos de belleza y cuidado personal durante el período comprendido entre Septiembre de 2011 y Enero de 2012. La memoria basa su justificación en que los competidores más directos en el sector de belleza, han realizado distintas iniciativas que hacen al sector más competitivo y, por tanto, se hace imperativo buscar nuevas fórmulas que posicionen de mejor manera a la firma. En ese sentido, desarrollar un eCommerce surge como alternativa. Si bien, un desarrollo como este implica distintos desafíos (ej: medios de pago, control de fraude, etc.), el objetivo de la memoria, como sugiere el título, se centra en realizar el desarrollo del modelo operacional del canal de ventas por internet a través de una metodología basada en BPMN, estableciendo los cimientos para una eventual implementación por parte de la empresa (la implementación, eso sí, está fuera del alcance del trabajo a realizar por el memorista). El resto de los otros desafíos se sugieren como futuros trabajos. Dentro de los principales resultados del trabajo se muestra que el canal de ventas por internet ha experimentado un gran crecimiento, estimándose que en 2014 las ventas por este medio asciendan a US$ 23.000 millones a nivel latinoamericano. Adicionalmente, se ve en el rubro de la belleza una gran oportunidad, explicada principalmente por la falta de actores. Realizando un levantamiento de los distintos procesos actuales del retailer, se concluye que los procesos críticos apuntan a la preparación y despacho de los pedidos. Según distintas alternativas, se decide trabajar sobre un público principalmente trabajador y joven, debido a que concentran los tickets promedios más altos de la compañía. Para éstos, según los requerimientos de la empresa, se decide optar por el retiro en tienda como principal canal de entrega de pedidos, pero dejando claro que la recomendación es incorporar el despacho a domicilio desde el principio. Finalmente se definen los procesos definitivos propuestos para el eCommerce, basada en una estructura medible y por lo tanto mejorable, quizás la principal virtud del modelo propuesto.

Since the retail industry has been drastically affected due to the growth of online shopping, companies have become more aware of higher competition in their current physical stores. Since there is still demand for companies to have physical stores, they have to understand the values those remaining physical stores possess and understand the undergoing changes in the sector. The change has created a value of digitalization and as it looks the digital environment remains cheaper than labour work in stores which in turn creates a certain attraction of lowering cost and maximizing profit. But statistics have shown that retail suffers low retention rates, and it relates to costs of recruiting, education, loss of sales, service quality and much more. It has become more important due to the high turnover cost to retain employees, and especially those who are “talented” and to attract those employees has become more important. Our research is based on different literature which revolves around the fields of employee retention factors and retention strategies within the retail industry. There is a high academic attention towards retention strategies in general, but far less attention is paid towards the retail industry. We chose a manager approach toward investigating our research questions, since the majority of earlier studies have based their research from employees' perspectives toward why they leave their jobs, or why they stay. Our thesis answers the research question of “What strategies or activities are made by managers in order to retain talented employees within the Swedish retail sector?”. In order to find an answer to our research question, we conducted a qualitative study which involved interviewing managers within the Swedish retail industry. Through thematic analysis we discussed different key takeaways from our empirical findings, which we compared to our theoretical framework, in order to later conclude our discussion into our conclusion chapter. Our findings show how different retention factors, namely: Social support, development opportunities, autonomy, compensation and work life balance are being implemented in practice within different organizations. While our thesis provides answers on how retention factors are being implemented within the Swedish retail sector, it is necessary to research the subject further in order to gain more detailed insights on the implementation of the retention methods and strategies used, as well as gaining an employee perspective on how the effectiveness of each method and strategy are being perceived.

This report measures and explains the way that new grocery store development in underserved neighborhoods impact economic development. This study evaluates a new grocery storeÕs economic impact in six critical areas: 1) Job Creation 2) Income Creation 3) Tax Revenue Creation 4) Impact on Surrounding Residential Real Estate ) Impact on Surrounding Commercial Real Estate 6) Lower Food Costs The research shows that when these six effects areas are considered together, the potential economic impact of a new grocery store in a food desert is immense. The most important of these topics is the new stores ability to create jobs, local income, and it effect upon the surrounding real estate. National data shows that a new grocery store can have an employment multiplier of nearly 20, meaning that for every directly created job, 20 more are either created or supported elsewhere in the economy. Furthermore, between 50 and 75 percent of directly created jobs are filled locally, helping to pump income into the local communi . Thirdly, the opening of a new grocery store has an immediate and significant effect upon commercial and residential real estate. Data from the Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative indicates that the opening of a new store instantly boosts home values by between four and seven percent and reverses negatively trending home values. While the effect on commercial real estate is less measurable, it is no less significant. The new store acts as an anchor retailer, attracting smaller retailers to the area and helping to reduce community vacancy rates and spur economic development. Lastly, the new store will reduce the cost of food to the local community by providing food at cheaper prices than local convenience stores and by removing many of the unnecessary transportation costs that food desert residents frequently encounter. Illustrating these potential impacts, the proposed development of a new Jack and Jakes Grocery Store on O.C. Ha y Boulevard in the Central City neighborhood of New Orleans is a perfect case study. As defined by the USDA, Central City is a low-income food desert. For years it has suffered serious economic decay that has seen its main commercial corridor, O.C. Haley Boulevard, become completely defunct. However, in applying national data and several widely accepted economic theories, this report concludes that the development of a new grocery store in this area is ideal. The new store will help to make community attractive to economic investment and redevelopment once again. By providing jobs and income to the surrounding community, retail demand in the area will be increased. This in turn will make the commercial corridor more attractive to businesses. Furthermore, as an anchor retailer, the new grocery store will further promote economic development by helping to apply downward pressure on community vacancy rates, both residential and commercial. / 0 / SPK / specialcollections@tulane.edu

Memoria para optar al título de Ingeniero Civil Industrial / Dentro de la industria del retail existen varios formatos de tienda, uno de los cuales corresponde a las tiendas de conveniencia. Este formato se caracteriza por sus clientes que permanecen poco tiempo comprando, lo que se debe a las dimensiones de la tienda, la practicidad en la ubicación de los productos y la rapidez en el área de cajas. El cliente no permanece más de dos minutos frente a la caja, y es bajo ésta donde se ubica la zona de productos impulsivos, siendo necesario que el cliente sepa de la existencia de los productos, tenga una buena visualización de los que allí se exhiben, se sienta persuadido y decida comprarlos. La memoria tiene como objetivo central determinar la asignación y la localización de los productos dentro de la zona de impulsivos, para una tienda de conveniencia perteneciente a la red Pronto Copec. El proyecto tiene la finalidad de ser un aporte en la etapa de diseño de los planogramas de la zona, incluyendo los inputs, adicionales a los utilizados en los procesos de diseño actuales, que se deben considerar y que tienen relación con los hábitos y patrones de compra de los clientes. Es en la zona de impulsivos donde la tienda de conveniencia se enfrenta a algunos paradigmas, varios de los cuales no han sido analizados aún por Pronto. Se efectúa un estudio en profundidad, para generar propuestas que ayudan en el sustento y apoyo en la toma de decisiones que se llevan a cabo en la zona de impulsivos, de cara a que haya una mayor efectividad en la persuasión hacia los clientes para que realicen compras imprevistas. Se realiza un levantamiento de la situación actual relativa a los procesos, que van desde la determinación del mix de productos hasta la configuración y diseño de un planograma. Una vez seleccionada la tienda y formato de interés para el estudio, se utiliza un modelo de optimización para la localización y asignación de productos. El modelo es ajustado a las condiciones espaciales, contractuales y de exhibición de la tienda seleccionada. Posteriormente, con la resolución del modelo de optimización, se obtiene un planograma para la zona de impulsivos, el cual se completa incorporando un análisis de atributos de productos, elementos de merchandising de visualización y criterios propios relativos a las condiciones del local. Finalmente, el diseño del planograma se desarrolla, con la ayuda del software de planogramación Spaceman Professional , para la tienda Pronto Camilo Henriquez formato P190. Se concluye que el objetivo principal relativo a la resolución del modelo de optimización, para la localización y asignación de los productos, es alcanzado. Además, se obtiene una metodología adaptable, y escalable, a cualquier formato de las tiendas de conveniencia Pronto.