This diploma thesis deals with the proposal of a business management strategy in the company. The thesis consists of a description of HORPO´s business, an analysis of the current state of the retail unit, evaluation of the theoretical bases related to retail activities, and in the last part proposals of concrete solutions including the conditions of implementation and benefits of these proposals.

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The overall purpose of this research was to understand how consumers perceive physical environments from multi-brand fashion retail stores. According to Solomon and Rabolt (2008), a well-design of store environment can fulfill consumer’s shopping process with a pleasant, efficient and enjoyable experience. Since many researchers have proved that the store environment directs consumer’s shopping experience, by investigating consumer’s behavior with psychological and physical perceptions in a store is the approach for retailers to create more business opportunities in a competitive fashion industry today.Through literature review we know, the development of retail stores from eighteenth century until today, it changes by social, culture, economic factors as well as consumer behavior. From the history, it also illustrates how a multi-brand fashion retail store grows in today’s Swedish market. Customers’ interview is the important approach to know how consumers experience shopping and perceive the environment in the multi-brand fashion retail stores. Because of consumers’ demographic differences, the perceptions from the same store environment lead to either positive or negative feelings. By interviewing the store staffs, the companies’ management and store display strategies are provided and it is helpful to analyze and compare in parallel. The retailer applies appropriately store designing strategy to focus on a certain group of consumers is useful to find its target consumers as well as appealing to target consumer’s satisfaction with shopping experience. Based on the interview result, the perceptions both from consumers and retailers are discussed. According to the analysis of the results, recommendations are given for tangible and intangible improvements. In terms of visible improvements, the retailers may improve visual communication and lighting design in the store environment which enhances consumer’s attitude toward positive perception and exceptions. Sending positive knowledge is an invisible channel to influence consumer behavior, and it is sure that consumers are willing to learn what they are interested. Furthermore, improving visual merchandise management is an approach to compete increasing number of outlets in the market which could be achieved by professional employees and training processes.To design or create a better physical environment of multi-brand fashion retail store, it not only follows the retailer’s marketing strategy and company orientation, but also concerns for consumers’ needs toward positive influences. A consumer’s perception from a store environment decides his or her attitude and behavior. If consumers are satisfied with the store, they will tell an average of 5 other people, whereas disappointed consumers may talk to more people and never return to the store. (Hines and Bruce 2008) To develop a better physical environment of a multi-brand fashion retail store, it relies on interacting of influences between consumers and retailers. / Program: Magisterutbildning i fashion management med inriktning modemarknadsföring

Globalization has influenced the grocery retail industry and the most impactful changes are the preferences and habits of consumers. The increased consumption of consumers is one of the habits that have created a demand for sustainable products. The sustainable products can be marketed towards consumers by the frontline employees. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how grocery retail store personnel can be used as ambassadors toward consumers that will result in sustainable purchase behaviour. To answer the research question, several interviews have been conducted. The interview with the grocery retail expert aided us in the formulation of interview questions. The four interviews with two ICA stores’ personnel provided us with the empirical data needed for reaching the conclusions. Findings reveal that the involvement of personnel in communication with the consumers has positive a positive outcome. In this way, they can be seen as CSR ambassadors and, therefore, efficiently market the organization. To achieve CSR ambassadorship, employees and consumers must enhance organizational identification. One conclusion is that consumers may reach sustainable purchase behaviour when CSR ambassadorship is developed in coherence with a grocery retail store.

運動產業之品牌銷售公司，產品須配合四季推出，生命週期短且汰換率高，此外擴張產品策略到休閒服飾，也因此面臨休閒服飾國際品牌紛紛進入之衝擊及流行趨勢挑戰。在高度競爭的運動產業中，消費者的購買行為強烈受到品牌認知影響，品牌建構成為產品差異化的重要關鍵。業者為了提昇業績成長和提高市佔率，如何有效地將有限的行銷資金投資於品牌之建構，成為重要的管理議題。藉由在人潮聚集的主要商圈投資經銷商或自營的銷售店點，開設品牌形象專賣店，是業者達成業績成長的主要策略之一。在快速投資的過程中如何提升採購效率，降低開店成本，以達到盈餘成長，攸關業者的生存發展。因此，開設銷售店點之營運流程，也成為成本控制的重要關鍵流程，藉以在精簡的人事組織中持續簡化流程，增加營運效率，確保服務品質，降低成本，提高企業競爭力。 本研究首先運用企業流程資訊有機體( PWIO)模式分析個案公司開設銷售店點交易循環的營運流程，透過分析作業流程對內、對外之資訊聯絡管道和接觸點，以實作表詳實描述各項作業的原貌。根據PWIO分析結果，辨識出個案公司管理議題缺失，針對各項作業提出具體的流程改進建議，另一方面在實作表中建立各該流程的目標，並提出具體衡量各作業流程的績效衡量指標。依據目標與績效衡量指標的因果關係進一步探討個案公司的平衡計分卡並描繪策略地圖，提供個案公司持續改善流程的績效管理架構基礎，以實現公司願景。 / The products of the sports brand companies need to be launched seasonally. The life cycle of sports products is short. The market strategy has expanded beyond active users to encompass the leisurewear market which makes the sports industry encounter not only the threat of international leisurewear’s brand but also the challenge of fashion trend. Facing such sharp competition, branding has become a key success factor for differentiation. As consumers are strongly affected by brand images, in order to increase both sales and market share, it is essential to allocate marketing resources effectively to brand building activities. By contributing brand-specific fixtures and signage to franchised stores or direct retail stores in shopper-populated districts, running branded stores has become the main sales growth strategies. In the course of fast investment, how to enhance the efficiency of purchase and how to lower the cost of setting up shops to achieve earning growth become the key to growth. Therefore, the business process of setting up retail shops becomes critical to cost control. In short, the key factors to success lies in how to reengineer the business process in simplified organization, in order to improve performance efficiency, to ensure service quality, to lower cost for the purpose of strengthen industry competition power. This study attempts to analyze the information flow underlying the business process of setting up retail shop for a subsidiary of an international sports brand in Taiwan. Based on the PWIO approach, the operation process was restored and descried in the business table by identifying the practice of contact point (CP) and information channel(IC). The related suggestions to improve management gaps of this process are proposed according to the PWIO analysis. The practices table exploring also help to set up the objectives and concreted performance measures to enhance the value adding degree of this strategic business process. A proposed balanced scorecard and strategy map are developed to serve as the management framework of evaluation and management of the strategic performance to assuring sustained process improvement. Company vision will be achieved through the business process reengineering.

Master Thesis in Marketing,SchoolofBusinessandEconomicsat Linnaeus University, spring 2012 Authors: Sophie Lindgren and Amanda Tuvhag Title: Corporate Social Responsibility – A successful business strategy or just a trend? Purpose: First of all, this thesis wants to describe managers’ expectations regarding customers’ perception about their retail stores CSR initiatives and furthermore their implemented CSR initiatives. Secondly, to describe customer awareness and engagement towards retail stores CSR initiatives. Finally, to compare the results from retail store and customers, in purpose to identify possible gaps between these two. Research questions:RQ1: What expectations regarding customers’ perception of retail stores CSR initiatives do manager of such stores have and how do they perform CSR activities? RQ2:    How aware are customer regarding retail stores CSR initiative and what level of engagement do customer have concerning retail stores CSR activities? Method:    The empirical material is based on both a quantitative and a qualitative investigation. The quantitative investigation is the main study and contains of a customer survey whereby the collected sample consist of 150 respondents. A pilot study have been conducted in order to improve the intension of the survey. Further, the qualitative investigation contains five in-depth semi-strucutred interviews with local store managers of the selected retail stores. Conclusion: Customer thinks retail stores CSR initiatives are important, but they seldom support them. Retail store expect customers to value CSR products/action low in relation to other factors, but retail store are engaging themselves in several CSR actions. Keywords:    Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), marketing strategy, business ethics, sustainability, reputation, food industry, retailers, gap-model, perception, customer, retail store industry, expectation, environmentally certified, ecological products, fair trade.

The Diploma thesis ,Selected aspects of the retail supplier-purchaser relations' defines British grocery retailing. It presents government bodies which regulate retail industry and important independent not-for-profit organizations which have a strong influence on the market situation. It introduces the reader into legislation which regulates supplier-purchaser relations, particularly the Supermarket Code of Practice and its revised version the Groceries Supply Code of Practice. The analytical part examines the British market at the macroeconomical level, outlines the grocery retailing structure, describes the supply chain, customer behaviour, points out certain pricing and product policy trends and presents subjects which are bonded by the provisions set out in the Groceries Supply Code of Practice. The findings on local market competition and barriers which prevent the entry by a competitor are of a high significance as well. Despite the introduction of legal regulation the supplier-purchaser relations remain unequal and unfair. The thesis proposes a forecast of possible future grocery market development in the United Kingdom.

Retail stores rely on consumers to maintain their businesses and growth. Much of their success depends on the safety and security of consumers. The more people come and buy the products, the more profitable the stores become. If the safety and security of consumers (or their perceptions thereof) at a shopping centre where a retail store is sited is in question, consumers may well stop frequenting such centres and do their shopping at other retail centres at which they perceive to be more safe and secure to do their shopping. Consumers’ ‘peace-of-mind’ plays a vital role in their selection of which retail store(s) to frequent and will often determine whether a repeat visit will occur. The extent of incidents of crime of whatever nature at a particular shopping centre will also impact negatively on shoppers’ perceptions of ‘how safe it is to shop’ at particular centres. Security measures differ from one retail store to another and also between the size and layout, as well as the location of the retail store. The rate at which criminal offences take place at retail stores is currently vague or unknown. Therefore, it is vital that specific risks confronting these retail stores should be identified and analysed with the intention of recommending specific security measures. Business crime and violence present significant threats to consumers’ safety and security in South Africa. High levels of business associated crimes have compelled communities and business bodies such as retail stores to provide their own security for the protection of their assets, as well as consumers. Effective security measures are a prerequisite at retail stores to ensure the safety and security of consumers whilst visiting retail stores. Precaution ought to be taken when dealing with any crime problem that affects consumers at any business environment, in this study more precisely: retail stores. The study explored the existing security measures at retail stores for the protection of consumers. The researcher employed qualitative methods: one-on-one interviews with participants and site observations at selected retail stores. There were 30 participants (20 consumers and 10 security officers). The study found the following:  Retail stores were exposed to security risks such as theft; shoplifting; common robbery; armed robbery; fraud; arson and assaults (grievous bodily harm) and burglary.  The security measures that are currently in place are not adequate to protect retail stores. These security measures differ from one retail store to the next.  In order to improve safety and security at retail stores there should be a security standard that is applicable to the retail stores. Based on the findings, some of the recommendations were as follows:  Retail stores should be protected in line with the level of risk of the area where the retail store is situated: low risk; medium risk; and high risk.  Security managers should conduct security awareness regularly.  Threat assessments should be conducted regularly as well.  Consumers are encouraged to report to the Security manager at the retail store any suspicious actions; persons; objects; and vehicles. / Criminology and Security Science / M. Tech. (Security Management)