<p>Background: The increasing number of actors on the market has led to a more intense competition among superstores. With this, marketing has gotten an even more essential meaning. The marketing activities superstores perform are adapted to the context in which the store is located. </p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to, from different theoretical dimensions, compare superstores’ application of marketing strategies in Tokyo with the marketing strategies used by superstores in Stockholm. By such a comparison we also intend to describe possible variations and reasons behind the differences if such should be evident. Research </p><p>Method: The study is based on an approach similar to that of a case study. We have interviewed two Japanese companies with superstores in Tokyo and one Swedish company with a superstore located in Stockholm. The findings were then analyzed and the results compared in order to illuminate the contextual factors the marketing strategies of superstores correlates with. </p><p>Findings: The major differences between marketing of superstores in the chosen contexts are due to many factors but mainly the mobility of the population and all that comes with that, for example traffic conditions and infrastructure. What the working population looks like in terms of demographics and psychographics, what the living and storage spaces look like and of course the size of the city, the larger the city is, the more companies and alternatives are available. All this also affects the population’s mobility and hence also other marketing actions.</p>

Background: The increasing number of actors on the market has led to a more intense competition among superstores. With this, marketing has gotten an even more essential meaning. The marketing activities superstores perform are adapted to the context in which the store is located. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to, from different theoretical dimensions, compare superstores’ application of marketing strategies in Tokyo with the marketing strategies used by superstores in Stockholm. By such a comparison we also intend to describe possible variations and reasons behind the differences if such should be evident. Research Method: The study is based on an approach similar to that of a case study. We have interviewed two Japanese companies with superstores in Tokyo and one Swedish company with a superstore located in Stockholm. The findings were then analyzed and the results compared in order to illuminate the contextual factors the marketing strategies of superstores correlates with. Findings: The major differences between marketing of superstores in the chosen contexts are due to many factors but mainly the mobility of the population and all that comes with that, for example traffic conditions and infrastructure. What the working population looks like in terms of demographics and psychographics, what the living and storage spaces look like and of course the size of the city, the larger the city is, the more companies and alternatives are available. All this also affects the population’s mobility and hence also other marketing actions.

En moins de 50 ans, le Mouvement Leclerc, créé en 1949, s'est imposé comme un acteur majeur de la grande distribution. Notre travail, réalisé à partir des archives du groupe, est centré sur l'analyse du modèle qu'il constitue et de sa dynamique d'expansion. D'une part, le discount, l'existence d'un leader charismatique et d'outils fonctionnant sur le mode coopératif sont les traits permanents de l'identité du Mouvement. D'autre part, l'expansion du réseau de magasins et la transformation des points de vente – initialement de petites épiceries devenues des hypermarchés – ont impliqué la mise en place de structures et de mécanismes spécifiques. Le Mouvement s'est initialement construit sur l'indépendance pleine et entière des magasins qui implique une organisation a minima et fortement décentralisée. Toutefois, si cette dernière s'est d'abord révélée efficace, au fur et à mesure que le Mouvement a grossi et s'est diversifié, elle a révélé ses limites, le maintien de la performance locale impliquant la mutualisation ou la nationalisation des achats d'abord, puis de certains éléments de gestion. Enfin, l'expansion du groupe et la préservation de son parc de magasins ont impliqué la création de mécanismes reposant sur la constitution de liens entre les adhérents. / In less than 50 years, the Leclerc Movement, founded in 1949, has established a position as one of the nation's leading large retailers. Our study, undertaken from the company archives, is focused on an analysis of its model and the dynamic of the group's development.On one hand, the notion of discount, the presence of a charismatic leader and the cooperative structure of the organization make up the permanent foundations of the Movement's identity.On another hand, the expansion of the network of stores and the transformation of the retailers – from small groceries to supermarkets – necessitated the creation of specific structures and mechanisms.The Movement was initially built on the autonomy and independence of each shop. Management was by definition a minima and largely decentralized.However, if the structure of this organization proved to be self-sufficient at first, when the Movement grew and diversified, it revealed its limits. To maintain performance at a local level, it became essential to consolidate and centralize first the purchasing of produce, and subsequently certain elements of management.This latter phase in the company's growth and the protection of its network of shops has led to the constitution of enduring links between its members.

L'aménagement des centres-villes est ici rapproché des mutations politiques, économiques, sociales et religieuses qui ont marqué l'évolution de notre société et ont progressivement transformé la structure et les usages de la ville. Alors que celle-ci s'organisait auparavant autour d'un centre unique, puissant, fédérateur et symbolique, elle s'articule aujourd'hui, sous l'effet de la métropolisation, autour de plusieurs lieux de centralité obéissant chacun à des logiques et à des finalités propres. Face à ces changements structurels, le centre-ville fait l'objet de nouvelles formes d'appropriation qui tendent à remettre en cause son rôle dans le système urbain. Moteur de la cité, le centre ne fonctionne pas en autarcie : bien au contraire, il est dans un rapport constant avec ce qui l'entoure et doit être appréhendé dans sa globalité. Aménager le centre-ville suppose de comprendre la relation unissant ce lieu, reflet d'une certaine fixité du fait de fortes densités urbaines, avec le reste de la ville, caractérisé à l'inverse par une mobilité généralisée. A l'appui d'une analyse rétrospective, cette approche systémique s'inscrit à contre courant de la vision sectorielle du droit de l'urbanisme et vise à démontrer la relation entre l'échec des politiques d'aménagement des centres-villes et celui des politiques d'urbanisation de la périphérie. Parallèlement, le retour à la ville « compacte » préconisé par les pouvoirs publics en vue de limiter l'étalement urbain et les déplacements automobiles soulève une problématique récurrente de l'aménagement des centres : celle de concilier leurs densités et leur accessibilité / In this study, core-city planning is compared with the major political, economic, social and religious mutations that have marked the evolution of our society and have gradually transformed the structure and uses of the city. While it was previously organized around a single powerful, unifying and symbolic centre, today as a result of metropolisation the city is structured around several poles of centrality each in accordance with a specific logic and purpose. Faced with these structural changes, the core-city is subject to new forms of appropriation, which challenge its role in the urban system. As the driving force of the city, the core-city does not exist in isolation: on the contrary, it is in constant interaction with its surroundings and so must be apprehended in its globality. Urban planning and development requires understanding the link between this core, which reflects a certain stability due to high urban density, and the rest of the city, characterized on the contrary by generalized mobility. Based on a retrospective analysis, this systemic approach goes counter to the sectoral vision of urban planning laws and is intended to demonstrate the relationship between the failure of both the core-city planning policies and the planning policies of the periphery. At the same time, a government-advocated return to the "compact city" in order to limit urban sprawl and automobile traffic raises a recurring problem in core-city planning: how to reconcile their density with their accessibility