The objectives of this study were threefold: (1) to determine a suitable model for defining the farm-retail price spread for two percent and whole milk in seven cities (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Hartford, Seattle, St. Louis); (2) to discover the determinants that contribute significantly to the price spreads of two percent and whole milk in seven selected cities, and (3) to calculate the elasticity of price transmission for whole and two percent milk in the seven cities. The work of Wohlgenant and Mullen in -Modeling the Farm-Retail Price Spread for Beef" was followed in order to determine a suitable model. The two specifications considered were the markup pricing model and the relative price spread model. Factors considered to affect the farm-to-retail price spread of whole and two percent milk were the retail price for whole and two percent milk, marketing costs such as fuel and labor costs, milk production, seasonality, and structural change. Monthly data were collected over a 106 month period from January 1994 through October 2002 for the selected cities in this investigation. Principal findings from the analysis are the following. The markup pricing model was determined to be the better model for both products throughout the seven cities through the examination of the Schwarz and Akaike criteria of model selection. The driving forces of the farm-to-retail price spread for whole and two percent milk in most cites were retail price and seasonality. In addition, the price spreads in the Northeast were significantly lower before and during the implementation of the Northeast Dairy Compact compared to the period corresponding to the termination of the program. The price spreads of both whole and two percent milk were highest in the third quarter and lowest in the fourth quarter. Elasticities of price transmission, measures of the sensitivity of retail prices to changes in farm prices, were higher in all regions for two percent milk compared to whole milk. The range of the elasticities of transmission for whole milk was from 0.37 (Hartford) to 2.54 (Dallas) and from 0.39 (Hartford) to 3.66 (Dallas) for two percent milk.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Anthropology." Includes bibliographical references (p. 351-379).

Shanghai Street is one of the oldest streets in Kowloon peninsula. The street was once a main business street in the area before being replaced by Nathan Road since 1970s. As the main business centre was shifted to Nathan Road, some of traditional neighbor shops still remain at the street. The key issue to be addressed by this dissertation is that although traditional neighbor shops and their businesses still exist at Shanghai Street, these shops have gradually diminished due to revitalization and gentrification of nearby streets. Tangible and intangible character defining elements of the street are diminishing. This dissertation will focus on the traditional neighbor shops and their businesses at Shanghai Street, by means of cultural mapping, and analysis the street in terms of tangible and intangible character defining elements. Shanghai Street, as one of the oldest streets in Hong Kong old urban district, can reflect the spirit and characteristic of Hong Kong “Street Life”. The objective of this dissertation is to understand and document traditional neighbor shops and their businesses at Shanghai Street, before the existing characters are gone. / published_or_final_version / Conservation / Master / Master of Science in Conservation

In Hong Kong, the popularity of supermarkets and a globalized lifestyle have led to the declined of the traditional rice trade and rice shops. This issue is illustrated by the case of Shing Fat Rice Shop (thereafter referred to as ‟Shing Fat’’), the last tradition rice shop in Yuen Long, a highly urbanized district in the New Territories that was Hong Kong’s centre of rice production from the 19th century to the mid-20th century. Facing stiff competition from modern supermarkets, Shing Fat closed in December 2013. The significance of this research is that it is the last chance to document the last traditional rice shop business in Yuen Long. While the rice shop is no longer in business, the people involved – the operator, his family and its former customers – can still be reached for their stories. If this research is not carried out soon, the first-hand knowledge of a traditional rice shop business will be lost as memories of people connected with Shing Fat fade away in time. The focus of the research is to document the tangible and intangible aspects of a vanishing trade, using Shing Fat as a case study. By mapping the shop’s (1) operational history, (2) interior layout and its relationship to the daily business operation, and (3) relationship with the community through its customers, the tangible and intangible aspects of a traditional rice shop in Hong Kong can be documented and analyze in order to give a better understanding to this vanishing traditional retailing trade. / published_or_final_version / Conservation / Master / Master of Science in Conservation

M.Tech. Business Administration. Business School. / Retail store environment factors such as lighting, colour, layout, scent and music have a direct effect on business performance. Research on the retail store environment and its influence on business performance have been limited to the developed nations. There have been no studies to date to address the issues of the retail store environment in Tshwane. This study focused on the perceptions of retailers in Tshwane Central to establish whether they know and understand the concept of the retail store environment and the factors that influence it. The study also investigated which factors were most important to retailers with regard to retail store environment factors that influence business performance. The objective of the study was to establish whether retailers in Tshwane Central are aware that the performance of their business is directly affected by the interior retail store environment, and which factors the retailers consider important in affecting business performance.

This dissertation examines competition in the retail gasoline industry. The first chapter highlights the importance of gasoline in modern society, introduces my work, and places it in the context of the existing academic literature.The second chapter details the institutional structure and profitability of the industry. The vast majority of retail gasoline stations are not directly owned and operated by major oil companies. Instead, most stations are set up under other contractual relationships: lessee-dealer, open-dealer, jobber-owned-and-operated, and independent. Gasoline retailers make relatively low profits, as is the case in many other retail industries, and are substantially less profitable than major oil companies. Gas stations also make less money when retail prices are climbing than when they are falling. As prices rise, total station profits are near zero or negative. When retail prices are constant or falling, retailers can make positive profits.The third chapter describes the entry of big-box stores into the retail gasoline industry over the last decade. The growth of such large retailers, in all markets, has led to a great deal of controversy as smaller competitors with long-term ties to the local community have become less common. I estimate the price impact that big-box stores have on traditional gasoline retailers using cross-sectional data in two geographically diverse cities. I also examine changes in pricing following the entry of The Home Depot into a local retail gasoline market. The results show that big-box stores place statistically and economically significant downward pressure on the prices of nearby gas stations, offering a measure of the impact of the entry of a big-box store.Chapter 4 examines the nature of price competition in markets where some competing retailers sell the same brand. The price effect of having more retailers selling the same brand is theoretically unclear. High brand diversity could give individual retailers market power, thereby leading to higher prices. Low brand diversity, though, could act to facilitate collusive behavior, leading to higher prices. I find that prices are higher in markets with high brand diversity.The final chapter of the dissertation summarizes the general findings.

The Master’s Graduation Paper explores problems and perspective solutions of retail banking market. Referring to theoretical and practical works the beginning and development of retail banking as well as particularity and peculiarity of retail services are analyzed. A survey of retail banking services demand was carried out and problems which costumers face as well as possible solutions of market development were defined. There was made a review and analysis of retail banking services as well as evaluation of their development and expansion perspective on the ground of a particular bank.

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