Evolution of Departmental Stores and Discount Stores in Australia

RUNNING HEAD: Retail Management
Retail Management

Retail Management 1
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Historical Development of Departmental Stores and Discount Stores in Australia........................2
Merchandise in Discount Stores and Departmental Stores..............................................................3
Marketing by Retail Stores to Distinct Market Segments...............................................................4
Retailing in Future...........................................................................................................................5
Assembling of Merchandise for the Customers...............................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................7

Retail Management 2
Introduction
With the passage of time, there has been a drastic change in the face of retailing. Over the past
few years, the shopper’s behavior has completely changed with their preference shifting from
smaller purchases to experience- oriented retail locations (Cozens, 2018). Departmental stores
and discount stores are two types of retail institutions which sell the products to the ultimate
consumer. Departmental stores are type of retail establishment which offers a wide range of
products to the customers in different categories known as “departments”. On the other hand,
products are sold by the discount stores at the prices lower than the typical market prices. This
report is focused on the changing face of retailing i.e. the evolution of departmental stores and
discount stores.
Historical Development of Departmental Stores and Discount Stores in Australia
The history of departmental stores and discount stores is different in different countries. The
departmental stores first emerged in France and Britain in the 19th century. The first departmental
store was established in Australia in the year 1825 in Sydney. David Jones is considered to be the
oldest departmental store in Australia. The store is still there and is traded under the same name.
After some years, Coles Bool Arcade got established in Australia and became the largest
departmental store in Australia. The store lasted for the period ranging from the year 1873- 1929.
The premises of this store are still remembered as it was well – organized and included different
departments for books, stationery, photographic studio, confectionery, toys, entertainment and
library (Varley, 2014).
With the passage of time, these departmental stores started gaining the loyalty of the customers
as they started using innovative ways for it such as credit cards. Some stores also started
provided store cards to their regular customers which can be utilized for making purchases at the
different branches of the same store. Soon a large number of departmental stores got established
in the 20th century. Harris Scarfe, Myer and David Jones are the most popular among them.
However, some stores started disappearing as they faced severe difficulty in their survival. Most
of the discount stores do not provide credit card rights to their customers (Thangam and
Karthikeyan, 2015).