University Case Study: Contemporary Management of Benjy's Retail

This case study analyzes the challenges faced by Benjy's, a retail company, due to the phenomenon of showrooming, where customers compare products in-store but purchase them online. The assignment explores conflicting values between the founder and CEO regarding strategies to address declining sales. The solution proposes a feedback-based system to understand customer behavior and integrate in-store activities with online strategies. The analysis highlights the competencies of the CEO and founder in adapting to the changing globalized economy and rising competition, referencing relevant literature on consumer behavior and retail management. The study emphasizes the importance of adapting to new demographics and digital technologies to foster innovation and maintain profitability in the retail sector. The provided solution covers the challenges of showrooming and provides strategies to improve profitability.

Running head: CONTEMPORARY MANAGEMENT
CONTEMPORARY MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Answer to question 1
The case study is mainly based on the issue which has been termed as showrooming.
The Board was mainly concerned about the issue leading to huge amounts of losses for the
company named Benjy’s in the retail industry. The issue is mainly based on the ways by
which the customers who visit the showroom compare the products that are displayed with
those which are offered online. The major conflicting values that have been depicted in this
case are based on the ways by which Bertice, the daughter of the founder of Benjy’s felt that
the customers who visited the stores and did not buy the products were cheating them (Daunt
& Harris, 2017). On the other hand, the choice of the showroom from where the customer
wants to buy the products is completely based on their will. The solutions that were thereby
being proposed by the CEO and the founder of the company were totally different. The CEO
had suggested the showcasing of exclusive products in the showroom. The founder was more
concerned on developing immediate strategies in order to face the situation (Gensler, Neslin
& Verhoef, 2017).
Answer to question 2
The solution which can be provided to the company based on the ways by which it
can increase the levels of profitability is based on the development of a feedback based
system which will be able to identify the reasons behind changes that have taken place in
behaviour of customers. The feedback provided by the customers will thereby be able to play
a major role in the effective operations of the company. The major reason which can be stated
behind the lack of showroom customers is related to the availability of stock. The online
shopping websites on the other hand are able to offer huge variety of products to the
customers. The main issue can only be analysed by the company with the help of proper
feedback which will be collected from the customers who visit the stores (Kuksov & Liao,

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2018). The integration of different in-store activities with the online strategies can also play a
major role in resolving the conflicts which are taking place within the organization based on
showrooming.
Answer to question 3
Globalisation in the modern economy has been affected by the new demographics and
digital technologies. The environment that has thereby been developed in the economy
depicts high levels of complexity and demand new ways related to leading, thinking and
fostering high levels of innovation. The competencies that have been shown in the case study
are based on the ways by Benjy’s is able to develop strategies in order to respond to the
issues which have occurred due to rising competition. The CEO and the founder of the
company have shown high levels of competencies in the process of taking important steps
related to development of the company (Rapp et al., 2015). The CEO had suggested different
strategies as compared to the founder. However, the strategies have proved to be quite
relevant in nature for the modern business environment.

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References
Daunt, K. L., & Harris, L. C. (2017). Consumer showrooming: Value co-destruction. Journal
of Retailing and Consumer Services, 38, 166-176.
Gensler, S., Neslin, S. A., & Verhoef, P. C. (2017). The showrooming phenomenon: it's more
than just about price. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 38, 29-43.
Kuksov, D., & Liao, C. (2018). When Showrooming Increases Retailer Profit. Journal of
Marketing Research, jmr-17.
Rapp, A., Baker, T. L., Bachrach, D. G., Ogilvie, J., & Beitelspacher, L. S. (2015). Perceived
customer showrooming behavior and the effect on retail salesperson self-efficacy and
performance. Journal of Retailing, 91(2), 358-369.