Retail Management: Analyzing Changes in the Australian Retail Sector

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the Australian retail sector, focusing on the impact of changing consumer needs on retail management strategies. It compares discount and department stores, examining their merchandise and operational approaches. The evolution of the retail ...Read More

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

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Executive Summary
The report is based on the analysis of the changes which have taken place in the Australian
retail based sector due to the changes in consumer needs. The different types of stores which
operate in the industry mainly include, the discount based stores and the department based
stores. The analysis has thereby been able to provide a detailed discussion based on the ways
by which these different types of stores operate. The changes which have thereby taken place
in their operations have also been analysed in the report. The future changes which have
taken place in the organization has been an important part of the analysis.

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Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................3
Explanation of the discount retail based stores..............................................................3
Explanation of departmental stores of the retail industry..............................................3
Evolution of the retail markets.......................................................................................4
Discount based market merchandise in the country.......................................................4
Strategies employed by the discounted stores in the country........................................5
Department based market merchandise in the country vist...........................................6
Strategies employed by the departmental stores located in Australia............................6
Location and technology based application in the retail stores in the country..............7
Containment based cost and value driven cost in the Australian marketplace..............8
Significance of the identifying and appealing consumers present in the retail markets 8
Retail market’s future in Australia.................................................................................9
Conclusion......................................................................................................................9
References....................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
The analysis in the report will be based on the ways by which the retail management
based stores of different organizations have been able to develop their operations with the
changes that have occurred in the external environment. The different types of retail stores
which thereby operate in the industry can include, departmental stores and the discount based
stores. The stores can thereby be compared with the help of merchandise that are offered by
the stores in an effective manner. The management of effective customer relationships also
play a major role in operations of organizations in the retail sector (Fernie and Sparks 2014).
Explanation of the discount retail based stores
The discount based retail stores of the company are mainly those which are able to
sell the different types of products and the services to consumers in the industry at prices
which much lower than the others in the market. The discount based shops mainly do not try
to sell the products at the single price based points of the stores.
Example – A major example of retail store in the industry is Kmart which is known in
the market for providing huge number of products at lower prices to the consumers. The
major focus of these discounted stores are mainly based on the prices of the products and not
the quality (Bernon, Cullen and Gorst 2016).
Explanation of departmental stores of the retail industry
The department based retail stores are considered to be another major concept which
is based on the ways by which the organizations try to deal with different types of products
which are sold to the similar customers. The departmental stores mainly comprise of different
departments which can operate in a separate manner under a single roof. The preferences of
the customers are thereby analysed by the company in an effective manner. These needs

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thereby need to be fulfilled by the services and products that are offered to them (Church
2014).
Example – Target can be considered to be a major example of departmental store
which has its operations in Sydney. The major motive of the company in this case is to
provide the customers with appropriate services and products. Woolworths is also able to
provide the products that are required by the customers. The products which are offered to the
customers are based on their different types of needs (Ehrenthal, Honhon and Van Woensel
2014).
Evolution of the retail markets
As discussed by, Fernie and Sparks (2014), the concept of retail market evolved in an
effective manner in the last few years with the proper assistance of the modern technologies.
The different approaches which are thereby made by different organizations have been based
on the proper usage of technologies in an effective manner. The different modern
organizations which are able to operate in the Australia retail industry with the help of
various approaches mainly include, Target, Big W and Kmart. The online retailing based
activities have thereby been started in different parts of Australian retail based sector on a
global and local basis.
The current situation has been able to depict that around 75% of total number of
individuals in the Australian economy mainly tend to smartphones and other modern
technologies and are an important part of the process which affects the purchasing power.
The self-check our based system which has been used by the different Australian retail
organizations are able to attract the customers of different companies (Garcia and Janssen
2018).

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Discount based market merchandise in the country
The different merchandise which are provided to the customers by the discount stores
all over Australia are not same as those that are offered by the departmental market. The
discount based stores are those kind of retail stores which mainly offer different types of
products to the customers at highly discounted prices. The products which are offered by
these stores are thereby quite different from those which are provided by the high end fashion
based companies. The departmental stores are thereby related in a close manner with the
discount stores which are able to provide appropriate products to the customers. The discount
stores are mainly based on those which are able to offer the merchandise at cheaper prices to
the customers as compared to the other retail based stores which operate in the environment
(Greenland and Newman 2015).
The different types of retail stores are thereby an important part of the various
franchises which operate in different parts of the country. The discount based stores are
hugely present in different parts of Australia. The strategy that has been implemented by the
discount organizations is based on gaining low profit related margins. The merchandises
which are thereby offered to the customers are thereby based on lower prices as compared to
the others (International and International 2018).
Strategies employed by the discounted stores in the country
The different strategies which are thereby adopted by different discounted stores in
the country are based high volumes of sales and low rates of margin as well. The Australian
supermarkets are thereby able to provide similar types of services and products that are
offered to similar types of customers. The services and products which are thereby offered by
the discounted stores are quite similar in nature (Jary and Wileman 2016).

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For example – Target has been able to acquire the position of an important discount
based store that aims at fulfilling the different needs and the demands of the consumers at
comparatively affordable prices. The different products that are offered by the company in
different stores are quite specific in nature. These stores are thereby not able to provide wide
variety of products to the customers at the discounted rates (Joseph 2016).
The analysis of various discount based stores have thereby been able to depict that the
discount stores are able to provide lower variety of services and products as compared to the
normal retail stores. The trend based on discount stores had thereby started in 1962, when the
organizations like Target and Kmart had started their discounted stores at different locations.
The supercentres and the hypermarkets have been able to provide the different types of
services and goods at affordable prices to the customers and different individuals in
Australian retail based sector (Kasemsap 2018).
Department based market merchandise in the country
The various departmental stores in Australian retail sector are quite similar to the
discount based stores which operate in the market. The major difference which has been
analysed between the department stores and the discount stores is based on the various
departments that are present within the stores.
The various departments that are available within the departmental stores thereby
include, jewellery based items, clothing related items and different combinations based on the
services and goods which are provided to customers at affordable prices. The major factor
that has been noted in the department stores are based on the absence of play areas and food
courts for attracting the families and children who visit these areas on a frequent basis
(Piotrowicz and Cuthbertson 2014).

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Strategies employed by the departmental stores located in Australia
The department stores of Australia have thereby implemented many different
strategies for the purpose of operating in the retail sector. The analysis of departmental stores
is important for the purpose of deciding the types of customers who are an important part of
the operations of these stores. The company different types of products that are offered by the
consumers are based in different departments which are a part of these stores. The levels of
popularity of the company can be maintained in an effective manner with the help of different
types of products that are offered to consumers. The revenues and the overall levels of
profitability of the company have been increased with the help of the different departments
that are available within the organizations (Samli 2015).
For example – The most suitable example that can be considered for the purpose of
depicting the department based stores in Australian retail industry is Woolworths. The
organization thereby helps the consumers to receive different types of services and products
in an effective manner. The free delivery based services which are offered to the consumers
are thereby an important part of the operations of Woolworths in New Zealand and Australia.
The different departments which are thereby present in Woolworths mainly include, the
groceries, the magazines and beauty and health care based products. The popularity that has
been gained by the company in the industry is thereby based on the product and service based
offerings (Shagal, Shagal and Sharma 2016).
Location and technology based application in the retail stores in the country
The technology based capabilities have also played a major role in the proper
operations of the organization which operate in the retail industry. The modern technologies
are used effectively by majority of the population in Australia. The offers and discounts are

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thereby checked in an effective manner with the proper usage of technologies (Trent Duvall
2018).
Example – The modern technology based services which have been implemented by
Woolworths mainly includes, self-check-out and self-service. The approach which was
implemented in this case was quite successful for the proper operations of the company in the
Australian retail sector. The merger related operations which were made by the two major
organizations like Kmart and Target was not quite successful in the retail sector of the
country (Upadhyaya 2016).
The retail based concept has also gone through huge changes during the past few
years. The number of supermarket was quite less previously as compared to the number of
discounted stores in Australia. The implementation of proper innovations within the
organizational processes have led to huge changes in the retail market based scenario in the
industry. The location of the stores has also gained huge importance in deciding the levels of
profitability in the industry (Zarkada-Fraser and Fraser 2015). The most important factors
that need to be considered while deciding the location are,
 The proper analysis of positioning of the products is important in case of
taking proper decisions based on the competitors of the company in retail
industry.
 The potential of products in the market also needs to be analysed in an
effective manner with the help of proper demographic variables.
 The appropriate process of the identification of various sites or locations needs
to be analysed in an effective manner in order to place the products for the
consumers (Shagal, Shagal and Sharma 2016).

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Containment based cost and value driven cost in the Australian marketplace
The containment based costs and the value driven costs are analysed in different
stores of the organizations like, Target and Woolworths. The concepts which are thereby
implemented by the companies in order to sell the goods or the services are quite different
from each other.
Significance of the identifying and appealing consumers present in the retail markets
The preferences and tastes of the consumers need to be analysed by the companies in
order to manage the various innovative processes. The appeal based power of the
organizations is able to help in the identification of the different individuals or segments who
need to be identified effectively. The different types of shopper thereby include, the online
shoppers, in home shoppers and the out shoppers (Kasemsap 2018).
Retail market’s future in Australia
The retail market of Australia will face some major changes in the coming future
within 5 to 8 years. The demands of the consumers will thereby be able to play the most
important role in the operations of retail companies The different types of retail stores in
Australia which include, the departmental stores and discount stores will be forced to include
quality in their services. The online security based issues will further gain importance in the
future operations of different organizations (Bernon, Cullen and Gorst 2016).
Conclusion
The report can thereby be concluded by stating that the scenario in Australian retail
industry has changed a lot in the past few years. However, the fast changing external
environment will further lead more number of changes in the effective operations of the
companies which are a part of this sector.

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References
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within an omni-channel distribution context. International Journal of Physical Distribution
& Logistics Management, 46(6/7), pp.584-605.
Church, N.F., 2014. Impact of culture on retail industry compliance. Journal of Business and
Retail Management Research, 9(1).
Ehrenthal, J.C.F., Honhon, D. and Van Woensel, T., 2014. Demand seasonality in retail
inventory management. European Journal of Operational Research, 238(2), pp.527-539.
Fernie, J. and Sparks, L., 2014. Logistics and retail management: emerging issues and new
challenges in the retail supply chain. Kogan page publishers.
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markets. International Journal of Industrial Organization, 58, pp.162-182.
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