MERCHANDISING PRACTICES AMONG ENTREPRENEURS OF BEADED ARTICLES AS A STRATEGY FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN ABIA STATE, NIGERIA.

Abstract

This study investigated the merchandising practices of entrepreneurs of beaded articles in Aba North LocalGovernment Area of Abia State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study determined the merchandising procedures,quantity and frequency of sales of beaded articles as well as the constraints encountered by entrepreneurs in themerchandising of beaded articles. It was a survey research. Population for the study consisted of 185entrepreneurs of beaded articles in Aba North Local government, Abia State. Purposive sampling technique wasused to select 127 entrepreneurs involved in merchandising of beaded articles. Cronbach Alpha was used todetermine the reliability of the questionnaire items. A coefficient of 0.92 was obtained indicating high reliabilityof the instrument. The data were analyzed with frequency, mean and percentages. Findings revealed thatmajority of entrepreneurs of beaded articles were females whose ages ranged between 29 and 32 years. Majority(85%) of the respondents made whole sales (85%) of beaded articles and employed daily sales forecastingalways (68.5%) as merchandising strategies. Inadequate finance, inadequate equipment, low demand, lack ofskills and expertise and fashion in vogue were identified among others as problems encountered byentrepreneurs of beaded articles in the study area. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended thatworkshop on merchandising of goods should be organized for entrepreneurs of beaded articles in Abia State as ameasure for achieving economic development in the country.