Variety Stores Research Articles

What is Just Profit?

An excessive profit is condemned by virtually everybody, both from a sense of exploitation and a suspicion that high prices must have been charged for goods or services. Some are even critical of profit as such, while reluctantly conceding that a reasonable return is necessary if enterprise is to succeed. The ethical-economic problem of how much profit may be justifi? able, it seems to me, is connected partly with definition and pardy with the need for just1 returns to the production factors concerned, while the latter raise the issue of just price for product. Hence, some interesting work arises in trying to straighten out what is the amount, if any, of just profit and who is entitled to it. Profit in ordinary speech means the return from employing capital2 in economic enterprise after the various factors purchased or hired have received their contractual payment. Both the accountant and economist refine this, the former by using the conventions of his profession and tax law and the latter by insisting that all factors employed be considered as receiving some going rate of return. A typical illustration is the variety store independent who must account for all explicit and implicit costs before profit emerges as a pure excess. But stripping off returns to all factors before arriving at the economist's concept of profit raises problems for both posi? tive and ethical analysis. The actual amounts of wages, interest and rent paid or due implicitly must, if necessary, be corrected to some going or normal rate, and the latter again corrected to just rates, before one may assess profit from both a factual and normative point of view. In the background looms the matter of just price. So let us tackle each of these issues patiently.

Shops within shops: The consumer viewpoint

For some years now the technique of setting up “concessions” or shops within shops has been familiar in department stores. But with the closing of Bournes in London's Oxford Street, one of the most extensive practitioners of the technique — doubts began to set in. Dr Peter McGoldrick and his colleagues at UMIST have recently carried out a study into the question of shops within shops, based mainly on consumers' perceptions of them. They found that most retailers have now become more measured in their approach to concessions. It has been recognised that a diversity of names, design formats and staff loyalties may not produce the most coherent or powerful image for the retailer. Awareness of concessions amongst shoppers, however, is rather higher than expected. Younger and more affluent consumers tended to be the most aware, but most shoppers did not express strong preferences between concessions and own departments. The survey concludes that it would be a mistake to assume that concessions are entering a sharp decline — in fact there are signs of considerable growth potential in the superstore and variety store sectors. The major department store groups are however likely to seek even more control over their concessionaires, giving them less autonomy in their design and selling styles.

Locational avoidance: A case study of three Swedish retail chains

Laulajainen R. and Gadde L-E. (1986) Locational avoidance: a case study of three Swedish retail chains, Reg. Studies 20, 131–140. Spatial competition by three Swedish variety store chains in the period 1927–76 is studied cartographically and by regression technique. The behaviour was avoidance rather than matching. The two centrally-managed private chains were broadly similar and far more attracted by untapped market potential and repelled by competition than the fairly loose co-operative organization.

Nixdorf in Europe

The trend towards fewer and larger retail outlets, with the organisation centre often far away from the selling points; the doubling of the number of products sold in the last 10 years; the stagnation in turnover — all these have been the main forces behind the development of electronic data processing (and scanning in particular) in the retail trade. Europe hasn't been as quick off the mark as the USA in establishing itself in the scanning field, but all this is now changing. 1982 was the watershed, with Germany leading the way with 660 scanner PoS terminals in 73 self‐service stores. France comes next with 48 installations, followed by the UK with 42, Belgium with 39, 36 in the Netherlands, and 20 in Sweden. During 1982, too, almost 50% of the total number of systems now in place were installed. And in West Germany at least there's been no let up in 1983, with installations increasing by 71, to 144, and the number of scanner PoS terminals rising by 622, to 1,280. However, it wasn't just the large space users which were responsible for this surge forward: 35 of the 71 new installations were in supermarkets having a maximum of four checkouts. One computer company busy raking in the Deutschmarks, as well as Swiss Francs, pounds sterling, and some Scandinavian currencies, is the German based Nixdorf Computer. At a two‐day conference in Zurich, Axel Hass, Nixdorf's person in charge of sales for trade, restaurants and hotels, pointed out how, having made its name in the banking world from its inception in the 1950s, Nixdorf can now claim to be West Germany's market leader in laser‐scanning PoS systems, with 34% market share (equal to IBM here). Its number of installations worldwide has soared from 500 in 1975 to 14,000 in 1983, and in 1984 Nixdorf is confident this number will reach 25,000. Users now include German department and variety store groups, such as Karstadt, Dyckhoff and Kaufhof, the Spar voluntary chain, co‐ops, and Migros in Switzerland. But so far Nixdorf's push into the UK has been limited to a 50‐terminal system at the Calor Gas organisation, and an order for a non‐scanning system for a Scottish‐based retail chain. However, Nixdorf is obviously keen to make a deeper thrust into the UK and has set up a special group over here. The following two articles are based on papers presented at the Zurich conference. The first is a description of Nixdorf's first scanning exercise, for the German Rewe Group, which serves 7,930 independent outlets through 29 affiliated wholesalers. The second is a quite different and much smaller operation, for Mackay's whose headquarters are in Paisley in the west of Scotland. Nixdorf is providing a non‐scanning system for the company's 140 outlets scattered throughout the UK. Both the above operate out of retail units averaging under 3,000 sq m and demonstrate Nixdorf's flexibility, with its 8812/10 terminal system, to cater for the smaller as well as the larger retailer.

Retailing out of the recession

In 1980 Gordon Simmons Research, in association with M & MD, interviewed a cross‐section of top management at 12 major retail organisations to examine their reactions to the recession and the likely effect of the economic climate on their policies throughout the 1980s (RDM, May/June 1981, p.10). This article is based on an update conducted two years later during August and September 1982, with the same organisations. These retailers, though few in number, represent a high proportion of retail turnover because of the concentration of trade. They cover a wide cross‐section of retailing; supermarkets, department stores, electrical goods outlets, variety stores, men's and women's fashion. Interestingly enough, the interviews in this second survey coincided almost exactly with the beginning of a marked increase in consumer expenditure which began in the third quarter of 1982 (RDM, November/December 1982, p.4), and which has persisted up to the time of writing. However, the responses from retailers discussed in this article relate mostly to their experience through 1981 and 1982.

Consumer information processing strategies in middle and late adulthood

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the extent to which performance of a complex cognitive task of a type resembling that encountered in everyday life is maintained through adulthood. A total of 80 subjects participated; 20 in their thirties, 20 in their fifties, 20 in their sixties, and 20 in their seventies. Subjects were asked to make preference judgments with respect to 32 pocket-size notebooks of a sort they might encounter as consumers in a stationery or variety store. Independently, they were also asked to express their preferences with respect to each of the four dimensions on which the notebooks varied. With only minor differences across age groups, most subjects demonstrated the ability to integrate their individual dimension preferences into a complex preference judgment of an object embodying those dimensions, in a logically consistent manner.

The effect of the recession on the retail trade

Decline in consumer demand and severe pressure on costs are — not surprisingly — the two aspects of the recession which, according to a survey by Gordon Simmons Research, are hitting retailers most hard. In the immediate future, the overall pattern indicates an increase in store investment and improvement to compensate for the slowing down in recent years. And of course there will be growing emphasis on larger units, and the continued growth of credit. This article is based on personal interviews conducted by GSR executives, during November and December 1980, with top management in 12 major retail organisations (listed at the end of this article). These retailers, although few in number, represent a high proportion of retail turnover because of the concentration of the trade. They cover a wide cross‐section of retailing: supermarkets, department stores, electrical goods outlets, variety stores, men's and women's fashion. The survey examined these retailers' reactions to the recession, the effect of the economic climate on their policies, and likely retail developments in the 1980s.

Woolworth streamlines its distribution

One of the problems of distribution for a variety store chain is the enormous range of merchandise which needs to be moved around from suppliers to stores. Woolworth, in conjunction with consultants Modern Materials Management, have solved the problem by setting up four Transhipment Centres. Each of these incorporates computer reading of labels to control a totally integrated materials handling and data processing system. RDM talked to MMM Director Geoffrey Butcher and Woolworth Distribution Executive Michael Pedler to find out how the system works.

STORE IMAGE

There have been a number of studies of store image (especially in the US), some of which have thrown up useful definitions. But so far relatively little has been done to establish what difference may exist in image as far as different departments of a variety store are concerned. In this special feature, Peter McGoldrick discusses a survey carried out in a Manchester Marks & Spencer store which examined customers' perceptions of image, and looks at the implications for management.

Retail Store Spatial Affinities

Heterogeneous and homogeneous data sets are examined to determine whether retail store spatial affinities exist within the central business districts of a sample of American cities. Use is made of a test designed to identify statistically significant spatial associations. The findings of the study suggest that there are undoubtedly some significant affinities between business types, but that they are very limited in number and not constant from city to city. When data from the cities are combined, four groups are shown to emerge, the most prominent displaying a strong bond between women's clothing, women's accessory, and variety stores.

Employment and Wage Rates in Retail Trade Subsequent to the 1961 Amendments of the Fair Labor Standards Act

* This paper was written while one of the authors was a member of the National Science Foundation Undergraduate Research Participation Group at The Ohio State University. The paper has benefited from the comments of David McCalmont and Albert Rees. ' COVERAGE OF RETAIL TRADE BY FLSA A. Coverage 1. All establishments with yearly sales (excluding excise taxes) of at least $1,000,000 (or of $250,000 if they are part of enterprises of one million or more in yearly sales) in the following industry lines: a. General Merchandise (includes Department and Limited Price Variety stores) b. Apparel and Accessory c. Food d. Lumber, Hardware, and Building Materials e. Furniture and Appliance f. Battery and Auto Accessory g. Miscellaneous (includes Drug Stores) 2. Gasoline Service Stations with yearly sales of $250,000 or more regardless of sales volume of enterprise. 3. All nonsupervisory employees in covered establishments (21/2 million in June of 1961) except food service workers in Department, Variety and Drug Stores (73,000 in June of 1961). B. Provisions 1. New Wage Rates for Covered Workers: a. $1.00/hr. effective 9/3/61 b. $1.15/hr. effective 9/3/64 c. $1.25/hr. effective 9/3/65 2. Premium pay (1'/2 times regular hourly rate) for weekly hours in excess of: a. 44 hours beginning 9/3/63 survey the evidence pertaining to the effects of the legislation on employment and wage rates. The history of controversy over the economic effects of minimum wage legislation is well known and need not be re-

Quality Characteristics of Eggs Marketed in Bogotá, Colombia

INTRODUCTIONMANY studies have been made in developed countries of the quality of eggs being produced and marketed. Egg laying test reports give very precise data on each breed and variety of bird entered in the test. However, such data is lacking in developing countries and leads one to wonder about the actual quality of eggs being marketed. The objective here was to study exterior and interior quality characteristics of eggs being sold in Bogotá, Colombia. PROCEDUREA random sample of eggs was purchased in public markets, food, poulty, and variety stores, and supermarkets. Each egg was weighed, compared with U.S.D.A. standards for exterior qualtiy, and candled to determine shell damage. The eggs were broken, the albumen height determined by the “Egg Quality Slide Rule,” and converted into Haugh units. The yolk color was measured by the Roche color scale.1 This scale contains 15 color gradations from very pale yellow …

Discount Retailing and Leased Departments

Financial woes of a relative few have been making ugly headlines. Whether there will be more is yet to be seen, for some have tried to go too far too fast too soon. These financial troubles revealed weaknesses of undercapitalization and lack of organizational strength for rapid expansion. It seems to be characteristic of progressive, competitive capitalism that fast surges forward beget equal and opposite reactions in which the overextended become jolted, crimped or flushed out in the struggle for existence. This has happened times before in other industries and it may be expected to occur again. A nearby parallel to discount retailing's shake-out was seen in the supermarket industry during that formative period preceding the post-war population explosion and rush to suburban living which still changes the demographic map of the nation. More and more families today drive cars full of children to more and more shopping centers to buy all sorts of things in self-service stores at low prices. Developers of supermarkets today are becoming more wary because of crowding and overstoring in some areas. So the discount retailing business should be viewed through a wide-angled lens. The stronger companies are showing good sales, profits and return on invested capital. In truth, they are doing better than other phases of retailing. Successful operators of leased departments deserve some studious attention because of a profitability which, relative to net worth and working capital, is substantially above that being shown by the traditional department store. A wide-angled view of discount retailing involves consideration of its segments. Differentiation is not easy because chain organizations of conventional department stores, variety stores, supermarkets and drug stores have moved into discount retailing of nonfood items. Many are famous corporate names. Among them being Food Fair, Aldens, Stop and Shop, Gamble-Skogmo, Genesco, Grand Union Co., W. T. Grant Co., Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., B. F. Goodrich Co., National Bellas Hess Co., Allied Stores Corp. and Jewel Tea Co. It is significant that S. S. Kresge Co. and the F. W. Woolworth Co. are among the big, seasoned and conservatively managed chains which are moving in. The K-Mart division of S. S. Kresge has about 25 discount units today and expects to be operating some 50 by the end of 1963. The Woolco division of F. W. Woolworth Co. intends to operate 10 units in the U. S. by the end of 1963. Consider that Interstate Department Stores Corp. represents a typical, big nationwide chain of conventional junior department stores which moved heavily into discount retailing since 1959. In a few years its sales zoomed from $65.6 million to $222.8 million and are expected to go to $330 million this year. Sol Cantor, its president, is said to have commented that a 10% cut in distribution costs truly advances the American consumer's standard of living which discounting can effect. All-out 100% discounters include such familiar names as E. J. Korvette, Inc.; GEM International, Inc.; J. W. Mays, Inc.; Fed-Mart Corp.; Vornado, Inc.; King's Department Stores; S. Klein; Alexander's Department Stores; Zayre Corp.; Arlan's Department Stores; Bargain Town U.S.A.; Virginia Dare Stores and Ohrbach's, Inc. (Not all of these are publicly-owned companies.) The leased department operators represent a group with which my company is identified. We feel that leased departments in discount department stores are, in general, progressing in a way which is as solid as it is rapid. The lessee's role will continue to enlarge in discount retailing, and there are good reasons for thinking so. Obviously, the discriminating analyst will deem some to be stronger than others as a long term investment. Well known successful operators of leased departments include Marrud, Inc. and Parkview Drug in cosmetics, drugs and sundries; MEDCO in jewelry; Endicott Johnson, Genesco, Melville Shoe and Morse Shoe in footwear; Gateway Sporting Centers in sporting goods; Unishops, Inc. in men's and boys' wear; H. L. Klion in furniture, and Shoe Corp. of America in the retailing of soft goods and shoes. A great opportunity is before the leased department operator in this rapid growth of discount retailing. It shows the way for him to demonstrate his particular merchandising skills, as in apparel, cosmetics and drugs, sporting goods, appliances and so on. In fact, leased departments' sales record for 1962 shows gains of from 30% to 100% over 1961 for most of them, it is observed by the Discounters Digest (February 1 8, 1963) published by Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. Its study of 39 leased department operators and a comparison with 204 discount stores and 416 department stores for 1961 is shown elsewhere. Because of the small size of the sample and the tendency of each Daniel Kessler is Executive Vice President of Unishops, Inc., an independent operator of men's and boy's wear leased departments in discount department stores.

Women's Clothes and Women's Rights

YOUR DRESS MOVEMENT INVOLVES THE WHOLE WOMAN S RIGHTS CAUSE. The woman, whose soul is capable of casting from her person the absurd and degrading dress, in which fashion has bound it, can aid that cause. No other woman can. 1 These words of Gerrit Smith expressed the opinion of the dress reformers of the 1850s, and were to be repeated in various forms during the next half century. The feminist objections to current styles were based in part on the socially acceptable ground of feminine health. Long skirts swept the ground, collecting the unspeakable filth that lay ankle-deep on contemporary streets; they were voluminous and difficult to handle, and during the Civil War were draped over hoops, with added danger to their wearers and increased discomfort to bystanders. Tightly corseted waists rearranged the vital organs, encouraging the frequent and well-advertised feminine ill health. Lace, ribbons, spangles and other decorations made the well-dressed woman resemble a combination of variety store and Christmas tree. A multitude of petticoats dragged at the waist. Tight garters interrupted the circulation in the legs. Low necks and flimsy shoes invited pneumonia. Not only feminists, but also doctors and educators, deplored fashionable dress, moaning that women were courting sickness and death, and were becoming unable to perform normal housework and to bear healthy children. A second line of feminist attack was that current feminine clothes incited immorality. A tightly compressed waist emphasized bust and hips. A low-cut bodice and bare arms encouraged male imaginations. Flowing skirts attracted prurient peering as they gave glimpses of whiteclad ankles when a woman boarded an omnibus or swung in the waltz, or as they outlined their owner's legs in a stiff breeze, and women's legs were taboo in the nineteenth century. Women's purity would have a better chance of survival if male passions were not aroused, for while

Discrimination without Prejudice

group. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between discriminatory behavior and prejudiced attitudes--with special application to the behavior and attitudes of white retail employers toward Negro employees. It is generally assumed that discrimination and prejudice are closely correlated. Although people recognize that prejudiced individuals may be prevented by social control mechanisms from practicing discrimination, they less often realize that discrimination may exist in the absence of prejudice. When discriminatory behavior is encountered, the discriminators are ipso facto assumed to be prejudiced. For example staff members of organizations like the Urban League characteristically impute to employers who refuse to hire Negro salesgirls a low opinion of the selling ability of all Negroes. Because they discriminate, they must be prejudiced. The following data suggest, however, that discrimination may be practiced by persons who are not personally prejudiced. The personnel managers of the fifty largest retail stores (excluding groceries) in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, were interviewed in August 1949 regarding their employment policies. (1) The median number of employees in the stores was one-hundred thirty, of whom fifty-seven were typically on the sales staff. Although many of the variety, clothing, and drug stores were members of chains, all but five managers reported they were able to determine their own employment policies with respect to such matters

Dermatitis from nylon hair nets.

Recently, I have seen several women presenting an extremely severe acute dermatitis of the face, ears, neck and arms. Historically the dermatitis was of acute onset, and clinically it resembled an acute dermatitis seen in sensitivity to hair dye. The history elicited the information that the dermatitis first appeared on the forehead and the ears. It was finally determined that these patients were allergic to brown nylon® hair nets which they purchased at different variety stores. These nylon® hair nets were used for various purposes, such as keeping the hair in place after a wave set or keeping the hair from being mussed up while the patient was sleeping. Strongly positive reactions to patch tests were obtained. The patients were tested with items such as various dyes and nail lacquers, and no cross sensitivities were demonstrated. Patch tests were made on one woman with a nylon® hair

Book Review: Operating Results of Limited Price Variety Stores in 1948: Chains and Independents

Book Review: Operating Results of Limited Price Variety Stores in 1948: Chains and Independents

Operating Results of Limited Price Variety Stores in 1948: Chains and Independents

Operating Results of Limited Price Variety Stores in 1948: Chains and Independents

Establishing and Operating a Variety and General Merchandise Store

Establishing and Operating a Variety and General Merchandise Store

Book Review: Establishing and Operating a Variety and General Merchandise Store

Book Review: Establishing and Operating a Variety and General Merchandise Store