Part 2 – Individual Assignment Select ONE retailer of your choice. Using your retailer discuss their retail strategy. The following areas must be discussed: a. Competitive Strategy: Where is the retailer on EITHER the Wheel of Retailing (Brown 1990) or The Big Middle (Levy et al 2005)? Who are your retailer’s core competitors? b. Store design strategy e.g. How well does the retailer encourage the customer to stay, explore and buy? c. Any other areas that you think are important e.g. the use of technology/ loyalty cards. d. Make 4 evidence based recommendations as to how your retailer can improve their retail strategy. Please note: The report should contain substantial evidence of wider academic reading. A minimum of 20 peer reviewed academic journal articles should be used. Peer reviewed articles are those found in the Journal of Retailing, for example. If you use the EBSCO database there is a filter on the left-hand side that enable you to restrict the search to peer reviewed articles. You may wish to use additional articles or newspaper reports, to support your discussion. These are not counted as peer reviewed articles. To gain maximum marks you should provide evidence for the statements that you make. This may include applying further retail theory to your chosen retailer. Word Length: A maximum of 3000 words – please ensure that the word count is listed on your coursework. There is no additional allowance. This excludes tables, appendices and the reference list. Report structure You should structure the assignment as a report with sub-headings indicating your areas of analysis. There are no specific margin, spacing requirements but you report should be presented in a clear and legible format. Course Contribution This assessment is worth 75% of the total course grade. Assessment: This coursework is designed to assess: • Your understanding of modern retailing practice • Your understanding of how retailers differentiate themselves • Your understanding of how retailers use their stores to increase the propensity to buy • Your ability to analyse the possible problems and opportunities encountered by retail organisations Handing in Date One electronic copy is to be handed in via canvas on Wednesday 26th April 2017 by 12 noon. Plagiarism is unacceptable. Please familiarise yourself with the university’s guidance on plagiarism: http://www.as.bham.ac.uk/study/assess/sca/plagiarism.shtml If you have any questions then please contact me at [email protected] or come and see me in my office - by appointment or during my office hours. Below please find the marking matrix. This will be used to mark the assignment on canvas. Understanding demonstrated of the chosen company 20 marks Competitive Strategy: Where is the retailer on EITHER the Wheel of Retailing (Brown 1990) or The Big Middle (Levy et al 2005)? Who are your retailer’s core competitors? 20 marks Store design strategy e.g. How well does the retailer encourage the customer to stay, explore and buy? 20 marks Make 4 evidence based recommendations as to how your retailer can improve their retail strategy. 20 marks Use of literature 20 marks Understanding and using academic literature is a key part of the assessment. At least 20 academic peer-reviewed journal articles should be used throughout the assessment. You will need to use some of the articles from the lectures, so the 20 should be in addition to these. (See Q and A below for further details on using references). Questions and Answers: I am worried about plagiarism where can I find out more information? The University has an interactive plagiarism course, which will take you through all aspects of plagiarism, from defining the concept, to how to acknowledge the work of others. Quizzes, exercises and FAQs will ensure you are fully aware of the key issues. To find out more, visit: https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/studentservices/conduct/plagiarism/index.aspx or watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XBZd-Cexzs I don’t know how to reference? The Harvard Referencing System must be used. Information is available at: Intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/icite I don’t know how to write the assignment using theory and evidence? Skills4Uni http://www.skills4uni.bham.ac.uk. Skills4Uni is an interactive resource, which helps you make the transition to University. Guide to Effective Learning online resource http://diglibdr.bham.ac.uk/library/GEL.html. Covers a range of academic skills and will help you to be more effective in your learning. Skills4Study Campus: http://bit.ly/NL3TFr. Includes a referencing and understanding plagiarism module. I can’t find any references/ theories on retail marketing? The e-library has a wealth of resources. You can use Google Scholar but make sure that you adjust your settings to add the Birmingham library, so that you can access the articles for free. Please see recommended journals:. Good databases on the e-library include: EBSCO - journal articles, has a useful “peer reviewed” filter Mintel - drills down to very narrow product/ service categories e.g. coffee shops/ Oat cereals Nexis - a database of newspaper articles from around the world including those behind pay walls Journal of Marketing Management European Journal of Marketing Marketing Research Psychology and Marketing Journal of Marketing Journal of International Marketing Journal of Services Marketing Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Service Marketing Quarterly Journal of Consumer Research The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research The Retail Digest International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management Advances in Consumer Research Journal of Consumer Marketing Journal of Retailing