A PROJECT REPORT ON

“BUSINESS EXPOSURE IN RETAIL MANAGEMENT’’

SUBMITTED TO

SAVITRIBAI PHULE PUNE UNIVERSITY

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR SECOND YEAR OF
BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (BBA)

SUBMITTED BY

VEDANT PARDESHI 36

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

ASST. PROF. PRIYA S. NAIR

(PROJECT GUIDE)
THROUGH

NESS WADIA COLLEGE OF COMMERCE, PUNE.

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 2021-22

DECLARATION

I, the undersigned, hereby declare that the Project Report entitled “Business
Exposure in Retail Management” written and submitted by me to the Savitribai
Phule Pune University in partial fulfillment for Second year of Bachelor of Business
Administration (BBA) under the supervision of Asst. Prof. Priya Nair is my original
work and the conclusions drawn therein are based on the material collected and
observations made by me.

Place: Pune VEDANT PARDESHI

Date: 15-01-2022 SYBBA 36

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Savitribai Phule Pune

University and the Ness Wadia College of Commerce, for giving me the opportunity
to prepare and present this project statement. I express my warm thanks to Mr.
Ravinder Pandita for his support and guidance at POLYPLASTICS INDUSTRIES
(I) PVT. LTD.

I would especially appreciate the crucial role of my teacher Prof. Priya Nair, and the
BBA Coordinator Dr. Deepa Dani, whose contribution and stimulating suggestions
guided and encouraged me in this project. I would also like to thank (the employees
of, _____________________________ Ltd., for their responses and co-operation
and,) all those people who gave their valuable time, support and feedback for this
project.

I would like to thank my college for supporting me with the resources which helped
me a lot. Also, I would like to acknowledge contributions of various official
websites and books mentioned in the bibliography for helping me with the data
collection and analysis which have provided me with the relevant information for me
to successfully complete my Project.

Place: Pune VEDANT PARDESHI

Date: 15-01-2022 SYBBA 36

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 Modern Education Society’s
NESS WADIA COLLEGE OF COMMERCE, PUNE

Certificate

This is to certify that VEDANT PARDESHI, student of SYBBA has conducted four
activities / minor projects for Business Exposure in Retail Management. The reports
of these activities are submitted herewith in partial fulfillment for Second year of
Bachelor of Business Administration.
He has worked and completed his project report under our guidance and direction.
His report is found to be satisfactory.

PROJECT GUIDE PRINCIPAL

Asst. Prof. Priya Nair Prod. (Dr.) Vrishali Randhir

Internal Examiner External Examiner

Asst. Prof. Priya Nair

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 SUMMARY

1. Retail management: In the following assignment, I would like to share

about retail managements which helps customers easily locate their desired
merchandise and return home satisfied. Retail management has become one
of the fastest growing careers in the industry with the tremendous growth in
the economy.
2. Walmart : I took one of the most successful American retail stores
Walmart. How it was founded by SAM Halton, and how he manages to still
keep it a big part of the retail market.
3. Adidas : In case of Adidas, I looked up a few online surveys about the
company some store surveys and wrote a little about the company's history.
4. Decathlon : Decathlon has just recently come into India, but it has been
part of the retail business for a long time since the 16th century, even
thought was new in India it has been rapidly increasing its overall market,
in this I wrote about how decathlons departmental storage facilities and
their online services help them to gain trust of their customers and
discussed about the advantages and disadvantages of departmental stores.
5. Zara : I discussed about the products Zara has been selling and how they
stand out from their competitors, what challenges they face and what
opportunities they have got so far to improve to be such a famous and
successful brand.

At last, I concluded my thoughts about retail management and information and

websites I used as reference for the assignment.

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 INDEX
Sr. PARTICULARS / TOPIC Page
No. No.
1 RETAIL MANAGEMENT: AN INTRODUCTION 8

2 BUSINESS EXPOSURE 11
2.1 WALMART 12
2.1.1 Introduction and Activity statement 13
2.1.2 History of the Company 13
2.1.3 Retail format & marketing mix 14-20
2.1.4 Elements of Store design -interior with PHOTOS 20-23
2.1.5 SWOT Analysis / Findings 24
2.1.6 Take Away / Learning Outcomes 25
2.2 ADIDAS 26
2.2.1 Online surveys 27
2.2.2 Adidas store surveys 27
2.2.3 History of the company 27-28
2.2.4 Survey Questions 28-35
2.2.5 Findings 35
2.2.6 Conclusion 35-36
2.3 DECATHLON 37
2.3.1 Virtual tour meaning 38
2.3.2 History of the Organization 38-39
2.3.3 Departmental store 39
2.3.4 Features of departmental store 39-40
2.3.5. Advantages of departmental store 40
2.3.6 Disadvantages of departmental store 41
2.3.7 Store layout 41-42
2.3.8 Retail store location 42-43
2.3.9 Conclusion 43
2.4 ZARA 44
2.4.1 History of the Company 45
2.4.2 Store layout 45-50
2.4.3 SWOT analysis 51-53
2.4.4 Marketing tactics 53-57
2.4.5 Logistics 57
2.4.6 Merchandising 58-59
2.4.7 Conclusion 59-60

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3 APPENDIX / ANNEXURE 61
4 REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY/ WEBLIOGRAPHY 61

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RETAIL MANAGEMENT

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Introduction: Retail Management is the process which helps the customers to
procure the desired merchandise form the retail stores for their personal use. It
includes all the steps required to bring the customers into the store and fulfil their
buying needs.
Retail management saves time and ensures the customers easily locate their
desired merchandise and return home satisfied. Fashion Retail Management gives
insight into the principles of fashion marketing, retail buying and merchandising
and imparts basic fabric knowledge - from fibre to fabric and fabric to garment. It
gives an overview of the concept of visual merchandising and lays emphasis on
customer relationship management, brand management and sales management.

Retail management has become one of the fastest growing careers in the industry
with the tremendous growth in the economy. Retail Market of India is the most
attractive and emerging market in the world and has demanded a greater number
of trained professionals in this field. Many retail professionals think that retail
management will soon entail virtual reality shopping, where the customer can visit
their favourite store, view their products, interact with the staff, and make a
purchase, but never leave the house. Others say that there will be less waste and
that everything about retail will be simplified—from the displays to packaging to
inventory.

Basic Functions: Management operates through various functions, such as

planning, organizing, staffing, leading/directing, controlling/monitoring, and
motivating.

● Planning: Deciding what needs to happen in the future (today, next week,
next month, next year, over the next five years, etc.) and generating plans
for action.
● Organizing: Implementing a pattern of relationships among workers and
making optimum use of the resources required to enable the successful
carrying out of plans.

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● Staffing: Job analysis, recruitment, and hiring of people with the necessary
skills for appropriate jobs. Providing or facilitating ongoing training, if
necessary, to keep skills current.
● Leading/directing: Determining what needs to be done in a situation and
getting people to do it.
● Controlling/monitoring: Checking current outcomes against forecast plans
and making adjustments when necessary so that goals are achieved.
● Motivating: Motivation is a basic function of management because without
motivation, employees may feel disconnected from their work and the
organization, which can lead to ineffective performance. If managers do not
motivate their employees, they may not feel their work is contributing to
the overall goals of the organization (which are usually set by top-level
management).

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BUSINESS EXPOSURE

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2.1 WALMART
Case study of a famous MNC retailer with its SWOT Analysis.

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WALMART.

2.1.1 INTRODUCTION: Walmart is one of the largest retail companies in the

world. It was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton. The headquarter of this company is
situated in the United States. The main aim of the company is to provide
consistent discounts, loyal customer service, and fast friendly service.
Walmart’s targets to expand its business in large cities as well as spread retail
stores throughout the world. The retail stores of Walmart are divided into four
divisions Walmart Supercenters, Discount Stores, Neighborhood Markets, and
Sam’s Clubs warehouses. More than 100 million customers are visiting these
Walmart Stores.
It is very uncomfortable for small merchants and communities in America.
Walmart reaches their town and provides low-cost offers and the best customer
service. It is a very bad condition for small merchants and businessmen in
America. To downtown merchants, Walmart just comes and takes over all the
small stores.

2.1.2HISTORY: The history of Walmart, an American discount department store

chain, began in 1950 when businessman Sam Walton purchased a store from
Luther E. Harrison in Bentonville, Arkansas, and opened Walton's 5 & 10.[1] The
Walmart chain proper was founded in 1962 with a single store in Bentonville,
expanding outside Arkansas by 1968 and throughout the rest of the Southern
United States by the 1980s, ultimately operating a store in every state of the
United States, plus its first stores in Canada, by 1995. The expansion was largely
fueled by new store construction, although the chains Mohr-Value and Kuhn's Big
K were also acquired. The company introduced its warehouse club chain Sam's
Club in 1983 and its first Supercenter stores in 1988. By the second decade of the
21st century, the chain had grown to over 11,000 stores in 27 countries.

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2.1.3 RETAIL FORMAT & MARKETING MIX

Business Model Of Walmart

There are different business models that are followed by successful companies
which varies from time to time. The business model of Walmart is based to
eliminate the middleman from the distribution channels. The advantage after
removing the middleman is to provide benefit to the consumer by providing
products at lower costs. The main motive of the Walmart business strategy
company is to enter every segment of the market and dominate the market by
providing products at a lower price.
The main marketing strategy of the company is based on leading on price, be
competitive, and deliver a great experience by the motto of Everyday Lower price.
Walmart has three important sections-

Walmart U.S
Walmart U.S is operated in the U.S. They provide customers with products and
services that are not present physically in stores. They provide their services via
the website and mobile application. The website of Walmart company has a
special feature that provides a third party to sell products. The company operates
its business on various platforms like supermarkets, discount stores, neighborhood
markets, and e-commerce websites.

Walmart International
Walmart International is also divided into three sections which are retailers,
wholesalers, and other small projects. These sections are also divided into various
sections such as supermarkets, warehouses, electronics, apparel stores, drug stores,
digital retailers, and many more.

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Sam’s Club
It is the online platform of Walmart’s company i.e., “samsclub.com”. This club is
consists of memberships of the only warehouse retailer operations. This section
includes warehouse clubs in the U.S, as well as samsclub.com.

What is Walmart Marketing Mix?

Walmart is a powerhouse of a business, and one of its key strengths is its
marketing mix. Surviving in the retail market requires more than just luck or a
large capital base. For such a large business, Walmart’s management practices give
it continuity. The giant retailer’s success lies in the Walmart Marketing Mix.

Walmart Marketing Mix – A Preamble

● Established in 1962,
Walmart started its operations more
than 50 years ago.
● Walmart is the largest retail
store in the world and often enjoys
the largest revenue base.
● The retailer employs over
two million employees and
operates more than 10,000 retail
stores worldwide.
● It is present in over 50 countries worldwide.

Walmart is the world’s largest retail company and is a publicly-traded family

business. To manage such a large business, Walmart needs to effectively employ
what we can refer to as the Walmart Marketing Mix. It is the same marketing mix
strategy that can be employed in other businesses, but the retailer’s strategy is
considered very successful.

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Provided below is an explanation of how Walmart handles its marketing mix core
principles. The five core principles of a marketing mix are Price, Product,
Promotion, Place, and People.

Walmart Marketing Mix – Price

The price of a product influences its future success and long-term continuity. It
determines the profits realized from the sale and the competitiveness of the
product in the market. If the product is priced high, the profit per unit sold will be
high. On the other hand, if the prices are low, demand is more likely to be high.
Companies can either go high value, low volume or low value, high volume.
Walmart has perfected its price positioning in the following ways:

● Customer-friendly prices and focus on bulk sales to maximize sales rather

than overpricing products.
● Excellent procurement strategies that enable the company to bargain with
the most affordable players in the
supply chain to keep prices low.
● Diversification ensures that
complimentary goods can drive the
sales of other products if one is
under-promoted.
● Universal barcoding and
SKU systems create a more
effective supply chain that allows
for lower prices.
● Varying purchase options,
with the ability to pay cash, or to
pay installments for larger purchases (such as in the case of appliances or
furniture).

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Walmart Marketing Mix – Product
Walmart stores sell a wide variety of products. They bring to the market what
customers want. Selling and promoting a product that people want is easier than
trying to introduce innovation in the market. In selecting their product mix,
Walmart employs the following strategies:

● They offer a wide variety of products in almost every category. These range
from groceries, hardware, furniture, appliances, health goods, wellness, to
entertainment.
● They buy in large quantities to achieve discounts and economies of scale.
● They maintain a strong relationship with their suppliers.
● Walmart white labels products that are then exclusively available in
Walmart stores.

Walmart Marketing Mix –

Promotion
Promotional strategies are the
strategies an organization uses to
attract or enlighten the public about
its product.

● Walmart runs frequent

promotions, with available discounts
across all seasons.
● The store uses slogans that
are associated with low prices like
“save money, live better,” “lowest
price store,” “worry-free fresh,” and
the most common, “everyday low
prices.”
● Walmart employs a diversified array of advertising media, including TV
ads, billboards, social media, and even their eCommerce platform.

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● They provide secure shipping methods that ensure the highest level of
service for customers who purchase online.
● Walmart offers reliable warranties and replacement policies for a majority
of their items sold, which gives customers peace of mind when purchasing.

Walmart Marketing Mix – Place

Location is vital in any business undertaking. Business placement and
geographical accessibility are key elements for customers. Walmart employs
various strategies to ensure that all factors related to the place as a marketing mix
element are efficient and effective:

● A strong eCommerce platform that allows customers to purchase goods

without having to visit a physical location.
● A well-planned network of distribution centers that make it easy for stores
to collect their orders, as well as to deliver their products directly to consumers.
● Advanced IT systems enable the organization to trace products regardless
of whether they are in transit or inventory.

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● Great geographical placements, particularly in the USA, with Walmart
outlets strategically located.
● A fleet of delivery trucks for efficient door-to-door deliveries.
● Branding and differentiation of their many Walmart outlets, such as
Walmart Supercenters, Walmart Neighborhood Market, Walmart Express Stores,
and Walmart Discount Stores.

How Walmart Generates Revenue?

The Revenue Model of Walmart deals with the principle of buying in bulk in one
go. In this system, they got a huge discount from the manufacturers. They sell in
small quantities at low prices. By reducing the price they have high sales volume
through which they have high earning.
Walmart’s generate its revenue by removing the middleman and selling their
product directly to the customer and services to business. The two main sources of
revenue are Product
revenue and Service
revenue.

Product Revenue
Walmart has a wide range
of products in various
categories:-
● In the grocery
category, they have products like Daily needs products, dairy products, frozen
foods, bakery, baby products, beauty aids, and many more.
● Health and wellness category have products like Pharmacy products and
clinical services.
● The entertainment category has products like electronics products, toys,
cameras, movies, music, videos, and books.

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● Stationary, paints, and hardware, Automotive, sporting goods, crafts, and
seasonal merchandise.
● Apparel categories include apparel for men, women, boys, girls, shoes,
jewelry, and accessories.
● Home appliances include home furnishing services, home decor, livings,
and horticulture.

Service Revenue
Walmart also provide services to generate revenue in various fields:-
● They provide financial services like prepaid cards, money orders, wire
transfer, money transfers, bill payments, and so on.
● VUDU movie streaming services:- This is a subscription-based OTT
platform for buying and renting movies, watching TV shows on demand.
● Clinical Services include primary health care, Physical and Wellness
checks, Clinical lab tests.
● Health Insurance services.

2.1.4 INTERIOR STORE LAYOUT AND DESIGN

Retail Strategy
Walmart’s store design helps support their retail strategy of saving money and
living better through the use of a cost efficient grid layout. Walmart also aims to
develop a more upscale brand image by designing the outside of the building to
match the scenery of the location. The store in Spearfish has ventured away from

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the traditional blue color that most
Walmart stores have as their outside color
and chose the color green to correlate
with the green scenery of the Black Hills

Addresses Legal Considerations

Walmart does a great job of complying
with the Americans with Disabilities Act
in providing reasonable access to those
with disabilities. At both entrances of the
store they have handicap parking spots
available at the very front near the entrance. Upon walking in the store they offer
several motorized cars to help assist customers in getting around the store more
easily. Also main aisles are large enough to fit motorized carts or wheel chairs.
Bathrooms along with dressing rooms are both handicap accessible. Carryout
service is also offered to consumers that need help getting their items to their car.

Customer Loyalty
Walmart helps build customer
loyalty by providing utilitarian
benefits. The store in Spearfish uses
a grid layout. This layout consists of
parallel aisles with merchandise on
shelves on both sides of the aisles. Signs are hung above the aisles in the grocery

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department letting you know which items are located in the aisle. Also, because
this store is a supercenter, they incorporate a variety of different departments into
their store layout, such as a tire and lube department, pharmacy, bank, salon, and
optical center. Because you can accomplish a variety of things while visiting just
one store, this layout creates an attractive feature to a lot of customers which
makes consumers want to patronize the store repeatedly. Customer loyalty is built
by helping people minimize the time spent on shopping by helping them to locate
the items they want quickly.

Controls Costs
Our Walmart helps control costs by using self-checkouts. Fewer employees are
needed to facilitate completing customer’s transactions therefore lowering the
costs. In the frozen food section, rather than having the coolers lit all the time they

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are equipped with timed lighting that illuminates the cooler only when the freezer
door is opened. Also, throughout the entire store Walmart has cameras in place to
help prevent theft. There are two entrances and both are equipped with theft
devices that sound an alarm when merchandise passing through hasn’t been
cleared through the checkout process.

Sales are increased by various displays of merchandise, cross merchandising, and

impulse buying. There were several displays of merchandise including end caps
and seasonal items. There was a big display of Velveeta dinner kits which I
happened to buy and make for dinner. Without seeing this display, I wouldn’t have
bought this item. Also, since camping season is here, there was a large display of
items to make s’mores (graham crackers, marshmallows, chocolate, and
marshmallow roasters). Walmart also does a great job displaying impulse items
near the checkouts. You can find anything from candy, soft drinks, magazines,
batteries, toys, or even cold medicine. It’s hard to pass through this area without
buying something, especially if you have kids!

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2.1.5 SWOT ANALYSIS OF WALMART.

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2.1.6 CONCLUSION:

Wal-Mart having global presence is able to manage profits and sustain currently.
But in future it’s hard to keep running the company further since market needs,
customer preference are changing and as we all know that same strategy may
not suite all needs which is really true in case of Wal-Mart. This slow growth rate
and decreasing brand value is clear indication of its downfall. So Wal-Mart has to
keep changing its strategies as per respective market needs and customer
preferences. We all know core-competencies & strategic approaches are not
constant, they all change as environment in which they operate changes.
Change is common and change management activities (organization design,
information technology & organizational development) should be carried out
keeping in mind the customer value, customer satisfaction in mind as they are
interrelated. Unless Wal-Mart adapts to growing various market needs and
changes by increasing customer value, it’s hard to propel as a global
organization.

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2.2 ADIDAS
Online survey through Google forms about store layouts, online retailing
format, safety or difficulty of transactions, awareness creation measures
for the same etc.

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 2.2.1 Online Survey

An online survey is a structured questionnaire that your target audience

completes over the internet generally through a filling out a form. ... The
data is stored in a database and the survey tool generally provides some
level of analysis of the data in addition to review by a trained expert.

2.2.2 Adidas stores surveys

Description of the Adidas stores surveys
I as a marketing student have undertaken an Adidas stores survey
project to determine the store layouts, online retailing format, safety or
difficultly of transaction awareness creation for the same.

2.2.3 HISTORY OF ADIDAS

Adidas AG is a German
multinational corporation,
founded and headquartered in
Herzogenaurach, Germany, that
designs and manufactures shoes,
clothing and accessories. It is the
largest sportswear manufacturer
in Europe, and the second largest
in the world, after Nike.
Wikipedia
• Founder: Adolf Dassler

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• Founded: 18 August 1949, Herzogenaurach, Germany
• CEO: Kasper Rørsted (1 Oct 2016)
• Headquarters: Herzogenaurach, Germany

• Revenue: 2,191.5 crores EUR (2018).

2.2.4 QUESTIONS

• The total numbers of questions were- 1 in the survey.

• I have conducted a survey through- forms APP.
• I have got 76 responses

We asked the following questions:

Q1). Full name of respondent:

Q2) Email I’d of Responder

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 • In this I have even collected responders email-I’d.

Q3) How are the product display in the stores of adidas?

• We have asked about product how are the product display of adidas. The
product display of adidas is GREAT.
• 75% of people have selected that adidas stores having excellent product display

Q4) Are the product are easily

accessible throughout the store of
adidas?
• In this most responses were
YES, it means that in adidas stores,
products are easily accessible
throughout the stores of ADIDAS.
Some people also responded NO

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and MAYBE, it seems to be that according to them products are not easily
accessible throughout the store of adidas.

Q5) for clothing and all purchasing and all necessary items, which store
do you prefer?

The utmost responses were NIKE in this, we have huge competition in

Nike, adidas, Zara and H&M.
For adidas 22% of people, uses adidas products.

Q6) how’s the layout of store of

adidas?

In this I have asked about layout

of store of adidas and most of
the People responded –
BETTER. This means layout of
adidas store is better. 86.84%
for BETTER layout of adidas

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store. People are satisfied with the adidas store layouts.

Q7) DO you face any difficulty

while doing the
transaction/payment in ADIDAS
store?

• Most of the people don’t

face problem in adidas stores.
• And sometime people
may face some problems in
adidas stores.

Q8) which mode of transaction you use now days in adidas why?

• Many responses were

online payment it means
people are using technology
and network.

• This seems to be
interesting.

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Q9) ARE the transaction done successfully after purchasing of any product from
adidas.
• 97.37% responded with
yes and they are satisfied.

Q10) Did You Do Online

Purchasing From Adidas?
People do online purchasing
from adidas which seems to be
interesting.
• Now a day’s people may
use online purchasing due to
pandemic which is very safe.

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Q11) During The COVID-19,
Scenario, Did The Adidas Stores
Are Taking Proper Precautions
To Ensure The Safety Of The
Consumers?
• I have asked that did
adidas stores are taking
proper precautions during this
pandemic and the responses
were YES. It means stores are
taking proper precautions like
sanitization and providing mask
and all.

Q 12) how often do you visit the

adidas store?

In this I have asked about how often

do
they visit adidas stores and most of
the
answer was less than once a
month-71.1%.

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Q 13) how you get aware about
discount and new offers of
adidas products?

• In this I have asked about

how they get aware about
the discounts and new offers
of adidas products
through messages, most of
the people get aware about
through messages. And some
of get about to know from
store board.

Q14) If you are not wearing masks or not using precautions during this
pandemic, did adidas store
guard take action or not?

I have asked that if you are not

wearing masks or not warning
masks or not using precautions
during this pandemic, did
adidas store guard take action or
not and most of the response
from the people was
YES(65.79). And even some of
the people responded with NO.
Now a day’s adidas stores are

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taking precautions during this pandemic.

2.2.5: FINDINGS:

1. People’s opinion on product display in adidas store is excellent.

2. Products are easily accessible to the customers in the store.
3. People are satisfied with adidas store layout and find it better than other
stores.
4. Adidas have accepted the modern ways of receiving payments.
5. Nowadays people do online purchasing from official website of adidas
due to pandemic.
6. At the offline stores all safety measures have been taken to ensure the
safety of customers.

2.2.6 CONCLUSION/OBSERVATION

• It seems that conducting a survey is a very good choice to allow

consumers to evaluate what they wanted and what they are unsatisfied
with.

• However, the drawbacks such as few willing respondents and not

able to fully voice out their opinions.

• During the observation we got to know that the store layout of

ADIDAS is GREAT.

• Every product in the store is easily accessible and people faced no

difficulty in finding the product in the stores. .

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• Online shopping experience from their official website was also
GREAT and people are satisfied with experience.

• While shopping online products are easily accessible throughout

the website.

• People didn’t face any trouble while doing the transaction online
and offline (in the store).

• Payment experience during the COVID-19 scenario was good as

most of the payments where online and cashless transaction as people are
aware about the pandemic and technology.

• During the COVID-19 pandemic 65.8% of the stores took good

care of the consumers in the terms of safety and health precaution, but the
rest 34.2% ADIDAS stores are not taking or we can say taking fewer
precautions.

• This is not much of a problem as survey questions are not very

specific. But, conducting a survey is able to give us some idea of what
consumers are really thinking about Adidas products.

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2.3 DECATHLON
Virtual tours and analysis of different types of retailer formats.

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2.3.1 Virtual tour meaning:-
A virtual tour is a simulation of an existing location, usually composed of a
sequence of videos or still images. It may also use other multimedia elements such
as sound effects, music, narration and texts. Unlike the virtual tour’s static
wrap-around feel, a video tour is a linear walk-through of a location.

2.3.5 HISTORY :-Decathlon is a French sporting goods retailer. With over 1647
stores in nearly 300 cities in 57 countries and regions (Jan 2020), it is the largest
sporting goods retailer in the world.
The company manages the research, design, production, logistics and distribution
of its products in house; partners with global suppliers; and markets their own
brands directly to consumers in Decathlon-branded big-box stores.
Founded by Michel Leclercq in 1976, Decathlon started with a store in Lille,
France. Its holding company was formerly known as Oxylane.
The company expanded abroad a decade later: to Germany in 1986, Spain in 1992,
Italy in 1993, Belgium in 1997, Portugal, the United Kingdom in 1999, Brazil in
2001, China in 2003, India in 2009, Turkey and Czech Republic in 2010, Taiwan
in 2012, Hong Kong in 2013, Malaysia and Singapore in 2016, South Africa,

38
Philippines and Indonesia in 2017 in South Korea and Australia in 2018, and
Canada in 2019. The company employs more than 87,000 staff from 80 different
nationalities.
The retailer stocks a wide range of sporting goods, from tennis rackets to advanced
scuba diving equipment, usually in large, big-box superstores averaging 4,000m2
in size. Decathlon Group markets its products under more than 20 brands. Its
research and development facilities are located across France, where the company
develops its product designs, registering up to 40 patents per year.
2.3.2 DEPARTMENTAL STORE

departmental store may be described as a large retail organisation having number

of departments in the same building under centralised control. A department store
is a large store, divided into departments which sell such products as furnishings,
electronics, clothing, footwear, toys, cosmetics, and sometimes also groceries. ... A
department store has several departments housed under the same roof to facilitate
buying, customer service, and merchandising.

2.3.3 FEATURES OF DEPARTMENTAL STORES :-

1. Large Size: A department is a large scale retail showroom requiring a large

capital investment by forming a joint stock company managed by a board of

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directors.

2. Wide Choice: It acts as a universal provider of a wide range of products

from low priced to very expensive goods (Pin to Car) to satisfy all the expected
human needs under one roof.

  3. Departmentally organized: Goods offered for sale are classified into various

departments.

4. Facilities provided: It provides a number of facilities and services to the

customers such as restaurant, rest rooms, recreation, packing, free home delivery,
parking, etc.

5. Centralised purchasing: All the purchases are made centrally and directly from
the manufacturers and operate separate warehouses whereas sales are decentralised
in different departments.

2.3.4 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF DEPARTMENTAL

STORES

2.3.4.1 ADVANTAGES :-

● A Departmental Store purchases the goods in bulk quantity. It increases the

bargaining power of the store. Manufacturers allow heavy discount to the
Departmental Stores

● A departmental store is a large scale retail organization.

● Departmental stores offer valuable services to customers. Almost all the

goods of daily use are provided to them under one roof.

● Departmental Store deal in standard products only. It develops faith among

Consumers that they are getting the full worth of their money.

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2.3.4.2 DISADVANTAGES :-

● Heavy amount of capital is required to be invested in a Departmental Store.

● Departmental Stores sell goods only on cash or online payment.

● Departmental Store is operated large scale and many facilities are provided
to the customers, it increases overheads of the store considerably.

● Departmental Stores generally located at the central place of the city.

2.3.6 STORE LAYOUT :- Internal & External layout of Decathlon outlet is

attractive and charming all over the world. Ideal color schemes, pleasant lighting
outlets, comfortable sitting arrangement, fully trained employees and their proper
work division, State of the art interior beautification, etc. are the chief
characteristic of the Decathlon layout.

2.3.6.1 ADVANTAGE OF
DECATHLON’S GOOD
LAYOUT :-

● Reduces bottlenecks in
moving people or
material.
● Minimizes
materials-handling costs.
● Reduces hazards to
personnel.
● Utilizes labor
efficiently.
● Increases morale.

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● Utilizes available space effectively and efficiently.
● Provides flexibility.
● Provides ease of supervision.
● Facilitates coordination and face-to-face communication where appropriate.

2.3.7 RETAIL STORE LOCATIONS :-

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LOCATION : SGS MALL, CAMP, PUNE, MAHARASHTRA.

2.3.8 CONCLUSION:
Decathlon’s success is a direct result of its detailed pricing and marketing
strategies, but Omnia gave the company the tools to ensure that strategy became a
success. The company was able to outperform its own goal to double its growth,
and has secured its price perception as the best value-for-money sports retailer in
the.

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2.4 ZARA:
To study different store layouts, product display, logistics and merchandising
strategy.

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2.4.3 History

Zara is one of the world’s most successful fashion retail brands – if not the most
successful one. With its dramatic introduction of the concept of “fast fashion”
retail since it was founded in 1975 in Spain, Zara aspires to create responsible
passion for fashion amongst a broad spectrum of consumers, spread across
different cultures and age groups. There are many factors that have contributed to
the success of Zara but one of its key strengths, which has played a strong role in it
becoming a global fashion powerhouse as it is today, is its ability to put customers
first. Zara is obsessed with its customers, and they have defined the company and
the brand’s culture right from the very beginning.

2.4.2 Store Layout

● Store layout is the design of a store's floor space and the placement of
items within that store. Store layout helps influence a customer's behavior, which
means when done right, it's a key strategy to a store's prosperity.

There are various types of store layout these are the four main basic store layouts.

1. Grid Store Layout

The grid store layout design is a familiar, repetitive pattern favored by retail
drugstores like Walgreens and hardware stores like Ace Hardware. According to
Ebster, there are multiple advantages to the grid layout, including the following: 
● Customers can move quickly through an efficient floor space using
standard fixtures and displays. 
● The presentation is uniform and comfortable due to its popularity, creating
a seamless customer experience. 
● Design simplifies inventory control for the retailer - a key to retail strategy
that leverages store design to maximize profitability. 
However, the downside of this layout is the lack of aesthetics and the “sterile and
uninspiring” environment often associated with its use. To counter this, Ebster
recommends effective signage to guide customers and create a “cognitive map” of
the store. 

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2. Herringbone Store Layout
Similar to the ‘grid’ retail space design, a Herringbone shop layout design is suited
to spaces that need to cater for range of stock, but have limited space. This layout
usually has a single central aisle, with separate walkways either side for products.
One of the best examples of Herringbone shop layout design is IKEA’s self-service
pick up area. Although IKEA and limited space might not traditionally go hand in
hand, if you consider the amount of products they have to sell, and the single floor
warehouse space, it’s quite a challenge.

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3. Loop Store Layout
Also known as the “racetrack” layout, think of the loop design as the “yellow brick
road” of retail store layouts. Ebster uses this analogy to describe the way a loop
store layout uses a path to lead customers from the entrance of the store to the
checkout area. This is a versatile choice for store design when implemented with
another layout style or used as a prominent feature of the retail store. Ebster
recommends this layout for a larger retail space (over 5,000 square feet) and
encourages a clear and visible loop for customer flow. 
Designers accomplish the loop effect by making the floor path a standout color,
lighting the loop to guide the customer, or using a different floor material to mark
the loop. Lines are not recommended, as they can be a psychological barrier to
some customers, potentially discouraging them from stepping away from the loop
and interacting with merchandise. Ebster encourages a loop design that rewards
the customer with interesting visual displays and focal points on the way to the
checkout area. 

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4. Free Flow Store Layout
A free flow layout rejects typical design patterns and styles commonly used to
influence customer behavior. In a free flow layout, the intent is not to lead the
customer using predictable design patterns, displays, or signage. There are no
specific design rules followed for this retail store design, and customers have more
liberty to interact with merchandise and navigate on their own. For this reason, the
free flow layout is sophisticated in its simplicity.

Ebster points out that customers feel less rushed in this creative environment.
Retail stores look less sterile in the free flow design, and merchandise may seem
more intriguing. The only limitation for retailers using this layout is the overall
space available, but that doesn’t mean that the research on customer navigation
behavior and tendencies shouldn’t be accounted for as well. The main

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disadvantage to this experimental design layout is the risk of confusing customers
past the point of their preferred behavior and disrupting customer flow. 

Example of Store Layout of a Retail Store- ZARA

● The Zara brand offers men and women’s clothing, children’s clothing (Zara
Kids), shoes and accessories. The sub-brand Zara TRF offers trendier and
sometimes edgier items to younger women and teenagers.
● The company operates over 2,220 stores and is present in 88 countries.

Products of Zara
Zara has been successfully rising in the fashion apparel market for half a century
by selling – 
● Clothing 

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● Accessories
● Footwear
● Swimwear 
● Beauty

Competitors of Zara
They are a boatload of fashion brands in the industry. However, the top 5 major
competitors are as follows – 
● H&M
● Forever 21
● Boohoo
● Mango
● Marks and Spencers

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 SWOC Analysis of Zara
2.4.4
Strengths of Zara
● Pioneer Advantage: 

The focal point of instant fashion is to design, produce and sell at a fast rate.
Conventionally, this procedure is lengthy; but for Zara, it is only a matter of 3
weeks. As pioneers, Zara has the most developed, strategic practices in supply
network management.
● Stores:
 Zara has outlets in 96 out of the 202 countries it sells in. Zara has the most
fashion retail stores in the world, with 2249 locations. The number of retail stores
is about double that of Nike, which has the second-highest number of retail stores.
● Supply Chain: 
Zara’s supply chain updates its online and retail collections twice a week. Zara’s
ten logistic centres deliver within 48 hours to any region on the planet. Inditex also
has an in-house software development team that is working to increase the
company’s order fulfilment speed.
● Team of Designers: Zara has a design team of 700 trained designers who
turn customers’ desires into designs. Each year, the design team produces 50,000
pieces of work. It also takes them only three weeks to get the designs from the
drawing board to the shelves.

Weaknesses of Zara
Zara’s commitment to revising its collection every three weeks sets it apart from
other fashion houses. Zara’s dedication has earned it a spot on the top of the
industry. However, the advantage comes at a cost. Here’s some more information
on Zara’s weaknesses: 
1. Instant-fashion Trends
Surprisingly, the movement that propelled Zara to the top is also the source of its
most serious flaw. Zara’s issue is to find a way of balancing sustainability with
instant fashion, which is becoming more popular among buyers and policymakers.
2. Physical Store Dependence:
 Zara’s efforts to reduce the number of physical stores were pushed by the
pandemic. Zara was able to recover from a large reduction in sales due to

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COVID-19-related issues thanks to online sales. Even with the increase in online
sales, sales are still only 89% of what they were in 2019.
3. Expansion to the US and Asia-Pacific
 Zara has a total of 99 stores in the United States, out of the total 2249 outlets, US
stores only account for barely 4.4% of the total. However, the United States is the
world’s largest apparel market. In addition, Asia-Pacific accounts for 38% of the
global apparel market. Zara has a little presence in both geographies.

Opportunities for Zara

Zara’s ability to quickly capitalize on fashion trends is one of its most significant
assets. Zara is in a good position to take advantage of upcoming changes because
of this edge. These are some of the opportunities
● Rapid Cycle
Customers visit Zara’s stores an average of 17 times each year, indicating a rapid
delivery cycle. This is due to the company’s proclivity for reacting to trends as
soon as they emerge. Zara currently creates a trend from start to finish in about
two to three weeks. The brand should be able to continue these cycles even further
in the future.
● Customization:
Thanks to AI, collecting data and segmenting the client base after evaluating it is
easier than ever before. This enables clients to receive customized
recommendations. Zara should use this technology to its advantage.
● Sustainability: 
More than a third of Millennials and Gen Z look for “sustainable” and
“environmentally friendly” labels on clothing, according to the Sourcing General.
The two groups together account for half of the population. As a result, Zara must
pay attention to and respond to this expanding need.

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 Challenges for Zara
In the traditional sense, Zara’s largest competitor is H&M, on the other hand, the
brand is now also facing a slew of internet-based competitors. But these rivalries
are only part of Zara’s problems.
● War of Prices:
Zara’s core niche is fast-fashion, which offers the latest runway trends to clients
swiftly and at a low cost. Imitators are conducting pricing wars to drain off Zara’s
line, but the sector is vulnerable.
● COVID-19 Pandemic: 
Inditex reported a 44% reduction in revenues in the first quarter of 2020.
According to Inditex’s report, the closure of 88% of its outlets due to the
Coronavirus was the primary cause of the reduction in sales.
● Regulations And Restrictions:
 In Spain, Inditex has 13 factories. Only three of the 13 factories were operational
in the early months of the epidemic due to the Spanish government’s lockdown
efforts. The company can expect similar restrictions as Europe and India prepare
for a Third wave.

2.4.5 Zara Marketing Tactics

For Zara, it is not about how much it spends on advertising, but it is all about the
customer. How Zara can provide an experience for the customer in every place of
existence is what the brand has focused on since day one. Here are five marketing
tactics that Zara has implemented to achieve that goal.

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Focus on customer's experience
● Product used to be the focal point of every business, but not anymore. In
the new economy, the customer's experience matters more than the product itself
in the mind of the shopper. And Zara fully understands this. It tries to capitalize on
the store experience by always offering reasons for the buyers to revisit the stores.
A Zara's loyal customer can visit the store about six times per year.

● Zara's fast-fashion formula provides frictionless shopping experience in a

highly curated environment that offers limited supply and new styles that rotate
continuously. Shoppers feel like if they buy items from Zara, other people won't
have the same outfit. So not only buyers are trendy, but they are also unique,
which sounds pretty cool like being in a cool kids' club.

Value for the price

● Zara has a deep understanding of these values and delivers affordable high
fashion items in just two weeks. That translates into a great brand with high values
for customers. Through this approach, Zara can earn many loyal buyers that are
less price-sensitive and return a higher profit margin.

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● Zara is not the cheapest in the fast-fashion industry, but it delivers
trend-right products at appealing prices consistently, which makes it have the
best-branded value.

The power of brand loyalty

● Speaking of loyal customers, Zara's meaningful experience and values tap
the potential of frequent buyers to promote the brand. Rather than spending more
on pushing marketing out (it only spends about 0.3% of sales on advertising), Zara
pulls customers in and turns them into brand evangelists to spread word of mouth
about the brand.
● On social media channels, Zara has over 28 million Facebook followers,
over 39 million on Instagram, and over one million on Twitter. These are used to
analyze what is on trend or being said on social platforms. This is used to improve
operations, services, and products to keep customers satisfied.
Convenient physical store locations
● The location strategy of Zara is to put stores in high-street retail areas of
major metropolitan cities. The stores are likely to be near high-end fashion brand
stores. Zara has the courage to continually strengthen its portfolio by closing
underperforming stores and opening new markets, so its flagship stores keep the
reputation among loyal shoppers.

INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
• Zara’s inventory management software lets the store managers
communicate customer feedback on what they’re looking for, what they like and
dislike. Zara’s designers keep sketching, based on the data.
• Focus on reducing response time.
• Stock outs are not uncommon
• The batches delivered are small, so if the hastily created design does not
sell well, little harm is done inventory-wise.
• Peaks in demand can be addressed quickly, as a Zara factory usually
operates only 4.5 days per week on full capacity, leaving flexibility for extra shifts.
• The core of Zara’s success is centralized enterprise
resource planning. Inventory, products, and logistics are managed in central
cloud-based software.

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 PRODUCT DISPLAY
The product or merchandising display happens to be a special presentation of the

Products of a store that is used to attract and even entice consumers.

• It adapts couture designs, manufactures, distributes, and retails clothes

within two weeks of the original design first appearing on catwalks.

• This is in stark contrast to the average six months it takes to produces items
in the fashion industry.

• The company owns its supply chain and competes on its speed to market,
literally embodying the idea of 'fast fashion'.

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• The company often relies heavily on sophisticated fabric sourcing, cutting,
and sewing facilities nearer to its design headquarters in Spain.

• The wages of these European workers are higher than those of their
developing-world counterparts, but the turnaround time is miraculous.

2.4.6 LOGISTICS

● Logistics is used more broadly to refer to the process of coordinating and

moving resources – people, materials, inventory, and equipment – from one
location to storage at the desired destination. The term logistics originated in the
military, referring to the movement of equipment and supplies to troops in the
field.
● The main scope of the company’s supply chain management lies in
distributing a cheap but fashionable garment within 2 weeks.
● In order to meet the deadlines, garment is produced in limited supplies,
which also enhances the concept of exclusivity.
● In addition, the venture owns such famous brands as Pull and Bear,
Stradivarius, Massimo Dutti, and Bershka (About ZARA, n. p). ZARA has
introduced the new trend of distributing fast fashion production to the developing
countries.

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 2.4.7 MERCHANDSING

Merchandising is the process of presenting and promoting retail goods for sale and
involves all of the non-verbal tactics retailers employ in-store to promote product
sales. Retailers merchandise their stores to increase sales by creating an effective
store layout, choosing the best products to sell, arranging those products
attractively, and pricing them competitively.

Global leader in rapid fashion Zara understands the importance of location. The
firm chooses real estate carefully, locating outlets in places where it can partner
with high-end fashion labels. Zara stores are surrounded by posh retail stores
offering exorbitantly expensive goods, making Zara appear much more affordable
for things that appear to be similar to its neighbours' — incentivizing people to
shop at Zara.

• Zara- Fast Not First

Rather than Zara's immediate competitors like H&M or Forever 21, the
merchandise at Zara mirror trends popular among luxury clothes brands. As a
result, Zara's products appears to be high-end and exclusive, enhancing the brand
experience by providing a premium look at a reasonable price. Similarly, make
your online assortment look more like your aspiration competitors than your actual
competitors so that customers believe they are getting more value when they buy
from you.

• Target- Try Getting Out

Walking to a desired aisle in a Target store may feel like navigating through a
delightful maze packed with sweets, fantastic prices, and eye-catching displays.
Maintain a good and enjoyable online consumer journey from the homepage
banner to the checkout page by creating customer-centric, inspiring web
architecture.

• Sephora- Trying is believing

Sephora, the world's largest cosmetics retailer, generously offers shoppers free
trials and samples to take home, enhancing consumer awareness and engagement,
and raising the possibility that shoppers will like and buy their items. This strategy

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is based on the idea of reciprocity, which states that when someone offers us
something, we feel obligated to repay the favor.

2.4.8 Conclusion
• To summarize, various store layouts, product presentation, logistics, and
merchandising strategy are essential aspects that can increase sales. The type of
display or technique used is determined by the store's type and the products it
sells.

• The Zara brand was created with a keen focus on customer experience -
which leads to its ability to provide trendy fashion quickly at affordable prices. In
addition to a super-effective supply chain, Zara also involves customers in the
design process and provides a unique competitive advantage. Fashion trends come
and fade quickly, but Zara is always able to quickly jump on the wave and bring
exactly what buyers desperately need to buy.

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• In a world of big data and quick decisions, I can only imagine more and
more brands taking Zara's approach in product development as well as customer
service. That said, it is a challenge for Zara in the future to adapt to a changing
market.

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 4. APPENDICES
1. What is your age?
2. What is your gender?
3. Are you more willing to buy products online or in-store?
4. How satisfied are you with the availability of products?
5. Did you find enough range of products?
6. How safe did you feel while sharing your card details?
7. Do you like the store layout Decathlon?
8. Which Brands do you prefer above Decathlon?
9. Which mode of transaction do you use?
10. Were the transactions Successful?
11. Did the Decathlon stores take adequate precautions to ensure the safety of
their customers during the COVID-19 scenario?
12. How frequently do you shop at Decathlon?
13. How you get aware of discounts and new offers of Decathlon products?

5. REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY
• https://en.wikipedia.org
• https://www.businessinsider.in/slideshows
• https://www.marketing91.com/formats-of-retailing/
• https://iide.co/
• https://www.unibox.co.uk/news-inspiration/shop-layout-design-retail-displays
• https://businessmodelanalyst.com/
• https://www.google.com
• https://toughnickel.com/industries/Business-Operations-of-Clothing-Retailer-Zara

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