Assortment Planning

• Assortment is the selection of merchandise a

retailer carries. Includes breadth of the product
categories and the variety within each category.

• Need to choose quality of the merchandise-

expensive/moderately priced/inexpensive
items.
 Brands
• As a part of assortment planning, retailer chooses a proper mix
of manufacturer, private and generic brands.

• Manufacturer brands are produced and controlled by mfgs.

Well known, presold by advts, represent max quality to
consumers. Eg Coke, Sony etc

• Private /dealer/store brands: Names designated by retailers,

more profitable, better controlled ,not sold by competing
retailers ,less expensive and may lead to loyalty.

• Generic brands: Form of private brands have plain packages

,secondary shelf locations etc
 Depth & Breadth of merchandise
MENSWEAR DEPARTMENT
 

  
PRODUCT LINE TROUSERS ACCESSORIES
SHIRTS

BREADTH
ZODIAC VAN HEUSEN LOUIS PHILLIPPE ARROW

DEPTH
STYLES COLOURS SIZES
 Assortment Planning Process
• Merchandise
Assortment Planning
is a trade off between:
• Variety
• Assortment
• Product Availability
 Assortment Planning Process
• Variety: It refers to the
number of different
categories of
merchandise within a
store or department.
 Assortment Planning Process
• Assortment: It refers
to the number of
SKUs within a
category.
 Assortment Planning Process
• Product Availability:
It refers to the
percentage of demand
for a particular SKU.
 Assortment Planning Process
• The Retailer works out
on the trade off
between variety,
assortment and
product availability
depending upon the
particular marketing
strategy.
 Assortment Planning Process
The Retail Strategy is
worked out keeping
the following aspects
in mind: -
• 1. The particular target
market towards which
they are committing
their resources.
 Assortment Planning Process
• 2. The type of retail
offering which the
retailer plans to use in
order to meet the
target market’s needs.
• 3. The bases upon
which the retailer will
attempt to build up
competitive
advantage.
 Factors affecting Variety and
Assortment
• Physical characteristics
and layout of the store
and internet site.
• Workout a balance
between too much
versus too little
assortment.
• Work at profitable mix
of products.
• Corporate strategy
towards assortment.
 Factors affecting Product
Availability
1. Work out for a
trade off between
inventory
investment and
product availability.
2. Plan sufficient
back up of stock to
meet each SKU’s
stock demand.
 Factors affecting Product
Availability
SKU’s stock demand
depends upon:
• Product availability
the retailer wishes
to provide.
• The fluctuations in
demand.
 Factors affecting Product
Availability
• Lead time for the
vendor.
• Fluctuations in lead
time.
• The vendor’s
product availability
also affects the
retailer’s back up
stock.
RETAIL ASSORTMENT
STRATEGIES
Wide & Deep : (many product lines & large
variety in each)
Wide & Shallow : (many product lines &
limited variety in each)
Narrow &Deep: (few product lines & large
variety in each)
Narrow &Shallow: (few product lines & few
variety in each)
 Shotgun Merchandising
• Retailers adopt marketing strategies like
shotgun merchandising and rifle
merchandising in order to cope with the
dynamics of the MARKET.
• A retailer adopting shotgun merchandising
caters to a variety of market segments by
expanding its product lines either by
including a product item or product lines.
 Rifle Merchandising
A retailer adopting rifle merchandising caters
• to a specific market segment
• with a specific product mix, either by
following a market positioning strategy or a
multiplex distribution strategy.