RETAIL STRATEGY

• TARGET AUDIENCE
• FORMAT
• SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
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Competitive advantage
 The Eight Ways To Win In Retailing
The Pentagon & The Triangle
Size
Place Location
Layout & Design
Positional Style & Fashion
Communication Systems Product Intensity
Promotional Assortment

Logistics Suppliers

Service Price
Knowledge People Value
Climate Quality
Est theory for Retail Success
• The Est theory derives from the word best, and it
essentially says that a retailer must be best at one
proposition that’s important to a specific group of
customers
• Retailers must strive for a specific positioning to a
specific set of customers rather than attempting to
be great at everything to everybody

BASED ON WINNING AT RETAIL BY ANDER AND STERN

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Est theory for Retail Success
• To accomplish this might mean targeting a specific
customer at the exclusion of others,
• giving up on merchandise categories that today might still
be yielding profitable sales,
• or forgoing short-term growth and profits with an eye
toward long-term success
• Even though these are the fundamental to any marketing
business, most retailers find it tough to follow

BASED ON WINNING AT RETAIL BY ANDER AND STERN 08/26/2021 6

The Est Model

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EST
• Big – Est (Home Depot, Best Buy)-Maximum assortment and variety;
not size or volume over all
• Cheap – Est (Wal-Mart, Costco, Dmart )- Consistently having lower
prices than the competitors
• Hot – Est (Starbucks, Zara )-Stores that carry latest products just as
customers begin to buy them in volume (mass fashion)
• Quick – Est (McDonald’s, Walgreens) -Most efficient service; helps
customers save time significantly
• Easy – Est (Container Store, Publix, Kohl’s)-Best solution oriented
service (ease of use) Experience that makes shopping easy and hassle free

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The Est Model
• The organization needs to be the best in one of the five
rather than pretty good in all of them
• The model proposes a non-compensatory decision
making for the consumers that has no place for diffused
branding
• Alternatively, it proposes razor sharp focus and incessant
drive to achieve the desired position

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The Est Model
• There could be positions other than this; but they would
be niche positions
• Fine – Est
• Best quality merchandise (luxury retailing)
• Being best in one does not men complete lack of concern
for all other parameters; each retailer need to achieve an
acceptable level on all other parameters
• Est is not forever; it changes with time

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Retail Mix

Customer Location
Service

Store Design Merchandise

And Display Retail Strategy
Assortment

Communication Pricing
Mix

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Wal-Mart’s Retail Mix
Location Strategy

Free-standing Stores

Customer
Service

Store Display Merchandise

And Design Assortment

Communication
Mix Pricing

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Wal-Mart’s Retail Mix
Assortment Strategy

Customer
Service Location

Large Number
Store Design
and Display
of Categories
Few Items
Communication
Mix Pricing
in Each Category

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Wal-Mart’s Retail Mix

Location
Pricing Strategy
Customer
Merchandise
Service
Assortment

Store Design
and Display

Communication
Mix Low, EDLP

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Wal-Mart’s Retail Mix
Customer
Service Location

Communication Mix
Store Design Merchandise
and Display Assortment

Pricing

TV and Newspaper
Insert Ads

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Wal-Mart’s Retail Mix

Store Design and Display

Customer
Service Location

Basic, Special
Merchandise
Displays Assortments
for Products
Communication
Mix Pricing

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Wal-Mart’s Retail Mix

Customer Service

Limited

Location

Merchandise
Assortment

Store Design
and Display Pricing

Communication
Mix

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