The retail sector is an integral part of a national economy. From the political economy perspective, all consumer goods have surplus values locked up in them; the surplus values are not realized until the consumer goods are purchased by consumers through various distribution channels. As such, retailing is the essential link between production and consumption. The success of a retail business depends on two general factors: the location of the retail outlet, and management of the business. Both factors are equally important. If the business is located in the wrong place with the wrong customer base, it will not generate expected sales. Similarly, if the business is poorly managed and operated, it will not perform well even if the location is right. Influenced by both traditional and new location theories, Retail Geography is conceptualized and organized using the retail planning process as the framework. The technical and methodological chapters help guide the reader with detailed descriptions of the techniques and are supported with practical examples to reflect the latest software development. Retail Geography provides a state-of-the-art summary and will act as a core textbook for undergraduate and graduate students of economic geography interested in specializing in retail and business geography. The practical examples also make it a valuable handbook for practitioners in the field, as well as students of retail management and commercial real estate management.

The retail sector is an integral part of a national economy. From the political economy perspective, all consumer goods have surplus values locked up in them; the surplus values are not realized until the consumer goods are purchased by consumers through various distribution channels. As such, retailing is the essential link between production and consumption. The success of a retail business depends on two general factors: the location of the retail outlet, and management of the business. Both factors are equally important. If the business is located in the wrong place with the wrong customer base, it will not generate expected sales. Similarly, if the business is poorly managed and operated, it will not perform well even if the location is right. Influenced by both traditional and new location theories, Retail Geography is conceptualized and organized using the retail planning process as the framework. The technical and methodological chapters help guide the reader with detailed descriptions of the techniques and are supported with practical examples to reflect the latest software development. Retail Geography provides a state-of-the-art summary and will act as a core textbook for undergraduate and graduate students of economic geography interested in specializing in retail and business geography. The practical examples also make it a valuable handbook for practitioners in the field, as well as students of retail management and commercial real estate management.

Published in 1999, this book presents the results of an ethnographic study of the emergence of co-operative production networks among hog farm workers in Iowa. In it the author assesses both the internal organizational requirements for the successful network formation and the potential for networks to give farmers a competitive edge in the swine industry. Departing from the traditional emphasis on individual decision making in agricultural economies and economic anthropology, this book emphasizes instead the institutional setting in which such networks are formed. The author argues that networks succeed when they are closely tied to and reflective of local social structure. Those networks that attempt to employ a master plan designed by experts often fail. Although many succesful networks exist, networking has yet to achieve the economic clout enjoyed by large scale corporate swine producers. The author describes the availability of credit for new swine production ventures in Iowa and shows the extent to which large scale producers have developed network-like connections with banks, packers, and contract producers.

This book offers essential insights into various management concepts for retail and consumer packaged goods companies. Addressing a range of topics in the field of performance management, it presents concepts for management control, management reporting, planning & forecasting, as well as digitization-related aspects. The contributing authors share valuable lessons learned from real-world consulting projects and present innovative approaches to successful and effective management control at retail and consumer packaged goods companies.

Fashion buying and merchandising has changed dramatically over the last 20 years. Aspects such as the advent of new technologies and the changing nature of the industry into one that is faster paced than ever before, as well as the shift towards more ethical and sustainable practices have resulted in a dramatic change of the roles. As a result, contemporary fast fashion retailers do not follow the traditional buying cycle processes step by step, critical paths are wildly different, and there has been a huge increase in 'in-season buying' as a response to heightened consumer demand. This textbook is a comprehensive guide to 21st-century fashion buying and merchandising, considering fast fashion, sustainability, ethical issues, omnichannel retailing, and computer-aided design. It presents an up-to-date buying cycle that reflects key aspects of fashion buying and merchandising, as well as in-depth explanations of fashion product development, trend translation, and sourcing. It applies theoretical and strategic business models to buying and merchandising that have traditionally been used in marketing and management. This book is ideal for all fashion buying and merchandising students, specifically second- and final-year undergraduate as well as MA/MSc fashion students. It will also be useful to academics and practitioners who wish to gain a greater understanding of the industry today.

This book, by one of China's leading economists, explores the past and present of the RMB-the people's currency-as it is poised to compete with the dollar as the international reserve currency. Exchange rate movement and its pass-through to changes in domestic prices have been topics of wide concern among economists. However, relatively few studies have empirically investigated the relationship between exchange rate movements and China's international trade.This book fills this gap, using the general equilibrium theory of the western economic science norm systems, integrating the leading heterogeneous firm theory of international trade, attempting to set up a theoretical structural model for further prediction, and applying the data from sample cases to examine the structural model. This book will be of interest to economists, financiers, and China watchers.

Originally published in 1990, Urban Markets looks at how the informal sector of the economy should be encouraged to assist in the alleviation of problems of poverty and unemployment. Despite this rhetoric, few concrete, implementable ways have been developed. This book is concerned with one such potential strategy which the authors consider to be particularly effective: the creation of both built and open markets for very small retailers and wholesalers. Based on experience of observing such markets in several continents, the authors combine a discussion of the theoretical issues surrounding the creation of urban markets with practical hints of how to establish and run them.

For courses in Retail Buying, Retail Merchandising and Fashion Merchandising. Retail Buying, Ninth Edition, is known for its clear depiction of retail buying, reflecting what buyers face every day in their pursuit of excellence. Focusing on the changes in today's market, the book addresses topics such as diverse ethnicities and the nuances of purchasing abroad. Contemporary market considerations are highlighted throughout, including chapters on buying for discount operations, using the Internet for product procurement, and methods of analyzing customer demand. With a host of end-of-chapter materials and visual aids, this book continues its tradition of effectively preparing students for their role as professional retail buyers.

Contemporary consumer society is increasingly saturated by digital technology, and the devices that deliver this are increasingly transforming consumption patterns. Social media, smartphones, mobile apps and digital retailing merge with traditional consumption spheres, supported by digital devices which further encourage consumers to communicate and influence other consumers to consume. Through a wide range of empirical studies which analyse the impact of digital devices, this volume explores the digitization of consumption and shows how consumer culture and consumption practices are fundamentally intertwined and mediated by digital devices. Exploring the development of new consumer cultures, leading international scholars from sociology, marketing and ethnology examine the effects on practices of consumption and marketing, through topics including big data, digital traces, streaming services, wearables, and social media's impact on ethical consumption. Digitalizing Consumption makes an important contribution to practice-based approaches to consumption, particularly the use of market devices in consumers' everyday consumer life, and will be of interest to scholars of marketing, cultural studies, consumer research, organization and management.

This book offers a unique analysis of how our definitions of luxury have changed over the ages, and with that the role and actions of both suppliers and buyers of luxury products. It traces the way luxury was seen as avarice and emblematic of morally corrosive behavior in past societies, to being viewed in more virtuous terms as the inevitable outcome of structural changes that legitimize the acquisition and display of wealth. It examines the origins of the shift from criticism to acceptance, and traces these changes to fundamentally different notions of what constitutes the basis for social order. Whereas pre-industrial hierarchies cloaked inequality in various secular and sacred guises to mitigate its presence, capitalism justified and reified inequality as a measure of individual success and initiative through interdependent market behavior. The result of this transformation is that status markers have become aspirational tools as hierarchies became porous and self-identity less ascriptive. Correspondingly, as demand for luxury became legitimized, the supply side underwent dramatic changes. Such changes are explored fully in the sectors of fashion, art and wine. As demand for high priced and scarce goods in each of these sectors has increased, in each case key actors have manipulated markets to purposefully either consolidate their pre-eminence or manufacture the requisite scarcity that affords them canonical status. The demand for and supply of luxury goods is now global; consumers seeking validation and affirmation of their status whilst producers engineer scarcity. Luxury is seen not only as good; it is virtuous, its demand possibly insatiable and extremely profitable.

This book comprehensively investigates the challenges to Myanmar's access to the global market. Myanmar is a late entrant in the global trade and investment scenario after years of isolation. However, it has large untapped potentials for trade and investment in minerals, agro and forest based industries, other labour intensive industries, services like tourism, IT, etc. Different chapters of the book explore the implication of democratic transition of Myanmar, the progress of Myanmar's industry and infrastructure, its international linkages and feasible options for integrating more in regional economic groups and also analyses how far Myanmar could exploit the global value chain. Although a number of reports have discussed sector specific prospects of Myanmar, this book is an authoritative work on these aspects for policy planners, academicians, researchers as well as potential investors.

The rise of hard discounters like Aldi and Lidl has been monumental. Explore the very real threat they pose to traditional retailers and brand manufacturers and what you can learn from their growth. Hard discounters are stores that sell a limited selection of consumer-packaged goods and perishables - typically fewer than 2,000 Stock Keeping Units - for prices that are usually 50-60% lower than national brands. The best-known hard discounters are Aldi and Lidl, but global brands include Trader Joe's, EuroSpin, Biedronka, Netto and Leader Price. Their rise has been monumental; they have irrevocably changed the face of retail in Europe and Australia and are making steady inroads into the US. Retail Disruptors is the first book that explores this upheaval, providing expert insight into the business models of the leading hard discounters, and what mainstream retailers and brand manufacturers can do to remain competitive in the face of disruption. Meticulously researched by two of the leading authorities in retail strategy, private labels, branding, and hard discounting, Retail Disruptors is essential reading for all brand manufacturers and retailers who want to retain the competitive edge.

The TPP was negotiated among 12 economically diverse countries, including some most highly developed and rich countries (i.e., the United States, Japan, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Singapore), some newly industrialized countries (i.e., Mexico and Malaysia), and some less-developed countries (i.e., Peru, Chile, and Vietnam). A new paradigm created in this context is that countries with vastly different economic developments can actually agree on a set of very high standards to regulate their economic activities, to liberalize their trade, and to protect intellectual property and foreign investment. The contents of the TPP also reflect its status of being a "new paradigm" as the "21st-Century Trade Agreement" and being a pioneer in rule making in many key regulatory areas. These include not only the improved and enhanced rules on traditional issues already covered by the WTO , such as goods, services, and IP rights, but also the carefully designed rules in areas that have never been addressed in the WTO or comprehensively covered in other FTAs , such as state-owned enterprises, electronic commerce, and labor and environmental issues. Although the United States has withdrawn from the TPP, the remaining countries are still putting efforts into establishing a TPP without the United States or a TPP with China. Economically speaking, the current 11 parties account for about 20 % of the global economy. If such agreement is put into force, there will be significant implications for the region, for the multilateral system, and even for other FTAs. The book addresses the potential of the TPP to change the ways trade and investments are conducted and argues for its potential to be the start of an international trade/economic law revolution. The book elaborates the relationship between the TPP and other existing trade agreements such as the WTO and other FTAs and explains how the TPP is to deal with traditional and new issues. Taken together, the authors argue that the implications of the TPP go beyond its current membership. It is hoped that the book will make an important contribution to the field of international economic law.

Retail is going through difficult times and is suffering the consequences of both the economic crisis and the digitization of society. Fundamentally, there is a bigger problem: stores cannot keep up with the changing behavior of customers who are connected 24/7, customers for whom there is no distinction between online and offline.The End of Online Shopping: The Future of New Retail in an Always Connected World describes how the smart, the sharing, the circular, and the platform economy are shaping a new era of always connected retail. Retailers urgently need to innovate if they want to stay relevant in a world dominated by marketplaces and sharing platforms. The book contains inspiring examples from different industries - which include the usual suspects such as Amazon, Alibaba, and Google, but also local startups - and covers all aspects of the customer journey, from orientation and selection to delivery.The End of Online Shopping provides an excellent overview of shopping trends and developments worldwide, and offers readers indispensable insights into the future of retail.

The study of consumption and its relationship to cultural and social values has become a vibrant and important field in recent years. Hitherto however, relatively few detailed and full length works on this topic have been published. In what will become a seminal volume, this book examines retail selling in various historical contexts and locations, as both an activity at once 'mundane' and almost universal. The book introduces the reader to the existing literature relevant to the subject; and explores the widespread perceptions of moral ambiguity surrounding the practice of selling consumer goods - ranging from concerns about the adulteration of goods, to fears about sharp practice on the part of retailers - and places such concerns in the context of wider societal values and ideas. The ambivalence towards retail selling and sellers is also a central focus of the collection, focussing on the attempts by retailers to develop selling techniques and successful practices of salesmanship, and at the same time establish widely-shared understandings of 'good' retailing. The book also delves into the more dubious practices of retail selling, including practices on the margin of legality, the issue of credit and changing attitudes towards debt. Uniquely the book examines how sales techniques relate to the wider context of a whole shopping 'experience' or shopping environment. Taken as a whole, this volume will provide a first port of call for students, researchers and others interested in exploring consumer cultures, and the cultural norms and practices involved in the sale of consumer goods in various historical periods and geographical contexts.

Economic Life of Mexican Beach Vendors: Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo San Lucas is based on interviews with 82 men and 84 women who vend their wares on beaches in three Mexican tourist centers. Assuming that some people may actively choose self-employment in the informal or semi-informal economy, the employment and educational aspirations of the vendors and their levels of satisfaction with their work are explored. Most of the vendors had other family members who were also vendors, and 75 (45.2 percent) had 5 or more family members who vended, most usually on Mexican beaches. The vendors are aware of the forces of globalization (though they do not express these forces in those words), as revealed by their responses to questions as to how the current world economic recession has affected them. The beach vendors live in essentially segregated neighborhoods that can be considered apartheid-like, far from the tourist zones. Most of the vendors or their parents are rural-to-urban migrants and cross ethnic, linguistic, and economic borders as they migrate to and work in what have been called transnational social spaces. Of the vendors interviewed, 82 (49.4 percent) speak an indigenous language, and of these, 60 (73.2 percent) speak Nahuatl. The majority are from the state of Guerrero, but there were also Zapotec-speakers from Oaxaca. Both indigenous and non-indigenous women take part in beach vending. They are often wives, daughters, or sisters of male beach vendors, and they may be single, married, living in free union, or widowed. Their income is often of central importance to the household economy. This monograph aims to bring their stories to tourists and to scholars and students of tourism development and /or the informal or semi-informal economy in Mexican tourist centers.

Measuring productivity is often considered a difficult task for industries in the services sectors. This book offers a solution in the form of the 8M approach - Management, Manpower, Method, Money, Market, Make, Material and Message. This 8M framework is used to analyze the many facets of productivity and make pertinent solutions and suggestions to lift productivity in enterprises, especially those in the retail and food services sectors.This book consists of 10 chapters. Each chapter is an in-depth study of a specific measure, be it a technological system, a manpower strategy or a marketing program to improve the performance and productivity of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the retail and food services sectors in Singapore.Technology-driven solutions are the highlight of this book. Every study presented involves field work in terms of surveys, interviews or focus group discussions with stakeholders. The findings of the studies lead to policy recommendations and suggestions for improving the productivity performance of SMEs in the retail and food services sectors.

Coping with Retail Giants critically analyzes the modern retail market and identifies how businesses gain the competitive edge over the major retailers that currently control the market. Dr. Samli argues that as society advances economically, consumers will seek better values generated by the retailing sector.

Retail is the essential link between production and consumption. The dynamics of a nation's economy cannot be fully understood without a good understanding of its retail sector. This book is written to achieve three broad objectives. First, it provides a comprehensive assessment of the changes in consumption patterns in China, the current size of the Chinese consumer market, and the regional variations. Second, it presents an interpretation of the changes in the country's regulatory system and the corresponding policy initiatives, including the new state spatial strategies devised after its admission to the WTO. Third, it delivers a systematic analysis of the transformation of China's retail sector. This includes the entry and expansion of foreign retailers, the development of indigenous retail chains as a national strategy to modernize China's retail industry, and the changing retailer-supplier relations. This book is a useful reference not only for university students and faculty researchers, but also for international retailers and commercial real estate developers who contemplate business and investment opportunities in China.

Markets are at the origin of urban life as places for social, cultural and economic encounter evolving over centuries. Today, they have a particular value as mostly independent, non-corporate and often informal work spaces serving millions of the most vulnerable communities across the world. At the same time, markets have become fashionable destinations for 'foodies' and middle class consumers and tourists looking for authenticity and heritage. The confluence of these potentially contradictory actors and their interests turns markets into "contested spaces". Contested Markets, Contested Cities provides an analytical and multidisciplinary framework within which specific markets from Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile, Quito, Sofia, Madrid, London and Leeds (UK) are explored. This pioneering and highly original work examines public markets from a perspective of contestation looking at their role in processes of gentrification but also in political mobilisation and urban justice.

China's rise as an economic superpower has been inescapable. Statistical hyperbole has been accompanied by a plethora of highly publicized architectural forms that brand the regeneration of its increasingly globalized urban centres. Despite the sizeable body of literature that has accompanied China's modernization, the essence and trajectory of its contemporary cityscape remains difficult to grasp. This volume addresses a less explored aspect of China's urban rejuvenation - the prominence of the shopping mall as a keystone of its public spaces. Here, the presence of the built form most representative of Western capitalism's excess is one that makes explicit the tensions between China's Communist state and its ascent within the 'free' market. This book examines how these interrelationships are manifested in the culturally hybrid built form of the shopping mall and its role in contesting the 'public' space of the modern Chinese city. By viewing these interrelationships as collisions of global and local narratives, a more nuanced understanding of the shopping mall typology is explored. Much architectural criticism has failed to address the levels of meaning implicit within the shopping mall, yet it is a building type whose public popularity has guaranteed its endurance. Consequently, if architecture is to remain a relevant social art, a more holistic understanding of this phenomenon will be indispensable to the process of adapting to globalizing forces. This examination of Chinese shopping malls offers a timely and relevant case study of what is happening in all our cities today.

The emerging present is a fast-changing context for incumbent organizations, especially in market segments where online behavior is replacing physical proximity, and users engage with digital platforms for the acquisition of products and services. These are platforms that allow users to behave, to leave a mark, and to participate in the community of others, which are the values people now seek. Transforming Organizations for the Subscription Economy: Starting from Scratch aims to prepare executives for a world in which everything is social, augmented and autonomous; objects and spaces will have multiple purposes, capabilities and meanings. This is a new territory full of opportunity which is generally discussed only at the level of technology involved instead of the intellectual level, where the real understanding of the need for transformation resides. The book reveals ideas about what is possible if we transform the present. The narrative is organized around what is actual and what is potential; what is the probable future that we can arrive at through change, and what is the possible future that we can build through transformation. When engaging in transformation, the following strategic question develops: if you were designing your organization today, how would you design it? In other words, how would you go about it starting from scratch? This book provides the intellectual framework that empowers organizations to understand and navigate the emerging present, and to develop and deliver products and services of intrinsic value to users.

This book is about promising collaborative avenues for connecting Finland and India with value propositions for enterprises, consumers and investors worldwide. The book covers institutional and cultural differences and explains the logic of business systems, entry modes, and managerial styles in both countries. It draws on experience of successes and also failures to know what should be done differently. It would also interest policymakers that India's challenges of planting economic orchards in patches of social desert and Finland's struggle to preserve a social paradise against pulls and pressures of economic graveyards in Europe are both solvable with attention to complementarities and synergies. "From his long and rich experience of working with Finnish and Indian companies and passionate research at IIM Ahmedabad in India, and Aalto University and University of Tampere in Finland, Professor Mathur has a very deep knowledge of how to do business in both countries. Every company leader who considers starting Finnish-Indian business should read this new book. This valuable book will help companies entering new markets to flourish by building robust sustainable business relations." - Paivi Leiwo, Chairperson Oilon Oy, Lahti, Finland "This book is a treasure trove of knowledge explaining the business opportunities, policies, cultures, institutions, country trajectories and nuances pertaining to Finland and India. The author has worked in business, government and academia in India and abroad. He has also had a long association with Finland and is able to bring you an insider's perspective of both countries" - Ambassador Ashok Sharma "The author's deep insider experience in the two countries enables him make very sharp observations on both sides. This book will definitely help in understanding the cultural differences and making interactions and communications smoother. " - Iiro Rossi, Managing Director, Holiday Club Resorts, Helsinki "This book is a delightful and important guide for those who want to do business between Finland and India. It brings you the numerous business opportunities which wait to be availed, and highlights the deep understanding of the author of the culture and institutional environment of both countries. Read this book, learn and be surprised!" - Niina Nummela, Vice Dean, Professor of International Business, Turku School of Economics, University of Turku, Finland "This book is a reflection of Ajeet's penchant for deep research and ability to structure and articulate content. This book will be extremely helpful to those who want to develop Indo-Finnish business relations specifically and international business in general. Sonata is currently engaged with business in Finland" - Srikar Reddy, Managing Director, Sonata Software Limited, Bangalore

The late twentieth century saw rapid growth in consumption and the expansion of retailing and services. This was reflected in the number and type of stores and locations, from regional shopping malls and out-of-town superstores to concept and flagship stores. Retail design became an essential part of its success by creating distinctive brands and formats. However, the economic recession in the developed world and competition for consumer goods from the developing world has led to a re-assessment of the growth-led conventions of the retail industry. In addition, the rapid advance of e-commerce and online shopping has created new challenges for physical stores and the communication and distribution of retail brands. The book will provide students, researchers and practitioners a detailed assessment of retail design, taking a distinctive global approach to place design practice and theory in context. Chapters are devoted to key issues in the visual and structural contribution of design to retail brands and format development, and to the role of design in communication. In the course of the book, the authors engage with problems of convergence between retailing and other services and between the physical and virtual worlds, and also changing patterns of use, re-use and ownership of retail spaces and buildings. Retail Design concerns designers and organisations but also defines its broader contribution to society, culture and economy.