Retail NaviGator

The key feature in product management is managing assortment through a standardized process. This includes offering pack sizes that are right for the customer and not necessarily for the retailer. It is about understanding brand awareness and finding innovative ways to differentiate the business. Office Depot reviews trends, innovative products and future assortments to win in the market place and simplify the shopping experience for the customer.

A pricing strategy for retail merchandising begins with objectives and financial goals. At a customer level, it is about fully understanding customer segments, integrating these segments into the pricing decisions and maintaining consistency. With customers cross-shopping, this is critical. To attain pricing, a synergy occurs between corporate planning, department strategies, business rules and consumer price sensitivity.

"The placement of merchandise is the sexy part of my job!" Olsen talked about color, fashion and trend as well as positioning the brand with relevant flow and adjacencies. The message received from Office Depot signage is clear and creates an exciting shopping experience so that the customer returns and buys. Placement attracts customers to shop. Historically, the office product industry had a warehouse feel and customers had no reason to shop other than to simply replenish supplies. Now, Office Depot challenges its team to think of merchandise as "the sizzle and not just the steak." Research shows that customers took less than a minute in front of a category buying product. With creative merchandising and organization, uninteresting office supplies are now exciting and hold a customer's attention.

To continue with success in retail, you must have a strong promotional plan. Managing this plan across categories, seasons and events is complex, but Office Depot's plan is to work smarter. For example, loyalty programs are important because they work to understand the customer and then offer unique promotions that can only be found at Office Depot. This is critical to a consumer centric merchandising strategy. Sponsorships are another type of promotion that drives brand image and customer loyalty. Office Depot is the official office product partner of NASCAR and Olsen says the partnership offers access to hundreds of Fortune 500 companies that can be future customers. NASCAR is the number one spectator sport and fans are three times more likely to buy from a sponsor than anyone else.

Ms. Tope spoke about the experience of being laid off early in her career. As devastating as it was for her and her coworkers, she quickly regrouped and accepted a position with Accountemps for minimum wage, but her first assignment was with the wireless industry. She says, "It was the best thing that ever happened to me." The lesson she learned was to control your attitude, move forward and make lemonade when life gives lemons.

With the popularity of wireless, it is hard to believe there was a time when it didn't exist. "Years ago," Tope explained, "When you made a call, it went to a place. Now, you call a person directly." Wireless has become a way of life because now it comprises more than just a phone. Today, 75 percent of all digital messages are sent wirelessly. According to Nielson Reports, the average American watches five hours of television a day. They spend one hour on the Internet. That is six hours of combined multimedia consumption, compared to the 26 minutes Americans spend on their cell phones per day. If Verizon can move just 15 minutes of television and Internet usage onto the cell phone, they can adjust cell phone usage from 26 minutes to 41 minutes, which will substantially alter the opportunities and growth within the wireless industry. Ms. Tope comically noted that multimedia usage for student subset is different than the average American's, as students tend to use the cell phone and Internet more than television.

Verizon has remained innovative to help consumers enjoy mobility over the years. By 2002, it saw data transport usage increase three times with the 2G Network. In 2004, with the introduction of the 3G Network, data traffic increased ten times and, in 2009, as Verizon prepares to launch the 4G Network, it can expect more exponential growth. Verizon sells more phones with cameras than stand alone digital cameras. Wireless phones are the number one consumer electronic device with $1.2 billion sold last year. They are designed to offer social networking, gaming, broad band connection, mp3 players and GPS navigation capabilities. When considering the direction of the industry, Verizon can feel comfortable in marketing wireless as "more than just a phone."

Group A: SWOT Analysis and Corporate Strategy:

The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats were analyzed internally and externally for the company. Methods were also developed for Sweetbay to succeed in the competitive environment. A vast amount of research was conducted on consumer trends, competitors' marketing tactics, and brand communication strategies that are employed within diverse markets. Additionally, a survey was created to determine consumer preferences and analyze consumers' thought processes while viewing advertisements.

This experience enabled us to build invaluable relationships, as we often consulted with corporate executives and store managers, as well as Pyperpaul & Kennedy Advertising Agency, to discuss our ideas for the marketing and advertising campaigns. We also consistently interacted with the other teams to ensure that we were collaboratively working toward the overall goal of increasing Sweetbay's brand awareness among its target consumers. Our communication and presentation skills became a vital aspect of conveying our ideas to the other teams, as we were always analyzing new information and formulating fresh ideas. Overall, the project required us to think critically in a fast-paced environment, as every day presented new challenges and obstacles to overcome as our research progressed. The course prepared us for real-life scenarios that will aid us in our future careers. - Jenney Petrie

Group B: Deli Marketing and Visual Merchandising Strategy:

A variety of resources were used to determine where the deli could improve, both from a visual marketing and a profit standpoint, and what the customer actually wanted out of this very profitable section of the supermarket. Focus groups were conducted, an online survey was completed by over 200 participants, and help was enlisted from an outside consultant to analyze the visual appeal of the deli, compared to Publix. The group pinpointed the sub shop as having the most potential and spent the majority of time developing this area. The final recommendations included implementing a combo meal, as customers preferred price and item choices. Also, innovative methods were developed to educate the customer on the value of Sweetbay's premium meat options. From a visual marketing standpoint, the strongest recommendation revolved around placing signs perpendicular to the customers' traffic patterns, allowing them to see where the deli is located and what it has to offer.

I can say with confidence that this course played a key role in my development as a business student. The materials and objectives of this course encompassed all of the concepts I have been learning the past four years in Warrington College of Business Administration. For once, I was able to see how these concepts actually fit into a real life business strategy, giving me confidence in my business skills as I enter the workforce. I would recommend this course to students who are interested in having a real life business experience. - Ben Artis

Project Team C: Improving the Performance of Gainesville Sweetbay Supermarket:

Group C focused on increasing foot traffic, influencing customers' traffic patterns and increasing items purchased per customer. Four recommendations were made to improve the Gainesville store. The first was to change the traffic patterns of customers by re-routing them towards the produce. The next was to improve the produce section layout to make it more appealing to customers. Creating exciting cross-merchandising and end cap displays was the third suggestion and, finally, the team recommended an increase in advertising for the Gainesville store. The group supported their recommendations with the results collected from focus groups, observation data and a survey. The students learned the value of teamwork, timeliness, and witnessed hard work paying off. The class was a lot of hard work and critical analysis, but by dividing the work into weekly milestones, it was manageable and gave students lessons in time management. Overall, it was unique personalities that contributed to a final project with outstanding results.

The class was a real-world marketing experience that will carry on through the rest of my academic tenure and my future employment in the marketing field. It has taught me valuable skills that I can use in any environment; whether studying in school, volunteering in the community, or presenting to a student organization. It has also given me experience interacting with and leading a group of fellow students in a structured environment. It is an undergraduate class but it is structured more like a graduate course, which allows the students more flexibility and creativity than the average undergraduate class. I also have a great work experience to talk about in an interview and a concrete experience that draws together all of my knowledge in a practical application. I can also say that I acted as a student consultant to a major corporation and developed a marketing plan full of well-researched recommendations on how to increase revenue and traffic for a Gainesville retail store. - Andrew Kisz