Synopses & Reviews
This concise and reader-friendly book is for aspiring businessmen and women who desire to be successful. It talks about operational details and the day-to-day running of a shop or chain of stores. The 4-colour book includes pictures of store layouts, merchandise displays and promotional activities so that important points are depicted in a clearer manner.
About the Author
Angie Tang is a key speaker at numerous retail workshops organized by various shopping center management and retail companies. She also serves as an adjunct lecturer with the Retail Academy of Singapore, associate trainer with the Service Quality Centre, and as lead consultant-cum-trainer at the Retail Promotion Centre. Angie is also renowned trainer and speaker in the overseas retail industry including Malaysia and China. Ms. Tang has extensive consultancy experience especially in advising small-and-medium-sized retailers on strategic developments and operations. She is also a consultant-assessor of various nation-wide service quality programs such as CaseTrust. Angie is the co-author of the retail books, entitled Retail Operations Handbook: A Practical Guide For Small Retail Businesses published in 1999 and Retail Operations: How to Run Your Own Store published in 2004. She has received several awards in recognition for her excellent teaching, academic leadership and publication. Her awards include the Singapore Polytechnic’s “Excellence in Teaching Award” and the Singapore Polytechnic’s “Innovation and Creativity Award”.
Before joining the Polytechnic, Angie has many years of marketing, merchandising and operational experience in the retail industry. She graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1987 and obtained her Masters of Business Administration in Retailing and Wholesaling (with Distinction) from the University of Stirling in 2000.
Sarah Lim is credited for managing the Retail Laboratory and for introducing effective hands-on training pedagogy at the Retail Laboratory. She was awarded the Singapore Polytechnic’s “Innovation and Creativity Award” for her contributions to the organization in 2002. Sarah is actively involved with the retail industry by providing training and consultancy services. She is a key trainer at various workshops and seminars for the management and staff of major retail corporations both locally and overseas. Sarah also serves as an associate trainer with the Service Quality Centre. In addition, she acts as an assessor for the CaseTrust Award. Sarah is the co-author of two retail books, entitled Retail Operations Handbook: A Practical Guide For Small Retail Businesses published in 1999 and Retail Operations: How to Run Your Own Store published in 2004.
Prior to joining the Singapore Polytechnic, Sarah had extensive experience working for renown international fashion and cosmetics brands; as well as overseeing the sales, marketing, training and operations of the retail outlets in Singapore. Sarah graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Arts in 1985, obtained a Diploma in Education from the Institute of Education in 1986 and went on to receive a Diploma in Management from Henley Management College, United Kingdom, in 2003.
Table of Contents
ABOUT THE AUTHORS FOREWORD PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
CHAPTER 1 WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF RETAILING
1.1 What is Retailing? 1.2 Why is Retailing Important? 1.3 Major Formats of Retailing 1.4 Functions of Retailers 1.5 Concerns of Retailers 1.6 The Future of Retailing
Viewpoint Simple Ways to Enhance Your Retail Sales
CHAPTER 2 THE RETAIL STORE CUSTOMER
2.1 What is a Customer? 2.2 Types of Customers 2.3 Basic Needs of Customers 2.4 Why do Customers Patronise a Retail Store? 2.5 What is Customer Service? 2.6 How to Deliver Customer Service? 2.7 Benefits of Customer Service
Viewpoint Winning Life-Long Customers
CHAPTER 3 SHOP LOCATION AND SITE
3.1 Importance of Location and Site 3.2 Definitions: Location and Site 3.3 Evaluation and Selection Guidelines Viewpoint Types of Shopping Locations
CHAPTER 4 DAILY OPERATING POLICIES & PROCEDURES
4.1 Shop Opening Tasks 4.2 Closing Procedure Viewpoint Maintaining Standards - How can you help?
CHAPTER 5 STOCK MANAGEMENT
5.1 Ordering 5.2 Receiving 5.3 Checking 5.4 Marking / Price Tagging 5.5 Storage 5.6 Inter-Shop Transfers 5.7 Expiry and Damaged Control 5.8 Returns and Claims 5.9 Stock Take 5.10 Staff Purchases
Viewpoint Markdowns - Do you need to plan for price adjustments?
CHAPTER 6 CASH HANDLING AND CONTROL
6.1 Cash Register 6.2 Payment Processing 6.3 Cash Management Viewpoint Help your cashiers to serve the customer better
CHAPTER 7 UPKEEPING SHOP IMAGE
7.1 Shop Layout 7.2 Housekeeping and Maintenance 7.3 Front End Tasks 7.4 Back End Tasks 7.5 Schedules for Housekeeping and Maintenance Viewpoint Staff Appearance and Conduct
CHAPTER 8 SHOP SAFETY AND SECURITY
8.1 Shop Safety 8.2 Preventive Measures 8.3 Remedial Works 8.4 Shop Security
Viewpoint The Retailer and Occupiers Liability
CHAPTER 9 SALES POLICIES
9.1 Tills and Receipts 9.2 Merchandise Reservation 9.3 Refund and Exchange 9.4 Delivery
Viewpoint A Sample Store Policy CHAPTER 10 CUSTOMER SERVICE DECISIONS
10.1 A Service Strategy 10.2 Customer Service Programme 10.3 Handling Customers Effectively 10.4 Handling Enquiries 10.5 Product Knowledge 10.6 Handling Complaints 10.7 Service Recovery
Viewpoint Simple actions but significant payoffs
CHAPTER 11 THE ART OF RETAIL SELLING
11.1 The Retail Selling Process 11.2 Pre-Customer Contact 11.3 Step One - Acknowledge 11.4 Step Two - Approach 11.5 Step Three - Identify Needs 11.6 Step Four - Presenting the Products and Sell Benefits 11.7 Step Five - Handle Objections and Queries 11.8 Step Six - Close the Sales 11.9 Step Seven - Add-On Selling 11.10 Step Eight - Farewell and Follow-Up 11.11 Getting Ready to Sell by Building Confidence
Viewpoint Employees - Your Greatest Weapon
CHAPTER 12 MERCHANDISE DECISIONS
12.1 The Six Rights of Merchandising 12.2 Merchandise Buying 12.3 Merchandise Control
Viewpoint How to maintain a healthy balance of inventory and sales?
CHAPTER 13 MARKETING PRACTICES
13.1 Advertising 13.2 Sales Promotion 13.3 Merchandise Presentation 13.4 Visual Presentation 13.5 Customer Loyalty Scheme
Viewpoint The personality of your retail shop
CHAPTER 14 RETAILING AND YOU
14.1 Legal Issues 14.2 Ethical Issues 14.3 The Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act
Viewpoint Avoiding the legal pitfalls of irresponsible advertising
CHAPTER 15 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) AND RETAILING
15.1 Point-Of-Sale (POS) Systems 15.2 Internet Technology 15.3 Interactive Kiosks 15.4 Additional Technology Applications 15.5 Misconception About IT Systems 15.6 Challenges Ahead
Viewpoint “Retail Pro” - An excellent software system
CHAPTER 16 ORGANISATION AND PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
16.1 Organisation Structure 16.2 Culture Development 16.3 People Management 16.4 Retailers Options
Viewpoint Samples: Documents for Recruitment
CHAPTER 17 FINANCIAL CONTROL
17.1 Financing the Initial Operation 17.2 Budgetary Control 17.3 Evaluation of Merchandise Effort 17.4 Evaluation of the Retail Performance
Viewpoint Towards a better managed and more profitable business