Retailer Relationships, Consumers, and Innovation

Assignment 1: Retailer Relationships, Consumers, and Innovation

Imagine that you are a new marketing strategist for a retail business and wish to examine the practices of existing retailers for a frame of reference. Go to About.com’s Website read “2013 Top 100 US Based Retail Companies on World’s Largest List – Biggest & Best”, located at  http://retailindustry.about.com/od/topusretailcompanies/a/us_2013_worlds-largest_retail_companies_chains_retailers_biggest_American_globalpower_2.htm. Next, go to Chain Store Age’s Website and read “Chain Store Age: News and Analysis for Retail Executives, August/September 2012”, located at http://www.chainstoreage.com/sites/chainstoreage.com/files/Interbrand2012_Top100_LR.pdf.Select a retailer in which you are interested from either of these lists.

Write a six to eight (6-8) page paper in which you:

1. Propose three (3) actions that you would take in order to build and sustain relationships for the selected retailer.
2. Determine which of the retailers from either or both the Websites is currently the most successful at strategic planning and building relationships. Support your position with one (1) example of such success.
3. Examine the fundamental aspects of innovation (e.g., technology) that either support or do not support the overall retailer-consumer relationship.
4. Determine whether you agree or disagree with the selected retailer concerning its use of nontraditional forms of retailing. Suggest two (2) actions that the retailer can take in order to take advantage of the consumer trends in the evolution of retailing.
5. Apply the process of strategic planning in retailing and the characteristics of ownership to the selected retailer, and justify your logic.
6. Use at least three (3) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.