What are the major differences between discount stores and off-price Essay

What are the major differences between discount stores and off-price retailers - Essay Example The retail industry comprises a significant share of the country’s commerce. Yet, there is wide variety in the types of retail stores. There are supermarkets, discount stores, convenience stores, hypermarkets, department stores, etc. New types of retail stores are constantly evolving to fit the needs and changing lifestyles of consumers. This essay will focus on the major differences between discount stores and off-price retailers. The way a discount store works is by offering standard merchandise to consumers at low prices. Though margins tend to be quite low, high volume makes up for it and fetch profits. Previously, discount stores used to cut costs by limiting the range of services that they offered and by operating out of cheap storage facilities in heavily travelled districts. But these days, discount stores sport an improved ambience and have widened the range of services and products. But their success still depends on â€Å"keeping prices low through lean, efficient operations†. (Chapter 13, p. 370) Wal-Mart, which is a leader in this domain, follows this business philosophy. Off-price retailers, on the other hand, came in to replace markets left open by discount stores. As big discount store chains started catered to an up-scale customer base, a market for low-price stores once again cropped up.

International Marketing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

International Marketing - Assignment Example A number of scholars states that this system can be traced back to 6000 years back (Kapil, 2011). International marketing generally involves recognizing the fact that people across the globe have different needs and requirements. In simple terms, it is defined as marketing across the national borders (Campbell, 2009). In this paper, such difficulties will be uncovered and along with that solutions to those problems will be also highlighted. Apart from that, the significance of important tools such as multinational marketing information system (MMIS), IMC etc. will be also highlighted. The firm chosen for this purpose from the UK market in Vodafone and the BEM (Big Emerging Market) selected for the company to enter is Brazil. Investigation on Vodafone’s international presence have shown that the company is yet to make its presence in the Brazilian market and Brazil being one of the largest country with emerging economy is a justified choice. Question 1 Trade is becoming increas ingly global and is increasing in size at a robust rate. A number of reasons for this are responsible. One of the most evident one is the progress of technology. The improvement of transportation and communication system has provided companies with heap of opportunities and that made business and trade more practical (Nelson, 1999). The rapid expansion of business houses across the national borders has also tendered opportunities for the customers to avail the best products of different countries. The level of competition has also increased due to globalization as firms compete to produce the best product and offer the highest quality services (Onkvisit and Shaw, 2004). However, an organization operating in the overseas market has to face certain difficulties in getting accustomed with the situation of the target country. The issues arise in the form of cultural differences, language differences and differences in the market characteristics. Although, the problems mentioned above ap pears after the beginning of operation, but prior to that a number of issues also take place during the phase of market research. An international company might also face difficulties when attempting to research the market for a product or service (Holmquist, 2012). Vodafone is a telecommunication company and therefore the telecommunication sector of Brazil needs to be evaluated. Large companies across the globe have identified that international markets offer huge potentiality for the success of a business. In terms of the market size, countries such as India, Brazil, Russia and China are huge. Furthermore, the purchasing power of the consumers belonging to these countries is significant. Despite that, a company has to deal with a number of difficulties and complexities when attempting to research the market for a product or service in the chosen country. Nowadays, companies and other establishments use marketing research techniques so as to manage and minimize the risks associated with the market (Linder, 2006). Several studies have shown that companies do not spend much amount in developing products that market research indicates will be unsuccessful in the market. However, it is also true that marketing research at times did not shows proper results. The marketing research process is costly and at times produces results that are questionable. Now for Vodafone to enter the Brazilian market with its telecommunication products, it needs