For crackcode
MRhelp
martys_department_store.rtf
Marty’s Department Store
Bethany Tate was nervous. As the general manager of the local Marty’s, a regional department store chain based in the southwest United States, she was apprehensive about lackluster sales growth at her store over the most recent quarter. The problem, she believed, was the nearby pres- ence of Naples Clothing Co., a nationally known spe- cialty retailer of clothing that had opened about six months ago. She had expected sales to be flat while the new Naples store went through its honeymoon period with shoppers, but she didn’t expect it to last this long.
Marty’s Department Store
The Marty’s chain was founded in 1967 in Scottsdale, Arizona. The company currently operates 113 stores across a dozen southwestern states. In general, the com- pany’s strategy is to locate stores in strip malls in small to medium-sized cities in an attempt to avoid direct competition with larger retailers in regional shopping centers. Compared with similarly sized regional depart- ment store chains, Marty’s typically performs rather poorly, with lower than average revenue growth and much higher than average cost structure.
The local store had been a bright spot for the com- pany. Located in a small university city (population 43,000, including 15,000 students), the store had enjoyed steady sales growth since its opening four years earlier. The store offers most types of goods usually found in department stores, with the bulk of sales revenues com- ing from clothing. The store prides itself on offering the most complete range of clothing for the whole family available locally. Like all Marty’s stores, the local store sells several national brands as well as its own private label brand. The store normally runs at least one price promotion per month in an attempt to emphasize its attractive prices. Until recently, the store’s primary local competitors included a nationally known department store, a locally owned department store, and several small specialty clothing stores.
Bethany Tate had managed the store for the past two years. She had been a management trainee with the com- pany for only two months when the local store’s original manager left the company to work for a competitor. Although company policy is for all general managers to have been with the company at least a year before being placed in their own stores, the district manager liked Bethany a lot and believed she had the qualities neces- sary to be successful in the retailing industry. Although she was young and relatively inexperienced (this was her first job after graduating from college with a marketing degree), she was bright, worked very hard, and people
seemed to enjoy working with her, even employees twice her age. For the first 18 months, everything had gone smoothly, despite Bethany’s unspoken fears of getting in over her head. Things began to change when Naples came to town.
Naples Clothing Co.
The Naples Clothing Co. chain has been in existence barely 10 years, yet routinely outperforms virtually all other specialty clothing chains. The company sells only its own brand of casual clothes, which it manufactures in various locations around the world. The clothing line is extremely popular at the present time; the Naples Clothing Co. name and logo appear on millions of articles of clothing in current use. In many cases, wearers become walking advertisements for the company. The company emphasizes reasonable everyday prices, with occasional price promotions, particularly on overstocked or out-of-season merchandise.
Initially, the company’s strategy was to locate in newer strip malls in cities of 400,000 and above. The company often opened two to four stores (or more) in these cities. With increasing success, however, the com- pany has begun to locate in selected smaller commun- ities. The stores are uniform in design, appearance, and merchandise selection (with some small regional differ- ences). The stores feature an open, no-frills layout, which helps keep costs low. There are currently 524 Naples Clothing Co. outlets in the United States, with the company opening about 80 new stores per year.
Marketing Research
Bethany Tate was convinced that her revenues were suf- fering due to the popularity of Naples Clothing Co., par- ticularly among college students. Worse, she realized that she had no real idea what college students thought about her store. Recognizing the need for more information, she convinced her district manager to allow her to hire a local research company to determine consumer perceptions of both Marty’s Department Store and Naples Clothing Co. among younger consumers. The company was interested in the results, because they expected to be competing with Naples Clothing Co. in more and more markets.
The research company and Bethany agreed to focus on three key areas in their research with young consum- ers: (1) identifying the attributes of retail stores deemed most important, (2) determining perceptions of Marty’s, and (3) determining perceptions of Naples Clothing Co. for comparison purposes. After some preliminary
560 case 17
exploratory research, the research company developed a one-page (front and back) survey to be administered to local residents between the ages of 18 and 25 (Exhibit 1; the codebook is presented in Exhibit 2). An area sample was used, and surveys were dropped off at each residence within randomly selected clusters. A total of 208 usable questionnaires were received from eligible respondents.
© Cengage Learning
E x h i b i t 1 Marty’s Questionnaire
PA RT I
Not Important
V er y Important
Service
1
2
3
4
5
Merchandise quality
1
2
3
4
5
Merchandise variety
1
2
3
4
5
Price
1
2
3
4
5
Atmosphere
1
2
3
4
5
Convenience
1
2
3
4
5
Value of brand name
1
2
3
4
5
Merchandise style
1
2
3
4
5
- Please rate how important each of the following items are to you for retail stores on a scale of 1 to 5, where “1” is “not important” and “5” is “very important”:
De fi nitely YES
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
Yes
No
- Please rate Naples Clothing Co. on each of the following characteristics on a scale of 1 to 5, where “1” is “definitely NO” and “5” is “definitely YES”:
De fi nitely NO
Good service 1
Good quality 1
Good variety 1
Low price 1
Appealing atmosphere 1
Convenient location 1
Brand name is appealing 1
Stylish products 1
Good value 1
Good reputation 1
Fun to shop 1
Helpful employees 1
Have you visited the local Naples Clothing Co.?
(Continued)
case 17 561
E x h i b i t 1 Marty’s Questionnaire (Continued)
- Please rate Marty’s Department Store on each of the following characteristics on a scale of 1 to 5, “1” being “definitely NO” and “5” being “definitely YES.”
Good service Good quality Good variety Low price
De fi nitely NO
De fi nitely YES
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
Yes
No
1
1
1
1
Appealing atmosphere 1
Convenient location 1
Brand name is appealing 1
Stylish products 1
Good value 1
Good reputation 1
Fun to shop 1
Helpful employees 1
Have you visited the local Marty’s Department Store?
P AR T II
- What do you perceive as the average age of a typical person who shops at the local Naples Clothing Co.?
years old
- What do you perceive as the average age of a typical person who shops at the local Marty’s Department Store?
years old
- Approximately how many times in the past month have you shopped at the following:
- local Marty’s Department Store
times
- local Naples Clothing Co.
times
- Approximately how many times in the past month have you seen an advertisement for Naples Clothing Co. on the following forms of media?
Television: times
Print (newspaper and magazine): times Radio: times
- Approximately how many times in the past month have you seen an advertisement for Marty’s Department Store on the following forms of media?
Television: times
Print (newspaper and magazine): times Radio: times
- Approximately how much money do you spend on clothing each month?
$
Thank you for your time.
562 case 17
E x h i b i t 2 Marty’s Codebook
Columns Variable Name/Description
1–4
5
GEN
ID
Gender
SURVEY ID#
1 = male 2 = female
6
IMP1
Retail Store Attribute Importance - item 1
1–5; Not Important, Very Important
7
IMP2
Retail Store Attribute Importance - item 2
1–5; Not Important, Very Important
8
IMP3
Retail Store Attribute Importance - item 3
1–5; Not Important, Very Important
9
IMP4
Retail Store Attribute Importance - item 4
1–5; Not Important, Very Important
10
IMP5
Retail Store Attribute Importance - item 5
1–5; Not Important, Very Important
11
IMP6
Retail Store Attribute Importance - item 6
1–5; Not Important, Very Important
12
IMP7
Retail Store Attribute Importance - item 7
1–5; Not Important, Very Important
13
IMP8
Retail Store Attribute Importance - item 8
1–5; Not Important, Very Important
14
NAPLES1
Perceptions of Naples Clothing Co., item 1
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
15
NAPLES2
Perceptions of Naples Clothing Co., item 2
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
16
NAPLES3
Perceptions of Naples Clothing Co., item 3
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
17
NAPLES4
Perceptions of Naples Clothing Co., item 4
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
18
NAPLES5
Perceptions of Naples Clothing Co., item 5
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
19
NAPLES6
Perceptions of Naples Clothing Co., item 6
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
20
NAPLES7
Perceptions of Naples Clothing Co., item 7
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
21
NAPLES8
Perceptions of Naples Clothing Co., item 8
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
22
NAPLES9
Perceptions of Naples Clothing Co., item 9
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
23
NAPLES10
Perceptions of Naples Clothing Co., item 10
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
24
NAPLES11
Perceptions of Naples Clothing Co., item 11
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
25
NAPLES12
Perceptions of Naples Clothing Co., item 12
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
26
VISNAT
Visited Naples Clothing Co.?
1 = yes, 2 = no
27
MARTYS1
Perceptions of Marty’s Department Store, item 1
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
28
MARTYS2
Perceptions of Marty’s Department Store, item 2
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
29
MARTYS3
Perceptions of Marty’s Department Store, item 3
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
30
MARTYS4
Perceptions of Marty’s Department Store, item 4
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
31
MARTYS5
Perceptions of Marty’s Department Store, item 5
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
32
MARTYS6
Perceptions of Marty’s Department Store, item 6
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
33
MARTYS7
Perceptions of Marty’s Department Store, item 7
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
34
MARTYS8
Perceptions of Marty’s Department Store, item 8
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
35
MARTYS9
Perceptions of Marty’s Department Store item 9
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
36
MARTYS10
Perceptions of Marty’s Department Store, item 10
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
37
MARTYS11
Perceptions of Marty’s Department Store, item 11
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
38
MARTYS12
Perceptions of Marty’s Department Store, item 12
1–5; Definitely NO, Definitely YES
39
40–41
42–43
44–45
46–47
48–49
50–51
52–53
54–55
56–57
58–59
60–62
VISMARTY AGENAP AGEMART SHOPMART SHOPNAP NAPTV NAPPRINT NAPRADIO MARTV MARPRINT MARRADIO MONEY
Visited Marty’s Department Store?
Naples average perceived age of customers Marty’s average perceived age of customers Marty’s times shopped in last month
Naples times shopped in last month
Number of Naples advertisements seen on TV last month Number of Naples advertisements seen in print last month Number of Naples advertisements heard on radio last month Number of Marty’s advertisements seen on TV last month Number of Marty’s advertisements seen in print last month Number of Marty’s advertisements heard on radio last month Average money spent on clothing each month
1 = yes, 2 = no
Missing Data: Blank
