CHAPTER 30
Retailing
PETER J. McGOLDRICK
Introduction
Originally defined as ‘the sale of goods in small
quantities’, a better working definition of retail-
ing is:
the sale of goods and services to consumers for
their own use.This distinguishes retailing from the supply of
goods, in quantities large or small, to industrial
buyers. It also recognizes the adoption of
retailing terms and concepts by a wide range of
services providers. For example, banks and
other financial services providers use the term
‘retail’ to differentiate their consumer and their
corporate activities (McGoldrick and Green-
land, 1994). As the marketing of services is
considered elsewhere, the focus of this chapter
is upon the sale of goods to consumers.
There is nothing very new about the basic
principles of retailing. It is still all about the
identification and satisfaction of consumer
needs and wants, at a profit. What has devel-
oped quite dramatically in recent years is the
way in which retailers pursue these basic
principles. Progressively, the folklore and rules
of thumb that guided many decisions have
been replaced by rigorous analysis and scien-
tific modelling. While creativity and flair are
still important, it is fair to say that the science of
retailing has now been born.
In part, this new sophistication in retailing
can be ascribed to the growth in size and power
of major retailers. Much of the ‘received wis-
dom’ on marketing, imported from the United
States, still tends to relegate the role of the
retailer to that of a channel of distribution for
manufacturers’ goods. This is a dangerously
myopic view, in a world in which it is equally
appropriate to view manufacturers as channels
of supply for powerful retailers. As retailers
extend this power across national frontiers,
they are joining the ranks of oil companies, car
makers and computer manufacturers as the
world’s largest companies.
With this size comes the ability to invest in
the best equipment, the latest techniques and,
most importantly, the most able management.
This is reflected by the increased interest in
retailing courses and careers amongst our best
undergraduate and graduate students. Retail-
ing has indeed come of age as a worthwhile
area of study and as a rewarding and highly
professional area of management.
This brief tour of retailing considers first
how retailing has evolved, and some of the
theories that attempt to explain retail change.
Attention then turns to the structure of retail-
ing, examining first the different types of retail
organization, then the various types of outlet.