Food Retail Industry Analysis

INTRODUCTION

Retailing is one of the most important in every Western European Country. Historically

retailing has been viewed as the sale of goods to the consumer trough retail shops, but

retail today should be viewed as being rather broader. Theories of retail change

summarize forms of retail change, that involve three theories of retail change to explain,

1) natural selection in retailing, which is best adjust to their environment, are most likely

to survive. The major environmental factors affecting retailing are, a) Retail changes in

the consumer character, which is like population changes. b) Retail changes in

technology, e.g. use of motorcars. c) Retail changes in competition, e.g. changes in the

levels of competitive strength within the areas of influence. 2) The wheel of retailing

suggests that an efficient innovatory form of retailing enters the market and attracts the

public by its appeal. Growth and maturation occur during which market shares are

increased, but trading-up occurs and finally the firms become high cost, high price

retailers once again vulnerable to the next innovator. 3) General-specific-general cycle,

this is the tendency for retail business to become dominated by generalists, then

specialists and then generalists again. Theories of retail change will be shown in the

Grocery Retail Industry.

It is a fact that Grocery bring many convenient to people, and it is an important part in

retail industry. Grocery supplies a tremendous number of products to our everyday lives.

However, in the last twenty years, development and change of grocery have accompanied

by competition and requirement of people. In the 1950s and 1960s the aim of much of

grocery industry was to produce as much as possible in order to satisfy the substantial

growth of consumer demand for all types of consumer goods. The pattern of the 1990s is

quite different. Consumers no longer want more goods, they want better goods, and

demand is more sophisticated. Grocery began to attract customersЎЇ vision by variety

artifice, which is like retail change of assortment. For instance, change style of product

from specialization to generalization, and enable better most people to choose their

products. Nowadays, grocery is a huge and insurmountable organization, which provides

a large number of products to customers through consummate retail service. This report

will discuss about under demonstration of theory of retail change, groceryЎЇs changes in

format, location, assortment, and concentration and the impact of innovations in last

twenty years and their future trend.

Grocery Format

Retail has been developed since mid-eighteen century, in that time; it just was a simple

general store. This store operated one a cash basis, a departure form barter system of the

earlier retailer. In the 1990s, as Internet went in live of people, this change have brought

customers many benefits and convenient. In Grocery Retail Industry, retailers also

adopted this retail format through Internet introduce GroceryЎЇs products to consumers;

they can get newest information about GroceryЎЇs products. So Internet make a range of

consumers extend, and has become main format of dissemination. By the 2000s, as

development of science and technology, people prefer a new shopping style------

ÐŽoshopping onlineÐŽ±. People can glance over on Internet, and then order their favorite

product through pressing, ÐŽoshopping onlineÐŽ±. In 1999, for instance, ÐŽoonline shopping

already was launched on website by MARK&SPENCE, this format change made their

sale volume increase imminently by more than 5 times. As a result, it can prove

sufficiently that constant creation of format unable to separate from people in live

change.

TodayЎЇs selling format of grocery is starkly different from the past. Because of people

today want more of those things they value. If they value low cost they want it lower. If

they value convenience or speed when they buy, they want it easier and faster. In an

effort to better serve the needs of those consumers unable to patronize the existing retail

institutions, either because of their distance from the stores or their lack of time to buy in

person, the mail order began to attract attention. In the late nineteenth century, little was

available to the mail order customer. Extensive catalogs, which since then have enjoyed

great