The Role of Retailing Business in the Development of Nigeria Economy

THE ROLE OF RETAILING BUSINESS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA ECONOMY (A CASE STUDY OF CITY GIFT SUPERMARKET ENUGU)

THE CONCEPT OF RETAILING

          The concept of retailing shows that retailing activities is directly rotated to the sales of goods and services, to the ultimate consumer for personal and non-personal use. An example of retailing establishment are illustrated below: 

1)      SUPER MARKET:  A supermarket can be define as large scale departmentalized retailing establishment offering a variety of merchandise such as store operating largely on self services basis with a minimum of customers services an a future price appeal and enough parking space.

2)      CONVENIENCE STORE:      convenience store are relatively small stores located near residential areas, or near word place of their target customers.   The owner of such store emphasized localities, parking, easy movement with the store; low hours and quick check out services all these aimed making shop for the customers convenient.

3)      DEPARTMENTAL STORES:          A departmental store is a group of shop all under one roof and one management.  Each department deals with a particular type of goods.

In a particular branch of retail trade department stores are gradually becoming very popular but are found mainly in big urban centers of the country.   They require very large premises while the store are often large and beautifully designed with displays of goods to the convenience of buyers.   They provide facilities such as restaurant, after sales services and postal services etc.   An example of departmental are the Leventis Store, Eastern Shops, Chains Stores.   In each of these stores there are many supervisors who supervise each shop while there are managers in the department stores.

4)      SPECIALTY STORE:    A specialty store carries a narrow product line with a deep apartment with that line.   For instance, furniture store, books shops and sporting goods shops are all good examples of a specialty store.   Specialty shops do not often carry specialty goods.

Using the word – specialty in describing the store implies that it carries a limited line of merchandise rather than it is well know, branded that people where willing to expand considerable effort to purchase.

5)      MULTIPLE STORE:  Multiple store can have new store layout or a new type of merchandise in one store without committing the entire firm. It has many branches situated in different places. The arrangement is centralized because it has branches located in different places.

6)      DISCOUNT STORE:    A Discount store is self-sources, general merchandise store that complain low price and high sales volume to achieve profits.   They also advise their stores and goods.

The major attractive to patronize the discount stores is the low prices.   They have to set up their store in low rent areas which may be away from the center of the town they keep their inferior plain and may not offer such services as sales assistance.  Credit and delivery, a pure discount store exhibits five elements.

  1. a) The store regularly sell its merchandise at lower prices that these prevailing on high margin, how turnover outlets.
  2. The stores operate on a self-services, minimum facilities basis.
  3. The fixtures are operative and functional
  4. The store emphasizes on national brand so that low price does not suggest inferior quality.
  5. The location tends to be in a lowest areas drawing customers from relatively long distance.

7)      AUTOMATIC VENDING:     Wide variety of product are sold though Cain-operated machines automatically sales merchandise without the presence of sales clerk.  Product sale s through vending machine typically have low unit value and low make up, so relatively expensive to sell through store.

Vending machines can expand a firm’s market by realizing customers where it is not feasible for store to do so many store vending machines as a complementary form of retailing.

8)      LIMITED LINE STORE:        Limited line store carry a considerable assessment of goods, but in one or two related lines we identify these store by the names of the individual product, they features, for stores, shoe stores and services.   This identification is still useful to some type of stores like furniture stores by buying materials.

9)      CHAIN STORE:   Chain store is an organization of two or more stores, centrally owned and managed, that generally handles the same lines of product.   A chain store sells similar line of merchandise conglomerate whichcombi9nes several chain stores under common ownership.  Buying in a chain store is highly centralized and individual unit.   A chain store have a very little economy.

10)    MAIL ORDER SELLING:      Mail order buying includes any ordering by mail from an act or from a direct mail appeal.   Mail order firm covers nay selling that involves using the mail to get order words.   This is essentially buying and selling through the post and postal services.

11)    MOBILE STORE:         Mobile store is a motionised store.  The mobile store van which store various types of goods or product for consumer to buy, but not all the vans can be called mobile store because some make to deliver goods from shop to shop and not to consumers.

12)    HAWKING:         Hawking is very common in Nigeria. It is a type of retailing that includes varring goods by people from one place to another looking for customers to buy.

13)    MANUFACTURES STORE:   Manufacturers store are set up by manufacturers themselves from there they are selling their product directly to ultimate consumer.

2.2     THE IMPACT OF RETAILING

          The impact of retailing establishment in Nigeria economy is illustrated as follows:

1)      IT CREATES EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY:

Retailing establishment play a vital role in general.   It provides employment opportunities for greater properties of the employable population in a given economy. In Nigeria, for instance advertisement, transportation and distributions, research and consultancy as well as the backward linkage such as the production and extraction of raw materials with retailing adds manufacturing to the time.   If it is needed place utility is the value added to the product by transporting it from its place of production to where it is needed.   According to possession utility as items must have the ability to change ownership before it has value.   Retailing establishment helps in giving information about the product existence.   When and where they can be bought and how much they cost.

2)      The retailing business is an independent merchandising intermediary who stands between the producers and the consumers and in effect, is the one who serves as the consumers purchasing agent.

3)      The retailing establishment also provides the goods that the consumer want the time and place the consumer wants them and in the qualities that the consumer desire.

4)      The retailing establishment also grants credit to the consumers due to the personal business relationship which exist between them.

  • CHALLENGES FACING RETAILING BUSINESS IN NIGERIA.

The challenges facing retailing business competition between retailing establishment, manufacturing markets, limited growth opportunities energy shortages, escalating operating cost, consumer apathy, uncertain business.   Conditions, declining employed productivity, rising cost of capital, and increasing social demands, creative thinking, individual perception, co-operate managerial vision and management’s ability to plan, organize, direct and control the firms activities and it possession of the ability to offer a differentiated merchandising mix are necessary in order to establish a comparative retailing advantage.

  • Lack of information from their ultimate consumers.
  • Low quality product in the market.
  • Lack of effect management control system in the establishment.
  • High prices of goods and services
  • High cost of rentage for the establishment.
  • Because there is too many people in the trade and so competition is stuff, the result is that by the end of the day sales may too meager to justify the effort.
  • The retailer may not know his customers fast; that it may not know the type of goods his customers wants.

2.4     THE PROSPECT OF RETAILING BUSINESS

          This is simply discussing about the survivers strategies of retailing business and its continuity as an aspect of business enterprise.   The services are listed below:

  1. The management of the establishment should have an expertise knowledge about retailing business.
  2. There should be free flow of communication between the establishment and their customers.
  3. There should also see their goods at an affordable price to their customers in order to target their customers.
  4. They should also patronize their customer very well.
  5. The retailing establishment should also be selling quality product.
  6. There should be effective management control.
  7. Its contributing effect to the economy is as follows: –
  8. It reduces unemployment problem in the society.
  9. It also makes goods and services available for their customers.
  10. It serves as a purchasing agent between the wholesaler and the consumers.
  11. The retailing business also grants credit to the consumer due to the personal business relationship which exist between them.

2.5     SUMMARY

          The retailing outlets create employment opportunities to the majority of the populace.  And also those concern are self-employed and therefore earn their living from there.   It was also found that retailing establishment also play a vital role in economic development of any country.

Finally customer admitted that sales promotion will certainly influence their purchase and loyalty positively.

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