An Account of the Retail Manager's Duties Essay

An Account of the Retail Manager's Duties - Essay Example Some businesses find it very hard to register high number of sales. This usually results in losses to the business or profits that are not exactly up to the levels that had been set previously. Such sales are recorded as very low returns by the businesses and thus this may result in the business closing down. When a business is recording such low returns in the sales that it is making, it is said to be under-achieving (Cox & Britain, 2004). The Retail Manager’s Account in Context Under-achieving businesses are usually in a gradual process towards witnessing a major downfall. It something is not done about these businesses, the levels of the losses that are incurred are set to continue affecting the running of the business. For a small chain store such the one I am managing, the under-achieving sales are very dangerous. This might actually result in the eventual closure of the business as a result of poor sales (Taleo.net, 2012). These poor sales are usually witnessed because o f the poor marketing that is being done by the store. In order to increase the sales of a business, it is important that the consumers are made aware of the products that the business is selling or the services that it is offering. This way, the consumers will be more knowledgeable about these products and thus their purchases will increase the sales of the business. For my store, there are a number of factors that have played a role in causing it to become an underachieving store. This position of the store is not just as a result of a single factor. The store has got a number of issues that it is facing. These issues are very crucial and affect the sales recorded at the store. One of the major factors affecting the store is the number of staff and their payroll costs. Much as the store is a small chain, the number of employees at this store is not up to the required figures. It is important that these members of staff be in the required number in order for them to work efficiently (Cox & Britain, 2004). The current number of members if staff in the stories less than the required number. Thus, the business activities in the store have been slowed down. Clients and customers are not getting the necessary services on time and this puts most of them off. Another issue that needs to be dealt with in my store is the sales plan. Looking at the reports indicating the achieved sales, it is clear that the store needs to improve on the sales plan. The strategies put in place are not giving the required feedback to the store. The sales plan is a very important and key factor in improving the sales witnessed by a business. It is this strategies that lay down the ways through which businesses can actually attract new clients and also be able to retain the previous ones. The sales plan also gives the management of the business an idea of how it should control its marketing and the areas where it needs to pay a lot of attention in. this is important for any business in orde r to give it a sense of direction. For the store under my management, the sales plan needs to be improvised if at all an increase in profits is going to be witnessed. This is one area that I have to put a lot of concentration in (Stanley, 1999). Key Performance Indicators for Improving the Business In order to improve the sales of an underachieving business, it is very important to

How does Tesco maintain its lead in the online grocery market Assignment

How does Tesco maintain its lead in the online grocery market - Assignment Example Against this background, this essay seeks to critically evaluate the measures implemented by Tesco in order to maintain its lead in the online grocery market. The paper starts by outlining the historical background of the supermarket chain; this is followed by a detailed analysis of how it harnesses the use of the internet in its operations. Background information about Tesco According to Datamonitor (2004), Tesco PLC is the largest food retailer in the UK and it operates around 2,318 stores worldwide where 1,878 stores are located in the UK. The supermarket chain also operates stores in the rest of Europe and Asia and it is headquartered in Hertfordshire, the UK. The company is comprised of 367,000 employees worldwide (250,000 of them in the UK), sales of more than ?37billion and it has an estimated 30 % of the market share in the grocery industry in the UK. However, Paton (2005) suggests that Tesco now ranges far beyond food, given that it now offers services which include â€Å"b anking, flower delivery, online diets, legal advice, DVD rental and telecoms.† Tesco prides itself in training and retaining talented workers despite criticisms by other sectors of the society. Technological factors Technological development in ICT has immensely contributed to the positive growth of the organisation, especially through the use of the internet. For instance, online shopping has significantly improved the operations of the organisation given that the bulk of its customers can conduct their business in the comfort of their homes. The supermarket chain has fully harnessed the use of the internet in its online grocery market. The supermarket chain is comprised of Tesco.com, a wholly-owned subsidiary offering a complete online service, including tescodirect.com and tesco.net (Datamonitor, 2004). The company is also in a better position to maintain its lead in the online grocery market because it offers a range of online financial services. According to information o btained from (http://www.essaycoursework.com/modelanswer/business/help/pestle/tescos.php, ND), Tesco.com is regarded as the world’s biggest online supermarket and it is believed that it generates sales worth over ?577 million every year. There are different factors that contribute to the success of Tesco’s online business. Specially designed website Through the use of a specially designed website, Tesco is able to appeal to the interests of many customers as possible regardless of their geographical location. It acts as a global store whereby people from all corners of the world can make purchases online which is a great advantage for the organisation. The other reason for its success in online business is that its website has a catalogue of every product offered, which makes it relatively easier for the customers to do online shopping in the comfort of their homes without any hassle. The website is user friendly given that it is easier to navigate in search of differe nt products. Research has shown that there are more than one million households that use the company’s online services across the whole world and this is seen as a competitive advantage to the company since it is better positioned to receive more revenue from its operations (Datamonitor,