Editorial

Citation

Fernie, J. (2008), "Editorial", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 36 No. 10. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijrdm.2008.08936jaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Volume 36, Issue 10

This issue has contributions from the USA, Korea and France. The first three papers have a price-related theme. Firstly, Enrico Colla and Paul Lapoule discuss legislation in France which bans below-cost resale and the impact which this has on pricing decisions. The 1996 Galland Act initially regulated below cost selling but was modified in 2005 with the Dutreil Act and in 2007 with the Chatel Act. According to the authors, legislation in this area has had a negative impact on negotiation practices and distribution in the market to the extent that French retailers are not as competitive in the global market as hitherto. In our second paper, Kittichai (Tu) Watchravesringkan et al. examine the invariance of consumers’ price perception scales across four East Asia countries. Using a convenience sample of 958 students from Beijing, Seoul, Taiwan and Chonburi, the price perception scale contained five dimensions (price quality, price sensitivity, value consciousness, sales proneness and price mavenism). The next paper is also from US authors and is based on a student sample, that of women college students. Myron Gable and colleagues discuss the different perceptions of category killers and discount stores from a women’s college student perspective. The survey comprised seven store characteristics; low prices, convenient location, merchandise variety, assortment and personal service, continuity of supply and well-known brands. Frequency of shopping and shopping orientation were moderating variables. In the results, differences were found in respondents’ perceptions with the exception of continuity of supply.

Our penultimate paper deals with the emerging issue of online communities. In this case, Kim et al. discuss the dimensions of online communities hosted by Korean companies. The online survey used Preece’s sociability and usability framework to determine consumer benefits of such communities. The framework was proven to be robust in its application to the South Korean sample. The final paper by Drenten et al. explores the actions of pre-school children within a grocery setting. The authors observed children over a six week period and noted that their behaviours were similar to adult shopping patterns. As marketers do increasingly focus on children in terms of their marketing, this study gives an understanding of how retailers can develop appropriate segmentation strategies for the future.

John Fernie