Editorial

Citation

Fernie, J. (2009), "Editorial", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 37 No. 9. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijrdm.2009.08937iaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Volume 37, Issue 9

This issue has two main themes: one on the competitiveness of small towns and town centre management effectiveness; and the other on supply chain management issues.

Our first paper is by Neil Powe and Trevor Hart from Newcastle University. They discuss the challenges and potential for small towns to compete for customers from their residents. The five towns investigated were desirable places to live with three being remote locations – Alnwick, Downham Market and Hunstanton and two accessible to larger urban centres – Morpeth and Wymondham. From residential surveys in these towns it appears that one group of people has their expectations met at local level whereas another group want a different offer and outshop, explaining the sizeable leakage of retail expenditure from these towns, especially in non-food shopping.

The second paper takes us to Italy where Angelo Riviezzo, Alessandro de Nisco and Maria Rosaria Napolitano from Benevento propose importance-performance-analysis as a tool to measure the effectiveness of town centre management schemes. The authors develop a measurement scale and test their model in the centre of Benevento through field survey work undertaken in April/May 2007. The results indicate that local policy makers should concentrate their attention on the perceived service quality attributes of the historic town centre.

The paper by Jesper Aastrup and Herbert Kotzab from Copenhagen Business School echoes some of my own research into on shelf availability and out of stocks (OOS) (see Issue 8, last year). In their study on OOS in Denmark they compare the OOS situation with regard to independent grocery stores compared with centrally controlled grocery chains. In collaboration with ECR Denmark they oversaw physical audits carried out in 42 stores of different sizes and ownership categories. This was supplemented by in depth interviews with managers/owners of the independent chains. Results showed the OOS rates in the independent sector were significantly higher than in the centrally organised sector. Where the main root cause of OOS in the latter sector was store replenishment (as in other published surveys) the independent sector's main problem was in the store ordering process.

Continuing on the supply chain management theme, the conceptual paper by Sue Hornibrook, Andrew Fearne and Maria Lazzarin from Kent Business School explores the association between fairness and organisational outcomes in supply chain relationships. This contribution received the best paper award in the Retail and Marketing Track at the British Academy of Management Conference at Harrogate in September 2008. Its contribution lies in the development of a behavioural theoretical approach by assessing the social implication of collaboration in long term buyer-seller relationships.

Our final paper is by Jason M. Carpenter of the University of South Carolina on the relevant topic of extreme value shoppers in the USA. Extreme retailers, such as Family Dollar and Dollar General, are one of the fastest growing categories in US retailing. Jason drew a sample from retail financial panel data to examine consumer patronage at this format. Results indicate that frequency of shop at these stores has not increased but consumers are spending more of their family budget on this format. In food and household items, in particular, market share is growing albeit mainly through low income shoppers. It was also noted, however, that higher income consumers tend to be “treasure hunting.” As the data for this survey were collected before the credit crunch, it is likely from current observations that extreme value retailers are likely to capitalise further in a market where good value for money will be increasingly important.

John Fernie