ABSTRACT
In accordance with the marketing concept, the general problem of retailing is how to create the right match between product offerings and customer needs while simultaneously meeting profit requirements. For retailers adoption of the marketing concept is an immediate problem [Bennan and Evans, 1986; Arnold, Capella and Smith, 1983], even more than for any other kind of business institution [Fram, 1965]. This is because the retailer's daily contact with consumers means that although he is the first channel member to gain from consumer satisfaction, he is also the first to experience the consequences of consumer dissatisfaction [Lewison and DeLozier, 1982]. Solving the general problem of retailing requires the reconciliation of two further problems. These are the consumer's problem of the right choice and the retailer'S problem of the right blend. In tum, then, and at the risk of over-simplification, solution of the retailer's problem is his provision of the product, price, place, time, quantity and appeal that is right in terms of his own profit requirements and the consumer's choices concerning what to buy, for how much, where, when, in what amount and from whom. The difficulty of solving this problem satisfactorily is increasing due to the growing turbulence and hostility of the retailing environment. Therefore, in planning their future retailing marketing strategies, finns need to identify and understand any major problems confronting them.
