Riassunto International Retail and Sales Management

THE PRAHALAD AND DOZ INTEGRATION AND RESPONSIVENESS MODEL

Prahalad and Doz identified the economic, technological, political, customer and competitive factors that create the global integration and local responsiveness pressures on the diverse businesses and functions in MNEs.

ORGANIZATION FOR INTERNATIONAL SELLING

Relates to companies whose business interests, manufacturing plants and offices are spread throughout the world. Although their strategic headquarters might be in an original country, multinationals operate independently at national levels. Covers companies that have made a strategic decision to enter foreign markets. They have made appropriate organisational changes and marketing mix adaptations. International marketing is at the simple end of the scale and the term is applied to companies that regard exporting as a peripheral activity. Exporting whose turnover from exporting is generally less than.

1. UNDERSTANDING DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS

WHAT DO WE LEARN FROM RESEARCH ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR?

70% of purchasing decisions are made at the point of sale

Consumer buying habits are changing -

Implications:

• Execution of brand promise in points of sale is fundamental for marketing strategies
• Carefully selecting where and how the brand should be present and available to consumers is key to success

first of all retail, distribution and marketing are linked: there is one data which makes many people fall off the chair and that is that 70% of purchasing decisions are made at the point of sale, in fact consumers decide when they are at the point of sale or in front of the screen and evaluate alternative. This means that the execution of brands comes in the point of sale is fundamental for any marketing strategy. We cannot think about the strategy in isolation and then forget about what happens at the point of sale. Secondly, carefully selecting where and how the brand is present is another core component of success because we need to decide where and how to make the product available. Not all the retail channels are the same. A FEW TRENDS IN THE "CONSUMER – CHANNEL – PRODUCT" RELATIONSHIP There are some things we are observing especially in Italy but also in some other countries in the world that have an impact on our understanding of the role of retail channels. While

There are significant differences across international countries, with emerging markets (especially Asian ones) being peculiar in many respects. There are a few trends worth pointing out:

• Selective, less loyal consumers are increasingly present in both B2B and B2C markets.
• There is attention to reducing waste, with a lower average ticket but increased frequency of visits to the point of sale. There is a much stronger attention to waste reduction. For example, recent statistics have shown that 30% of food bought in the Western world goes into the bin. Now there is much more attention to sustainability, and people start preferring to shop smaller amounts to reduce waste.

Early signs of return to proximity in Western Europe, mainly affecting large and suburban retail outlets, especially for food. That has also led to an interesting return to proximity, stores that are closer to home. But if I want to buy less because I don't want to waste, I try to do more frequent trips, so I start preferring again to shop next door, after decades where large surfaces outside of town were the preferred option; - durable intangibleConsumption increasingly focused on (e.g., tech) and (services/experiences). Consumers are also starting to pay more attention to valuable goods, services, or experiences in their average shopping. - multichannel to omnichannel From: information gathering and purchase simultaneously done on greater interaction between online and offline. Consumers are also starting to pay more attention to valuable goods, services, or experiences in their average shopping. There is another very important.

One consideration which is that we are moving from the notion of multi-channel to the notion of omni-channel. When we talk about multi-channel we only say that "I can buy either online or I can also buy my Nike shoes in the store". I have the choice. The same is for some luxury brands. Omni-channel means these boundaries between in store and online is gone, is blurred meaning that people can gain information on one side and then place the order on the other but that's part of the same decision.

Now getting omni-channel right is very important. Take shoes for example: you may have heard that people go in the store, they try on their shoes, they get the brand, they get the right size and then they shop online because they find cheaper prices. Some time ago there were some shops that put a fee if you wanted to try on shoes (to pay two or three euro if you just wanted to get in and try them out). Or in banking services: people first scout online for the best mortgage and then they decide.

When they've decided they go to a branch; • E-commerce, although still marginal, is growing steadily. E-commerce is growing very steadily (but let's remember it's still marginal). So, there's a number of things that brings us for a much bigger attention for these behaviours and when it comes to deciding on the distribution channels and how to manage them, this is all becoming super crucial. More rational-Demanding-Critical-Nomadic-More conscious- Digital WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR MARKETERS? • system Need to manage the customer relationship through a complex, multi-layered that includes networks points of sale of different • Sales function key in managing relationships with a varied distribution network, diversified across Countries, healthy (profitable), efficient, customer-focused So, what it means for marketers is "we need to manage the relationship with the customers through a complex multilayer system that includes a network of points of sales". So, as

We think about distribution, there's a system / network that we need to understand and then we know that the sales function that we studied so far is crucial in managing the relationship with these distribution channels, especially as we think about going internationally. The complexity of distributing our products through this network is even higher as we think about the global channels.® Our guest speakers next time will talk about global channels, which is a function which is even separate from the rest: it's a sales function that takes care of sales of the global channels. 148

Distribution is key in the marketing mix

COMPONENT OF THE MARKETING MIX

DISTRIBUTION IS KEY IN THE MARKETING MIX

MARKETING MIX

So, first of all distribution and then wholesale and retail are part of the four pieces of marketing, let's not forget it. Here we understand how through Brand name Payment Variety Discounts Advertising Channels Features Subsidies Sales force Coverage

terms Public Relations Assortments Packaging Direct Marketing Stock Credit availability sales we need to manage the Size and Location Possibility of return Trade Marketing distribution networks, formats Transport Services because those who talk to Guarantees the retailers are the Possibility of salespeople in our exchange organisation and they are sitting on a function that takes place and takes care of channels, the notion of coverage (how do I need to cover my market), the assortment /stock, locations, the transport and logistics. But those are all aspects of the marketing mix and we understand that managing this well contributes to 70% of this other purchase decisions. DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS a set of independent institutions "A distribution channel consists of which carry out all the activities transfer a product and its ownership necessary to from the producer to the consumer". (Kotler, 2004) «marketing channels» Given the crucial role in marketing, distribution channels areconsumer? One example is Tesla, which sells its electric cars directly to consumers through its own stores and website. INDIRECT ONE-STAGE2- : one intermediary. The producer sells to a retailer, who then sells to the consumer. This is the most common type of distribution channel. For example, when you buy groceries from a supermarket, the supermarket acts as the intermediary between the producer (food manufacturers) and the consumer. TWO-STAGE INDIRECT CHANNEL3- : two intermediaries. The producer sells to a wholesaler, who then sells to a retailer, who finally sells to the consumer. This type of channel is often seen in industries like fashion, where wholesalers buy products in bulk from producers and then distribute them to retailers. THREE-STAGE INDIRECT CHANNEL4- : three intermediaries. The producer sells to a broker, who sells to a wholesaler, who sells to a retailer, and finally, the retailer sells to the consumer. This type of channel is less common and is usually found in complex industries like international trade. Each type of distribution channel has its own advantages and disadvantages, and companies choose the most suitable channel based on factors like product characteristics, target market, and cost-efficiency.ough a wholesaler, who then sells to the retailer, who finally sells to the consumer. This is a common distribution channel for many consumer goods companies. In the luxury industry, companies like Chanel prefer to have their own stores and sell directly to the consumer. They do not want any intermediaries involved in the process. On the other hand, companies like IKEA also own their own stores and sell directly to the consumer. They do not rely on intermediaries either. In the case of indirect one-stage channels, there is one intermediary between the producer and the consumer. For example, companies like Unilever may talk directly to big retail chains like Carrefour, Auchan, Esselunga, etc. In two-stage indirect channels, there are multiple intermediaries involved. The process goes from the producer to the wholesaler, then to the retailer, and finally to the consumer. For instance, Unilever does not directly communicate with the store next door. Instead, they go through a wholesaler, who then sells to the retailer, and the retailer sells to the consumer. This is how Unilever reaches the store next door.