Competing in Tough Times Business Lessons from L.L.Bean, Trader Joe's, Costco, and Other World-Class Retailers (Paperback)

Competing in Tough Times brings together the powerful new strategies that world-class retailers, like Trader Joe’s, Costco, and Nordstrom, are using today to survive--and thrive--in a brutally unforgiving retail environment. Internationally respected retail management expert Barry Berman shows retailers and their suppliers exactly how to build effective strategies based on cost and differentiation, plan and implement those strategies, and measure the results.

Berman offers detailed coverage of implementing strategies based on becoming the low-cost provider and minimizing product proliferation; enhancing the service experience; developing and maintaining a strong private label program; and more.

To support each approach, he presents full-length examples from retailers covering every market sector, from consumer goods to apparel to technology. He thoroughly examines top retailers such as Aldi, Amazon.com, L.L. Bean, Publix, Stew Leonard's, Wegman's, and Whole Foods, and shares powerful insights drawn from the experiences of other leaders--from Au Bon Pain to Best Buy, Family Dollar to Target, Tesco to Walgreen.

Dr. Barry Berman is the Walter ‘Bud’ Miller Distinguished Professor of Business and Director of the Executive M.B.A. program at Hofstra University. He earned his Ph.D. degree in marketing management from the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York (CUNY).

Barry Berman is co-author of Retail Management: A Strategic Approach (Prentice Hall). This is the best-selling retail management college textbook in the world. Currently in its 11th edition, this book has been published in Canadian, Chinese, Indian, Philippine, and Russian editions. Dr. Berman has also published articles that have appeared in Business Horizons, California Management Review, The International Journal of Retailing and Distribution Management, and other journals.

Dr. Berman is Vice-President of the American Collegiate Retailing Association. He was also co-founder of the American Marketing Association’s Special Interest Group in Retail Management.

Barry Berman has consulted for Duane-Reade, Fortunoff’s, Kohl’s, Simon Properties, NCR, Lord & Taylor, Tesco-Ireland, and other retailers.

Preface    xii

Introduction    1

Chapter 1: The Questionable Future Facing Global Retailers    5

Chapter 2: Low-Cost Strategies I: Key Elements of a Low-Cost Provider Strategy    27

Chapter 3: Low-Cost Strategies II: Delivering Low Costs Through Minimizing Product Proliferation    49

Chapter 4: Differentiation Strategies I: Effective Human Resource Strategies    81

Chapter 5: Differentiation Strategies II: Enhancing the Service Experience    111

Chapter 6: Differentiation Strategies III: Developing and Maintaining a Strong Private Label Program    141

Chapter 7: Implementing Cost-, Differentiation-, and Value-Based Retail Strategies    173

Appendix: Individual and Composite Financial Performance, Customer Service, and Worker Satisfaction Metrics of the Best-Practice Retailers    203

Index    229

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.