Lessons from Haitai Distribution Inc's experience in Korea
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- Journal of Distribution Science
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- v.9 no.3
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- pp.25-36
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- 2011
Owing to the rapid growth of hypermarket/discount store formats since 1996, Korean retailing has suddenly attracted the significant attention from researchers. Before the emergence of large scale retailers such as E-Mart, Lotte Mart and Tesco Korea, there were the two retail formats who led the Korean retailing in the modern retailing history: department store and supermarket formats. Nevertheless, there has been little literature concerned about the two retail formats as a case study, while some authors have paid their attention to hypermarket/discount store formats. In addition, when mentioning the development process of retailing history, it is less likely that authors have made an effort to illustrate supermarket retailing history. In order to regard supermarket retailing as part of the Korean retailing, it is interesting to look at a representative supermarket retailer, Haitai, who was one of the subsidiaries of Haitai chaebol. Based on supermarket retailing, the company which was established as a joint venture in 1974 led a supermarket retailing in the Korean modernised retailing history. Before analysing whether Haitai failed or not, the definition of failure should be illustrated. With regard to the term, failure, in the academic world, authors have interchangeably used the following terms: failure, divestment, closure, organisational restructuring, and exit. To collect research data as a case study, the author adopted an in-depth interview method. The research is based on research interviews with 13 ex-staff who left after Haitai went bankruptcy, from store management department to merchandise department. By investigating Haitai's experiences through field interviews, the research found that Haitai restructured organisational decision-making process at the early stage when companies started to modernise organisational charts, benchmarking sophisticated retailing knowledge through the strategic alliance with a Japanese retailer. In respect of buying system, the company established firmly buying functions by adopting central buying system, and further, outstandingly allocated considerable marketing resources to the development of retailer brands with the dedicated team of retailer brand development. In the grocery retailing, abandoning a 'no-frill' packaging concept, the introduction of retailer brand packaging equal to, or better than national brand packaging design, encouraged other retailers to change their retailer brand development strategies. In product sourcing ways, Haitai organised for the first time the overseas sourcing team with the aim of improving the profit margins of foreign products and providing exotic products for customers, followed by other retailers. Regarding distribution system, the company introduced the innovative idea which delivered products ordered by stores directly to each store withboth its own vehicles and its own warehouse in which could deal with dry foods, chilly foods, frozen food, and non-foods, and even, process produce. In addition, Haitai developed many promotional methods to attract more customers like 'the guarantee of the lowest price', and expanded its own business to US in 1996, although withdrew, because of bankruptcy in 1997. Together with POS introduction in 1994, Haitai made a significant contribution to the development of the Korean retailing, influencing other retailers in many aspects. As a case study, the study has provided a number of lessons from Haitai's experiences for academicians and practitioners, suggesting that its history should be involved in the Korean modernised retailing.
Purpose: By integrating multiple separate online, offline distribution channels, omnichannel distribution has modernized and revolutionized the retailing sector. Omnichannel distribution supports firms by delivering seamless shopping experiences for customers throughout all touchpoints of the shopping journey. This paper aims at exploring the impact of channel integration quality on customer experience and patronage intentions in the omnichannel distribution context. Research design, data and methodology: An online survey was taken with 351 omnichannel experienced shoppers by utilizing the structured questionnaire. The partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and Smart PLS software were employed to analyze and test proposed hypotheses. Results: The findings reveal that channel integration quality dimensions including breadth of channel-service choice, transparency of channel-service configuration, content consistency, and process consistency, play crucial roles in the customer shopping experience. The perceived compatibility has been influenced by the integrated interactions in which content consistency and process consistency. The findings also demonstrate the positive and direct impact of perceived compatibility on customer experience, and both factors have substantial effects on customers' patronage intentions. Conclusions: This study sheds light on the literature on channel integration quality, omnichannel retailing experience and customer patronage. In addition, this study provides practical implications for omnichannel retailers in enhancing customer experience and patronage.
Purpose - This paper aims to examine several time series models to predict sales of department stores and discount store markets in South Korea, while other previous trial has performed sales of convenience stores and supermarkets. In addition, optimal predicted values on the underlying model can be got and be applied to distribution industry. Research design, data, and methodology - Two retailing types, under investigation, are homogeneous and comparable in size based on 86 realizations sampled from January 2010 to February in 2017. To accomplish the purpose of this research, both ARIMA model and exponential smoothing methods are, simultaneously, utilized. Furthermore, model-fit measures may be exploited as important tools of the optimal model-building. Results - By applying Holt-Winters' additive seasonality method to sales of two large-scale retailing types, persisting increasing trend and fluctuation around the constant level with seasonal pattern, respectively, will be predicted from May in 2017 to February in 2018. Conclusions - Considering 2017-2018 forecasts for sales of two large-scale retailing types, it is important to predict future sales magnitude and to produce the useful information for reforming financial conditions and related policies, so that the impacts of any marketing or management scheme can be compared against the do-nothing scenario.
Purpose: This study aims to enrich the literature related on Patronage intention in the context of omnichannel in Tunisia. It reveals the determinants of Patronage intention in the fashion retailer context by examining the roles of omnichannel integration quality (IQ), omnichannel perceived value (PV), flexibility, operational logistics service quality (OLSQ) and customer satisfaction. Research design and methodology: A quantitative online survey with 400 customers of fashion retailers was executed. A structural equation modeling approach was applied to test the research hypotheses using AMOS 25 and SPSS 25 software. Results: The findings show that the omnichannel integration quality, omnichannel perceived value, and operational logistics service quality affect play crucial roles in customer satisfaction. A positive relationship between flexibility and operational logistics service quality was also highlighted. And it is also found that a higher omnichannel integration quality led to a higher omnichannel perceived value in the omnichannel retailing context. Furthermore, customer satisfaction within omnichannel retailing can enhance patronage intention. Conclusions: This research adds to the body of knowledge in omnichannel retailing and presents a comprehension of the omnichannel system from the customer's point of view. In addition, this study provides practical implications for omnichannel retailers to improve customer satisfaction and patronage intention.
Since a distribution market was opened in 1993 after the conclusion of the Uruguay Round (UR), various new businesses emerged in the Korean retail industry, such as convenience shops, supermarkets, specialty stores, non-store marketing methods, and cyber shopping malls, in addition to traditional markets and department stores. Competition among these retail businesses has intensified. According to the National Statistical Office (NSO), the growth rate of the total retail industry has shown a 32% increase in the past 5 years. While department stores, supermarkets, specialty stores, and other non-store retailing venues have shown signs of stagnation at a growth rate of 20-30%, which is similar to the growth rate of the entire retail industry, convenience shops and non-store marketing have shown 60-70% growth over the same period. By comparison, the growth rate of cyber shopping malls has nearly tripled. When applying development aspects of retail businesses through the competition to the retail life cycle, mom-and-pop stores and traditional markets have already entered the decline phase as specialty stores reach their maturity phase and demonstrate their limit of growth. Department stores are now in the latter part of the growth phase, which is still considered to have some growth potential. Big super markets are still in the early part of their growth stage although they were introduced 20 years ago. Meanwhile, retail businesses such as convenience stores, supermarkets, mail order houses, and warehouse stores are entering the middle growth phase and are expected to continue with their quantitative growth. At a time when most retail businesses in Korea are in a state of development or in the full growth stage, what kind of new innovative retailing will appear and develop? Moreover, what growth engine will drive it? This study analyzes the appearance of innovative retailing and its development process by establishing a discussable consumer's choice model through the interlocking mutual behavior of differentiated competitiveness and consumers' choice based on an awareness of this issue. The analysis of the results of this study can be summarized as follows. First, if a new vacuum zone emerges at the retail market level, innovative retailing such as low price/low service or high price/high service will emerge simultaneously. Second, if the number of new businesses in the vacuum zone increases, this will create competitiveness among the businesses, and each retailer will develop raising of level. Third, if a new business that raises the level develops, competition between the new and the existing retailer will occur, and an assimilation process between the existing retailing and the new retailing will be unfolded. Fourth, each retailing will promote distribution innovations in order to break the frontier of the existing distribution technology, and other retailing will follow the innovator. On the basis of an analysis of the abovementioned results, this study presents the following three suggestions. First, responding to the consumer's decision-making process on the attributes of retail shops that promote differentiation in strategies, this study established a consumer's choice model that can be discussed in relation to changes in market share. Second, this study provided an analysis of the emerging and developmental processes of innovative retail businesses using a more precise logical structure on the basis of the consumer's choice model described in this study. Third, the development process of retail businesses discussed in this study presented retailing solutions regarding management aspects on how to compose a strong retail mix that can help retail businesses gain competitive advantages in the market.
This study empirically examines the impact of SSM market entry on changes in market shares among retailing types. The data is monthly time-series data spanning over the period from January 2000 to December 2010, and the effect of SSM market entry on market shares of retailing types is analyzed by utilizing several key factors such as the number of new SSM monthly entrants, total number of SSMs, the proportion of new SSM entrant that is smaller than