The recent years have witnessed the growth of some large scale retail organisations. The age old idea that retailing can be done only on a small scale, has become outdated. As a matter of fact, both small scale and large scale retail organisations exist side by side in the modern business world.
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Each of them caters to particular needs of customers. There are certain advantages of large scale retailing, which has led to the evolution of such organisations in the distribution process. Following are some of the advantages:
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Advantages:
1. Large scale retailing business houses are able to get the benefits of bulk purchase. They get the discounts and concessions from the producers. As a result, the prices of their products remain cheap.
2. Improved managerial skill and ability are available to such large scale retailers because they generally appoint professional people who possess the necessary skill and expertise to manage business.
3. These organisations can have better and more effective advertising and selling techniques. Because of their size, they are able to spend more on advertising and hire skilled and experienced sales force.
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4. These large scale business houses generally have adequate financial resources. This helps them to withstand adverse business conditions more easily.
5. Such organisations can hire experts from various fields for matters like buying, display, advertising, stock control, etc.
6. They can develop and promote their own brand of products.
Disadvantages:
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Large scale retail organisations suffer from certain drawbacks. Following are the important ones:
1. They lack in local selling because these organisations are located at central places and busy centres. People from remote corners of a city or town find it difficult to visit such stores for shopping.
2. They also lack in providing personalised service to the” customers. These organisations usually depend upon hired sales force to sell goods. Such hired people cannot give personal attention to customers as compared to a small retailer who can attend to each and every customer personally.
Some of the prominent large-scale retail organisations are as follows:
1. Departmental Stores
2. Multiple Shops
3. Chain Stores
4. Mail Order Houses
5. Super Markets
6. Consumer Cooperative Stores
7. Hire-purchase Trading Houses
8. Vending Machines
9. Discount Houses.