BLACK AND DECKER MARKETING STRATEGY

Black And Decker Marketing Strategy



Black And Decker Marketing Strategy

Introduction and research context

Planned shopping centres - defined as planned retail developments comprising various retail outlets which are under one freehold ownership and managed and marketed as a unit (Guy, 1994) - are an integral part of the retail landscape of the UK (Guy, 1994; Howard, 1995, 1997; Kirkup and Rafiq, 1999). They have been extensively researched. Much of this research has focused on the attributes of these centres (e.g. McGoldrick and Thompson, 1992a, b) and their impact - particularly on unplanned retail provision in town centres (e.g. Guy, 1998, 2000; Howard, 1992; Williams, 1992; Williams, 1991). Yet despite the move toward “off-centre” retailing (i.e. out-of-town and/or edge-of-town locations) in the UK over the last 30 years (of which planned shopping centres have been a crucial element), town centres and the planned shopping centres within them remain a vital force in the UK retail industry. The continuing importance of planned shopping centres to traditional urban retail centres remains key - Hillier Parker (2002) state that town centre-located schemes account for over 80 per cent of shopping centre floorspace under construction.

Another research theme relating to planned shopping centres is consumer preference and patronage (e.g. Burns and Warren, 1995; Finn and Louviere, 1990, 1996; Gautschi, 1981; Nevin and Houston, 1980; Severin et al. 2001). Shopping destination choice has been frequently modelled, and Frasquet et al. (2001) identify two different objectives to this research: market share estimation to aid locational decision making, and identification of the factors determining shopping centre selection.

However, explicit attention to the management, and particularly the marketing, of planned shopping centres has been somewhat lacking in comparison. As centres face a more intensely competitive environment (Dennis et al., 2002; Frasquet et al., 2001; Kirkup and Rafiq, 1999; Parsons and Ballantine, 2004; Sit et al., 2003), the need for effective marketing and promotion is increasingly acknowledged (Dennis et al., 2002; Howard, 1995, 1997; Kirkup and Rafiq, 1999).

The marketing task for planned shopping centres

The specific characteristics of planned shopping centres and the implications for their management have been considered (Dennis et al., 2002; Howard, 1995, Dawson, 1983; Kirkup and Rafiq, 1999). Howard (1995, 1997) identifies three broad manageable elements of shopping centres: access and accessibility (both within the centre and to and from the centre itself); range and specialisation (of the tenant mix within the centre); and internal environment and service. Utilising a services marketing perspective, Kirkup and Rafiq (1999) expand this into eight elements which they divide into pre-opening and post-opening (or 'active marketing') elements:

Pre-opening elements:

Centre location;

Internal design;

External design; and

Tenant mix.

Post-opening elements (active marketing):

Customer services;

Cost;

Participants; and

Communications.

At the pre-opening stage tenant mix in particular is perceived to be very important (see Dawson, 1983; Kirkup and Rafiq, 1994; McGoldrick and Thompson, 1992a). The importance of early letting to appropriate anchor tenants who are “major space users” (Guy, 1994, p. 43) is critical to success (Abratt et al., 1985; Kirkup and Rafiq, 1994). Once in place, these aspects “can be extremely difficult ...