Editorial

Citation

Broadbridge, A. (2006), "Editorial", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 34 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijrdm.2006.08934caa.001

Editorial

In their paper, John Stanton and Kenneth Herbst consider the issue of slotting allowances. These are fees charged by food retailers to manufacturers for the right to have products in the store. They question whether this is an appropriate practice. While it has advantages for the large retailers, other businesses suffer. For example, small regional companies are unable to pay the fees and so are unable to gain access to the market. Small- and medium-sized global companies have found difficulty penetrating the markets where slotting occurs. It also had an effect on the small retailers who cannot demand the high slotting charges of larger retailers and as a consequence are ceasing to trade. Finally, they argue, the consumer suffers in the form of higher prices.

Audrey Laing and Jo Royle consider the issue of marketing within bookselling. Audrey is currently a PhD research student within the Publishing Department at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. Their article describes some of the changes taking place within bookshop chains in their effort to remain competitive in the wider market of discounters. This could be used as a useful case study on the book market. Students might be asked to debate the issue of the bookshop as serving the community and their societal role against its relative focus on margins. The findings draw an interesting parallel to the charity retail sector with their aim to become more professionalized and controlled from head office, with standardized procedures regarding merchandising of stock, etc. They also both serve the community in similar (yet different) ways, reaching out as a free/cheap place to enter into to gain companionship, conversation and partake in the community.

Andrew Greenyer's article reviews the role of modelled data in target marketing. He argues that existing criticisms of such data ignore the need for such information to meet the needs of direct marketing campaigns. He argues that modelled data can plug the gaps of loyalty scheme data where information might be missing. It can be used to make predictions of likely behaviour from individuals or group characteristics. However, he is careful to conclude that modelled data will never be as accurate as specific individual data, although it does have a role in data driven marketing.

In her article, Lynn Stevens describes the growth in affinity marketing, where collaboration is made between brands. While it is not a substitute for other techniques, and not suitable for everyone, it can provide advantages to some.

Adelina BroadbridgeUniversity of Stirling