UNIVERSITY OF VISION STRATEGY OPPORTUNITY WESTMINSTER WESTMINSTER BUSINESS SCHOOL SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING Module Title: Retail Marketing Module Code: 5MARK006W Assessment title: Assessment 1 Resit / Referral / Deferral - Individual Report Assessment weighting: 50% Assessment deadline: Semester 2, 2024 Assessment Brief Choose only one set of two retailers in the same sector from the list below to compare and contrast in 4 key areas, analysing and identifying how the retailers take different approaches to meet the needs of their customers. ONLY ANALYSE THEM IN A UK MARKET PERSPECTIVE. Set 1: New Look and Next Set 2: Aldi and M&S Food Set 3: GAP and Chanel Set 4: Lululemon and JD Sports You must provide a brief overview of the two companies, identifying the value propositions of each and their relevant target audiences, highlighting the key differences between the two. Reflecting on the retail set that you choose, focus on the following areas, and critically compare and contrast how the retailers take different approaches to meeting the needs of their customers. The following areas must all be discussed: 1. The way they use marketing to attract customers and communicate their value proposition 1 2. The way they design their store and their websites, including any ways they are innovating and evolving (e.g., use SOR model, etc.) 3. The assortment of products they sell (e.g., product mix, managing the brand, image and identity, new product innovation, etc) 4. The way they approach customer service to enhance the shoppers experience (e.g., SERVQUAL; training and collaboration/coordination etc) Please ensure a conclusion of key findings is given at the end of your report highlighting key areas that differ, providing insightful conclusions to further demonstrate your comprehension. Ensure a minimum of 6 credible academic sources are used (i.e., Peer reviewed Academic Books, Journals, Papers, etc.) and that credible research sources and data sources are provided throughout to demonstrate credibility and substantiate findings. Report Specification • The report should be 2000 words, +/- 10%. • • Additional appendices can be provided, but they should only be used for additional illustrative material such as data, charts, models, diagrams and photos and brief accompanying explanatory notes. The list of contents in the report, and the list of references, will not be included in the word count. The report should be presented in Ariel, 12 pt font size, 1.5 spaced, page numbered and in A4 format. Unless explicitly indicated otherwise all coursework must be submitted electronically via Blackboard. In addition to the detail given above, further information may be posted onto the Blackboard site for the module. The report should try to answer some the following questions: • Ensure the report is clearly presented and articulated, following the following report specification, using the following title headers below: • • • Introduction (Topline overview of each business and Retail sector they operate in, purpose of the report and what it is setting out to achieve) Value Proposition of each Retailer and their Audiences (identify and discuss the value propositions of each retailer and their target audiences then analyse how each Retailers target audience align with their value propositions. Compare and contrast each retailers audiences and value propositions distinguishing the differences and highlighting any similarities. Ensure socio- demographic are discussed in context of each audience to help compare and contrast) Retailer comparative. Compare and contrast in 4 key areas, analysing, and identifying how the retailers take different approaches to meet the needs of their customers. Either discuss the following areas separately for each Retailer, then offer a comparative analysis, or analyse and compare each Retailer on each of the following areas (whichever suits your style). The following must all be discussed. 1. The way they use marketing to attract customers and communicate their value proposition (what marketing comms do they use and why, analysing how it reflects their target audience demographics and relevant behavioural insights) 2. The assortment of products they sell (e.g., product mix, managing the brand, image and identity, etc) (How do the products reflect their audiences needs, how does the product range, types of product reflect their audience and their value proposition, What innovations have they introduced through product, such as new product development driven by consumer insight, fair trade, ethical practices) 3. The way they approach customer service to enhance the shoppers experience (e.g. SERVQUAL; training and collaboration/coordination etc) Research and analyse how they use customer service to support their value proposition, does their customer service change 2 dependent on the Retail channel, does it add to the customer experience, is it seamless across channels, and does it support the proposition? 4. The way they design their store and their websites (e.g., use SOR model, etc). How do they reflect each other, how is it building the brand value proposition and resonating with the target audience, how are they evolving and innovating their stores and digital offerings. Conclusion (summarise key findings from the analysis and any conclusions made). Assessment criteria The assessment criteria and weightings show you what is important in the assessment and how marks are shared across each criterion. When you are completing your assessment remember you need to fulfil the brief and the assessment criteria below. At the end of this document, we have provided you a more detailed marking grid, which describes both the expectation for each criterion Criterion Weighting Understand the functions and importance of retailing, the nature of the competitive environment within which retailers operate, analysing contemporary issues and innovation which is driving change and evolution in Retail (LO3) Appreciate the complexity of retail channels (store and online) used as alternative routes to market, and evaluate the merits of alternative strategies for different types of retail business (LO2) 25% 25% Understand how to apply a range of theoretical concepts and frameworks to retail-specific business problems, diagnose critical issues, appraise strategies (LO1) 25% Conclusion Appropriate use of wide-ranging credible references, including academic references / clearly articulated and structured Total 10% 15% 100% The University has arrangements for marking, internal moderation and external scrutiny. Further information can be found in Section 12 of the Handbook of Academic Regulations, westminster.ac.uk/study/current- students/resources/academic-regulations Anonymous marking Do NOT include your name or student number within the file name or anywhere within your submission. The submission will be subject to anonymous marking. Having logged into blackboard the system will record your details anonymously and tutors will only see your name after the entire submission has been assessed and provisional marks have been released to all students at the same time. Referencing requirements for the assessment Statements, assertions and ideas made in coursework should be supported by citing relevant sources. Sources cited in the text should be listed at the end of the assignment in a reference list. Any material that you read but do not cite in the report should go into a separate bibliography. Unless explicitly stated otherwise by the module teaching team, all referencing should be in Westminster Harvard format. If you are not sure about this, the library provides guidance (available via the library website pages). 3 The deadline and submitting your coursework Unless indicated otherwise, coursework is submitted via Blackboard. work has not been fully uploaded and stored on the server before 13:00. In order to avoid your submission being marked as late, you should upload your work as soon as possible before the deadline and must not wait until or just before the deadline to start uploading your work. At busy times the coursework submission process may run slowly. To ensure that your submission is not recorded as a late submission, avoid submitting very close to the deadline. To submit your assignment: 1. Log on to Blackboard at http://learning.westminster.ac.uk; 2. Go to the Blackboard site for this module; 3. Click on the 'Assessment' area for the module 4. Click on the link for the assignment to submit 5. Follow the instructions, ensuring you have selected the correct file to upload. REMEMBER It is a requirement that you submit your work in this way. All coursework must be uploaded by 13:00 (UK Time on the due date). If you submit your assessment late but within 24 hours or one 'working' day of the specified deadline, 10% of the overall marks available for that assessment will be deducted as a penalty for late submission, except for work which is marked in the marginal pass rate range (9% above the pass mark) and in this case the mark would be capped at the pass mark. If you submit your coursework more than 24 hours after the specified deadline you will be given a mark of zero for the work in question. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY What you submit for assessment must be your own current work. It will automatically be scanned through a text matching system to check for possible plagiarism. Do not reuse material from other assessments that you may have completed on other modules. Collusion with other students (except when working in groups), recycling previous assignments (unless this is explicitly allowed by the module leader) and/or plagiarism (copying) of other sources all are offences and are dealt with accordingly. If you are not sure about this, then speak to your class leader. University of Westminster Quality & Standards statement Plagiarism is a particular form of cheating. Plagiarism must be avoided at all costs and students who break the rules, however innocently, will be penalized. It is your responsibility to ensure that you understand correct referencing practices. As a University level student, you are expected to use appropriate references and keep carefully detailed notes of all your sources of material, 4 including any material downloaded from the www. Plagiarism is defined as submission for assessment of material (written, visual or oral) originally produced by another person or persons, without acknowledgement, in such a way that the work could be assumed to be your own. Plagiarism may involve the unattributed use of another person's work, ideas, opinions, theory, facts, statistics, graphs, models, paintings, performance, computer code, drawings, quotations of another person's actual spoken or written words, or paraphrases of another person's spoken or written words. • Plagiarism covers both direct copying and copying or paraphrasing with only minor adjustments: a direct quotation from a text must be indicated by the use of quotation marks (or an indented paragraph in italics for a substantive section) and the source of the quote (title, author, page number and date of publication) provided; ● a paraphrased summary must be indicated by attribution of the author, date and source of the material including page numbers for the section(s) which have been summarized. Generative Al in Your Studies The University insists on original work from students, requiring independent thought and proper source citation. Outsourcing assignments to machines or third parties constitutes cheating, undermines critical thinking skills, hinders student development, and diminishes their potential contributions in both the academic and professional world. The University recognizes that students may legitimately use GenAl in several ways including, for example: Assisting with grammar and spelling, utilizing it as a search tool for researching assignment topics, helping with planning and developing the outline structure of a written assessment, generating ideas for graphics, images, and visuals, obtaining explanations of concepts, debugging code, overcoming writer's block. These specific applications of GenAl can support students in their academic endeavours. However, it's important to note that while these uses are permissible, students must still adhere to the principles of academic integrity and properly cite any sources or references derived from the assistance provided by GenAl. For more information on the University's position on the use of Al, please check the Student Hub. Please note that some subject areas/specific taught modules will potentially have other legitimate ways for you to use GenAl and that details of this will be communicated to you by module leaders where necessary. 5