Category: Retail

According to our latest research report, Middle East Retail Sector Forecast to 2013, the retail sector in the Middle-East countries has been witnessing tremendous growth over the past few years. Owing to governments policy frameworks and active participation of private sector the Middle East region has become one of the worlds most desirable retail environments in terms of investments and revenue generation. Other related factors including the changing market dynamics, rapid economic development, balancing crude oil prices, rising purchasing power, and strong consumer confidence are also strengthening the regions retail industry.

As per our findings, Oman retail sector has been recording unprecedented growth in the Middle-East region over the past few years. The Country is witnessing rapid retail developments with the opening of several new outlets at the Muscat city centre. Besides, the retailers in Oman are focusing on enhancing consumers shopping experience to increase footfall. On the back of these factors, the retail market in Oman is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of around 29% during 2011-2014.

Apart from Oman, other countries, such as Egypt, UAE, Israel, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia have registered excellent market expansion on the back of changing consumer demographics, presence of large expatriate population, and improving purchasing power in the recent past. However, in terms of availability of real estate for retail industry, the UAE dominates the regional retail real-estate arena. Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah are the key retail markets in the nation with significant presence of modern retail outlets.

Our report, Middle East Retail Sector Forecast to 2013, also identified other Middle-Eastern countries including the GCC nations, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman besides Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Israel. These markets have been sustaining their dominance at the retail landscape and will continue to do so in the coming years. Presence of large expatriate population and majority of the regions retail investment in these countries have facilitated rapid growth momentum in the retail sector in the Middle-East region.

Besides, the report analyzes macroeconomic factors critical to the retail sector along with their impact on the sector. The report also identifies key players in each country and includes their detailed business description. Additionally, the report sheds light on the emerging industry trends, which are expected to decide the future of the regions retail sector.

For FREE SAMPLE of this report visit: http://www.rncos.com/Report/IM196.htm

Some of our Related Reports are:

– South African Retail Industry Forecast to 2013
– Vietnam Retail Market Forecast to 2014
– UAE Retail Industry Analysis
– Brazil Retail Industry Analysis
– Asian Convenience Store Market Forecast to 2012

Check Related REPORTS on: http://www.rncos.com/Retail_Industry.htm

About RNCOS

RNCOS specializes in Industry intelligence and creative solutions for contemporary business segments. Our professionals study and analyze the industry and its various components, with a comprehensive study of the changing market behavior. Our accuracy and data precision proves beneficial in terms of pricing and time management that assist the consultants in meeting their objectives in a cost-effective and timely manner.

Retail Dashboards are pictures of spreadsheets used by executive managers to visually identify around five key performance indicators. Dashboards have gauges, like the speedometer in a car, and graphs and colour, to draw attention to areas of strong and weak performance of each retail store and the organisation as a whole. They may display: sales per hour, items per sale, average sale, conversion rate, and wage to sales ratio at the store, regional, and national level.

The purpose of the Dashboard is to enable executive managers to effectively communicate strategy and objectives to area managers who then reinterpret the strategy into actions for each store manager. Ultimately it is the Salespeople on the shop floor who carry out the activities that satisfy the objectives of the company.

Sophisticated Dashboards allow executives to produce what if scenarios, save them, and send them down the line to their area managers. But mostly, there is an upward reporting of numbers and a downward communicating of strategy – meaning that the statistics are lost at the individual Salesperson level.

For example, an executive dashboard may show each stores sales per hour KPI (Key Performance Indicator) compared to each other store but it does not show each Salespersons sales per hour compared to each other Salesperson within the store. Therefore it is impossible for the executive to know at the individual Salesperson level how to improve sales performance.

Particular to the retail industry sales are made on the shop floor. Not by telephone or meetings, or online purchase. While branded merchandise and store design attracts customers to the shop it is almost always the Salesperson who makes the sale. But in almost all cases Salespeople have no individual daily sales target because there is no system in place to generate objectives, goals, targets at the individual sales level.

This represents a problem because area managers, who have been tasked by executive managers to improve sales performance, have no further information about the KPI activities within that store.

Once the merchandise and store displays have been checked by the area manager, the next logical step is to look at the POS (Point of Sale) reports to identify poor areas of performance. And here comes the surprise! – Not a single POS system is able to tell managers which Salespeople performed better than others. Why, simply they do not have a time sheet (roster) attached to Sales Targets so have no way of calculating predicted or actual individual sales goals.

Some attempts use spreadsheets to figure out individual sales goals but spreadsheets fall over. They inaccurately produce goals as they do not weight fast and slow periods of the day. They are not connected to a dynamic time sheet meaning if the roster changes the goals do not, but should. Spreadsheets take time to copy, past, edit, modify, and correct mistakes. And there is no feedback system for comparing actual performance compared to everyone on the shift.

While an executive manager can see that a particular store is underperforming, because a KPI is lower than the other stores, they cannot determine who in the store is underperforming on the same KPI.

So whats the big deal? If you cannot determine low KPIs at the individual Salesperson level in retail then you cannot improve individual sales performance based on statistics and dashboards are pretty pictures about statistics – which we interpret as instructions for changing behaviors. Dashboards cause executive mangers to want to change behaviors across the organisation but, as you can see, they do not help front line store managers change behaviors at the individual staff level.

Effectively increasing sales in retail by focusing on the sales skills and behaviors of each individual salesperson, requires a sophisticated, easy to use, web-enabled system, that communicates the objectives of the organisation to each individual salesperson on a level playing field. Such a system will report both up and down the organisation so that staff at every level can understand the objectives of the organisation clearly, statistically, and fairly.

If you are a retail company with anywhere from three to fifty stores, you might be very interested in the new wave of retail point of sale software. Many retail chains appreciate having real-time information from each of their locations. It is also important to maintain an inventory matrix that allows one the ability to view all facets of the items that you sell and purchase. Some retail point of sale software systems offer one of these items at the expense of the other. However, what you want is the combination of live information and current inventory so that you are highly informed about what is going on in your business.

If you have looked into retail point of sale information systems in the past, you may have felt that they are so expensive that there is no way you could afford this necessary business tool. Especially for small companies on their way up, cost is a factor that can determine whether or not new systems can be tried. It is exciting to know that there are companies that provide retail point of sale system software for very reasonable prices. Looking for a company that doesn’t require a long-term commitment is also essential. If you are unhappy with the services you are receiving, you don’t want to be stuck paying high prices for a long-term contract.

Some of the benefits of retail point of sale system software include reduced costs, increased sales and higher profitability. Knowing in real-time your stock on hand as well as that on order or in receiving docks helps you maintain better control. If you have ever experienced a time when the information was slow, you will know how expensive it can be to order something that hasn’t been received yet, just to find out it was sent to another location or was simply in transit. By having real-time information connected to all your locations, you will immediately know what you have and where it is, thus reducing costs.

If you have ever lost a sale because a customer wanted something that wasn’t at a certain location and you had to take several days to find out which other location might have it, you will see the benefits of this type of system. No more sales will be lost simply because of the lack of information about item location. Obviously, if your retail point of sale system software is keeping you updated on all items and their locations, you can’t help but have a higher profitability margin.

One who is looking for such a system might be wary of all the hardware that is usually required to be able to have such immediate information. However, there are some software system companies who do not require the expensive POS terminals. There is a new generation of ?Thin Client” platforms that are available to serve retail chain businesses. Software support is a big part of what a retail point of sale system should include. Having to pay extra for technical support makes such a system difficult to swallow, so be sure to do your research on what exactly is included in the packages offered. Soon, your retail point of sale business will be integrated and smoothly informing you of the things you need to know to improve your bottom line.

point of sale software, retail point of sale, pos retail

Retail is one of the most popular industries to break into. Flexible working hours, staff discounts and career development opportunities all proving highly attractive to jobseekers.

While competition for retail jobs can be fierce, success in the retail recruitment process is well within your reach if you prepare in the right way. The first thing to bear in mind is that strong, determined personalities are often more valuable to retailers than pages of academic qualifications, so try to draw attention to your interpersonal skills and demonstrate how you stand out from the crowd of applicants. .

Jobs in the retail sector involve almost constant interaction with members of the public, so it is important to highlight your excellent communication skills and how much you enjoy dealing with people. Employers are more likely to give a sales job to a bubbly and confident person than a shy and retiring introvert, so always try to let your outgoing personality shine through.

The most successful retail workers are usually the ones who have a passion for their job, as this passion rubs off on customers and encourages them to make purchases. If you are applying for a retail job, you need to show that you have an interest in what the company sells; for example, if you apply to work in a clothes shop, try to demonstrate your interest in fashion, or the pleasure you get from helping people find clothes that make them look and feel good.

First impressions are extremely important in the retail sector, so if you are lucky enough to be invited for an interview, always ensure that you are well presented. While it is not always necessary to wear a suit and tie or a smart dress, you should nonetheless make sure that you are as well groomed as possible. Over-dressing will rarely count against you at a job interview, and making an extra effort at this stage will give you a much better chance of landing your dream job in retail.

About Author: Philip Weston is a freelance author and has vast knowledge in retail recruitment. For more information on retail recruitment agencies, he suggests you to visit http://www.randstadstaffing.co.uk

The Question

“Will you marry me?” is a question most women long to hear. Women dream about who they will marry and when from an early age. Those dreams all revolve around that one question. Almost as important as whom they will marry, is how he will pop the question. Unfortunately, most men don’t spend near as much time preparing the way they will propose.

There have been studies done that reveal the sad truth that many women are disappointed in how they were proposed to. Sadly enough, some of these polls shown upward of 80% of all women wish their proposals had been different. It is a question and an event that will be remembered. Therefore, it should be a very special time. Men should take the time to plan this moment with consideration of who they are asking. Planning ahead and putting together a special time will ensure that she will not only remember it, she will cherish it forever.

Taking into consideration what defines the relationship and what your lady likes will help ensure a memorable proposal. Almost all good and unforgettable proposals have one simple thing in common, planning ahead.

Take the time to think about what she really cherishes. It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money but it does require that you think ahead. Remember that most women want to feel special. They want to know that you are willing to plan something romantic and extraordinary. If she likes theatrics you could literally become her knight in shining amour. Rent or borrow a suit of armor from your local theater or costume shop. Have her meet you near some riding stables. In full armor, ride up to meet her with ring in hand and ask her to be your princess for all time.

If she is a cuddly kind of girl, tie the ring to a stuffed animal and let her find it as she starts to cuddle the animal. Maybe your lady is a true animal lover. If so include her pet or your pet or maybe even a new puppy or kitten into the proposal. Some women are mesmerized by Christmas. Some even dream of a Christmas wedding. Why not use that to your advantage. String lights around a Christmas tree and decorate it with only one ornament, her diamond. She is sure to remember that forever.

Many girls enjoy romantic literature such as Shakespeare. If your girlfriend is one of them, mail her a poem along with a picture of yourself on bended knee with a ring. Be there with her when she receives it and pop the question. Some women are afraid of heights. For them this won’t work. But if she is not afraid and she is a little adventurous, a hot air balloon ride maybe the perfect place for her proposal. Maybe your girl is taken with mysteries. A treasure hunt could be perfect. If she is the type who wants the world to know that you have chosen her, you could rent a billboard and write her name, marry me, and your name. Make sure to drive by it together. Maybe she likes quiet moments alone. Take her on a picnic and ask her to be yours.

No matter when or where you decide to ask, make sure she feels special and she will remember her moment forever. Don’t forget the ring. It is the one constant, visible reminder of that moment in time that she will wear for the rest of her life.