Visit the stores or websites of the retailers you studied in Exercise 9.1 and observe the following for any specific category of products:

a. In each of the stores, compare the four elements of the retail mix—the type of merchandise sold, the variety and assortment of merchandise sold, the level of service provided to customers, and the pricing. Indicate whether the store is an everyday low pricing store or offers frequent deals.

b. Note the country of origin for the SKUs in the categories.

c. Are there any significant differences in the layout of these stores?

d. What is the multichannel/omnichannel capability of these retailers?

e. Compare the variety and assortment offered in store versus nonstore channel for the category you are considering.

Data From Exercise 9.1:

Gather recent information about any two retailers that you consider to be competitors. Make sure at least one of these retailers is local!

You should collect at least the following data:

a. Annual revenue.

b. Number of stores.

c. Number of employees.

d. Number of countries that the company operates around the world.

e. Formats of retailing.

f. Private label, if any.

g. Gather and review last four quarters and annual performance based on published reports.

h. Calculate the profit management path and asset management path for both companies and then develop the strategic profit model (SPM)