An Overview of Retail Branding and Positioning as Marketing Management Concepts. The Advantages of Establishing a Strong Brand Image for Retailers

Even though retailing has long had the opportunity to be marketing oriented because retailers are in closer contact with customers than manufacturers, mass retailing has been slow to take advantage of this aspect. Higher priority has been placed on buying decisions, operational concerns and short term objectives than on strategic marketing concepts. A lack of a well defined differentiation from competitors has been a frequently criticized consequence in many retail sectors. However, this has changed. Mainly as a result of changing industry conditions and increasing management capability in retail companies, a change of attitude towards strategic marketing can be observed. Within the context of strategic marketing, the relevance of establishing a clear cut and differentiated profile is clearly recognized by retailers, and retail brands are systematically being established and managed..