Editorial

Citation

Fernie, J. (2006), "Editorial", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 34 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijrdm.2006.08934baa.001

Editorial

Our first paper of this issue is a novel one in that it discusses private gray markets. Similar to unconventional channels, which have developed in the UK, for example, car boot sales, Jane Thomas and Carla Peters discuss the Underground Mall (UGM) in the US. The UGM is a rendezvous where networked buyers and sellers meet at homes to trade stock from middlemen such as importers or manufacturer's representatives. The authors collected data from four such UGM events over a period of two years through personal interviews with buyers at the UGM. Commensurate with other studies on unconventional channels, they found that socialization benefits, including relationships in the community were important in addition to the retail context of unique items on display in a congenial environment.

Relationships are also a strong theme in our second paper by Melanie Parker, Kerrie Bridson and Jody Evans. They explore the motivations of buyers and suppliers operating in the fresh produce industry in Australia. Readers may wish to cross reference this paper with the special issue on agribusiness in issue August 2005. Judgemental sampling was used to conduct eight in-depth interviews with buyers and ten with suppliers in Victoria and Tasmania. Motivations for both groups are strategic in nature and surprisingly common in their approach to variables such as quality and price. This is a volatile business and securing a strong direct relationship was perceived to be one way in minimizing external risk.

Our next two papers are from the Iberian Peninsula and deal with the economic efficiency of hypermarket and supermarket chains using the technique of data envelopment analysis. Carlos Barros uses a sample of firms in the Portuguese market to show that those companies operating hypermarkets and supermarkets are more efficient than other sectors. Furthermore, government policy which restricts the development of new outlets with floorspace of over 1,000 m² should be lifted because it has a negative effect on efficiency. Ricardo Sellers – Rubio and Francisco Mas-Ruiz analyze the efficiency of 100 supermarket chains operating in Spain between 1995 and 2001. Overall they found that there was a high level of inefficiency within the sector and conclude that benchmarking allows suppliers to determine which retailers are most efficient to determine relationships for the future.

Our final paper is by Ramakrishnan Ramanathan and extends the expected profit approach for stocking and discounting decisions discussed by Suzen in issue number 4 in 2004. Ramanathan modifies this empirical procedure to identify the number of units to be stocked, discount period and the size of discount. The author concludes that for a complex situation simulation methodology or yield management principles could be used.

John Fernie