- + Fit to page 1 Page vie 1.13 Case study Chapter 1: Maine Eas. Pharmacy56 This pharmacy is located in a small town in the northeastern United States. It is a pharmacy that doesn't have the support of a larger group or chain, which could provide merchandising advice and sales force assis- tance. It is active on a number of Internet networks such as Facebook The owner has paid for market research over the years in an effort to boost his sales and to accelerate product turnover. His project is to rede- sign his store and customer interface to improve his business. Some of the key findings from past research are listed in Table Case 1.A. Table Case 1. A MEP past business reports Date 2013 2014 Past main recommendations Better display of products Better promotion of product lines Better signage Promotions during holidays Target nearby university students Better display of products Better outside signage Make store family friendly More promotion More use of colors Increase social network with Instagram and Twitter Encourage employee training Appeal to women 2015 The store is located in a small town where the population is aging, with 21% being over 65 years old, and with the median age being 50. The Fit to page - + Chapter one: Plan Project definition 10 Page view 65 percentage or children aged 0-14 is about 13. The average yearly income is US$20,000. The store employs four pharmacists, five pharmacy assistants, one dietician, one part-time nurse, one part-time orthopedic insole specialist, as well as 15 employees assigned to various duties. The customers judge the staff to be pleasant. Competition comes from two food retailer outlets located four miles away, a specialty store (five miles away), a local alcohol outlet (10 miles away) three drugstores (15, 24, and 40 miles away), and one Walmart (40 miles away). Maine East Pharmacy (MEP) offers a large assortment of products and services. With respect to products, profit centers are as shown in Table Case 1.B. Table Case 1.B MEP profit centers Main calegory Sales 2015 First quarter (in US$0,000) 980 Health 3,600 Average sales #SKU's? USSISKU 272 200 150 2000 5,800 178 30 1,000 180 1,500 1,032 Impulse Category First aid Baby Body care Subtotal Tickets (Lotto) Smoking Chips/snacks Magazines Subtotal Hygiene and female Cosmetics Subtotal Durable to Cleaning home School Subtotal 1,665 Female - + Page vie Special occasions Subtotal Cards Christmas Others Subtotal SNORK Fit to page I 200 1,500 1,700 3,400 MEP also offers a number of services: ear piercing, foot care, pass- port photos, photocopies and lamination, prescription refills by phone or online, as well as an adjacent coffee and food bar (which has a door Project Feasibility: Tools for Uncovering Points of Vulnerability connecting to the pharmacy) and an adjacent gas station (owned by a dif ferent owner), both of which attract a lot of customers. When a customer enters the store for the first time, they can immedi- ately notice, consciously or not, that the floor plan is somewhat hectic and cumbersome. There are dead spots along/between shelves, the flow of products does not follow a standard pharmacy floor plan, there is an unused large room at the back, and there is an empty room leading to a storage space that is antique looking Many products are not combined by type/category, products are located in an astonistic ways (HABA next to pet loods, etc.). In short, the place is cluttered, offers mismatched items has dead spots, and presents obstacles to the eager customers moving through the store. There are two entry/exit points, but stil one has major ciciency problems The main entrance provides erroneous information it pro motes the adjacent coffee place, which in Lace has its own door COLL DE POLICY problems. The main entrance provides erroneous information: it pro- motes the adjacent coffee place, which in fact has its own door. In the pharmacy retail business, the main hall that the customer faces once they walk in should normally be devoted to high-priced items (usually perfumes and the like), as the customer's wallet is full. In the case of the MEP, precious space is dedicated to low profit items such as inexpensive can- dies, which may convey the wrong image (Table Case 1.C). The main exit provides a hindrance to purchasing. The items on sale can- not be purchased until after the client has paid for these other products and is leaving The customer is unlikely to step back and wait in line once more in order Entrance of the MEP. to buy a magazine or a phone card. Many products are put side by side when in fact they do not belong together, thus rebuffing customers (e.g, pet food beside ladies" products), Many aisles are cluttered: this creates dead spots, which disrupt the customer's line of thinking and purchasing objectives) and confuse them (see Table Case 1.D). An analysis of the computerized inventory system shows the following Exit of the MEP 1. The coding system does not make it easy to group products by cat- egory or function, which renders in-depth analysis of data nearly impossible LH paye LLP Project Feastblaty: 700ls for Uncovering Points of Vulnerantity 2. In some cases, the same kinds of products are entered in two differ- ent categories (e.g., "Glad zipper freezer" in "kitchen/bath/closet" and "Ziploc Freezer bag" in "household products." 3. Some products do not seem to be properly identified (e.g., "U by Kotex wipes" is entered as "paper products"). 4. Cards, which are very profitable, must be better described (e.g., according to event instead of simply "cards, greetings") so cross- merchandising can be planned with special occasion items. 5. The coding is not systematic: sometimes the description mentions "Lady" products, sometimes "women," sometimes "feminine." This business offers many unique opportunities that can be easily transformed into profit centers. MEP would be advised to put itself in the eye of the customer and see how the store's current layout could cause apprehension for customers, who enter at an average rate of 30/h in this 1000 square foot area. Overall, the observations of the flow of customers wandering into the store point to the fact that many sales are lost because the store (and the adjacent services the cafe, the gas station) is cluttered; its layout and prod- uct placement impede the customer's ability to move around and make fast decisions. Products are not placed in a way that entices customers to open their wallets. More typically, expensive items are offered first, with impulse items being placed near the cashier, which in this case is not happening. 1.13.1 Questions related to Case 1: Maine East Pharmacy 1. What kind of feasibility study would this case entail? (environmen- fal, etc.) 2. Discuss how a customer could experience some form of apprehen sion by walking into the store 3. Prepare a short prefeasibility study and list all POVs, rank them, and group them where applicable (es. by level of potential lost sales). 4. Can perceived value be augmented by revamping the store layout 1.13.1 Questions related to Case 1: Maine East Pharmacy 1. What kind of feasibility study would this case entail? (environmen- tal, etc.) 2. Discuss how a customer could experience some form of apprehen- sion by walking into the store. 3. Prepare a short prefeasibility study and list all POVs, rank them, and group them where applicable (eg., by level of potential lost sales). 4. Can perceived value be augmented by revamping the store layout? - + Fit to page 1 Page vie 1.13 Case study Chapter 1: Maine Eas. Pharmacy56 This pharmacy is located in a small town in the northeastern United States. It is a pharmacy that doesn't have the support of a larger group or chain, which could provide merchandising advice and sales force assis- tance. It is active on a number of Internet networks such as Facebook The owner has paid for market research over the years in an effort to boost his sales and to accelerate product turnover. His project is to rede- sign his store and customer interface to improve his business. Some of the key findings from past research are listed in Table Case 1.A. Table Case 1. A MEP past business reports Date 2013 2014 Past main recommendations Better display of products Better promotion of product lines Better signage Promotions during holidays Target nearby university students Better display of products Better outside signage Make store family friendly More promotion More use of colors Increase social network with Instagram and Twitter Encourage employee training Appeal to women 2015 The store is located in a small town where the population is aging, with 21% being over 65 years old, and with the median age being 50. The Fit to page - + Chapter one: Plan Project definition 10 Page view 65 percentage or children aged 0-14 is about 13. The average yearly income is US$20,000. The store employs four pharmacists, five pharmacy assistants, one dietician, one part-time nurse, one part-time orthopedic insole specialist, as well as 15 employees assigned to various duties. The customers judge the staff to be pleasant. Competition comes from two food retailer outlets located four miles away, a specialty store (five miles away), a local alcohol outlet (10 miles away) three drugstores (15, 24, and 40 miles away), and one Walmart (40 miles away). Maine East Pharmacy (MEP) offers a large assortment of products and services. With respect to products, profit centers are as shown in Table Case 1.B. Table Case 1.B MEP profit centers Main calegory Sales 2015 First quarter (in US$0,000) 980 Health 3,600 Average sales #SKU's? USSISKU 272 200 150 2000 5,800 178 30 1,000 180 1,500 1,032 Impulse Category First aid Baby Body care Subtotal Tickets (Lotto) Smoking Chips/snacks Magazines Subtotal Hygiene and female Cosmetics Subtotal Durable to Cleaning home School Subtotal 1,665 Female - + Page vie Special occasions Subtotal Cards Christmas Others Subtotal SNORK Fit to page I 200 1,500 1,700 3,400 MEP also offers a number of services: ear piercing, foot care, pass- port photos, photocopies and lamination, prescription refills by phone or online, as well as an adjacent coffee and food bar (which has a door Project Feasibility: Tools for Uncovering Points of Vulnerability connecting to the pharmacy) and an adjacent gas station (owned by a dif ferent owner), both of which attract a lot of customers. When a customer enters the store for the first time, they can immedi- ately notice, consciously or not, that the floor plan is somewhat hectic and cumbersome. There are dead spots along/between shelves, the flow of products does not follow a standard pharmacy floor plan, there is an unused large room at the back, and there is an empty room leading to a storage space that is antique looking Many products are not combined by type/category, products are located in an astonistic ways (HABA next to pet loods, etc.). In short, the place is cluttered, offers mismatched items has dead spots, and presents obstacles to the eager customers moving through the store. There are two entry/exit points, but stil one has major ciciency problems The main entrance provides erroneous information it pro motes the adjacent coffee place, which in Lace has its own door COLL DE POLICY problems. The main entrance provides erroneous information: it pro- motes the adjacent coffee place, which in fact has its own door. In the pharmacy retail business, the main hall that the customer faces once they walk in should normally be devoted to high-priced items (usually perfumes and the like), as the customer's wallet is full. In the case of the MEP, precious space is dedicated to low profit items such as inexpensive can- dies, which may convey the wrong image (Table Case 1.C). The main exit provides a hindrance to purchasing. The items on sale can- not be purchased until after the client has paid for these other products and is leaving The customer is unlikely to step back and wait in line once more in order Entrance of the MEP. to buy a magazine or a phone card. Many products are put side by side when in fact they do not belong together, thus rebuffing customers (e.g, pet food beside ladies" products), Many aisles are cluttered: this creates dead spots, which disrupt the customer's line of thinking and purchasing objectives) and confuse them (see Table Case 1.D). An analysis of the computerized inventory system shows the following Exit of the MEP 1. The coding system does not make it easy to group products by cat- egory or function, which renders in-depth analysis of data nearly impossible LH paye LLP Project Feastblaty: 700ls for Uncovering Points of Vulnerantity 2. In some cases, the same kinds of products are entered in two differ- ent categories (e.g., "Glad zipper freezer" in "kitchen/bath/closet" and "Ziploc Freezer bag" in "household products." 3. Some products do not seem to be properly identified (e.g., "U by Kotex wipes" is entered as "paper products"). 4. Cards, which are very profitable, must be better described (e.g., according to event instead of simply "cards, greetings") so cross- merchandising can be planned with special occasion items. 5. The coding is not systematic: sometimes the description mentions "Lady" products, sometimes "women," sometimes "feminine." This business offers many unique opportunities that can be easily transformed into profit centers. MEP would be advised to put itself in the eye of the customer and see how the store's current layout could cause apprehension for customers, who enter at an average rate of 30/h in this 1000 square foot area. Overall, the observations of the flow of customers wandering into the store point to the fact that many sales are lost because the store (and the adjacent services the cafe, the gas station) is cluttered; its layout and prod- uct placement impede the customer's ability to move around and make fast decisions. Products are not placed in a way that entices customers to open their wallets. More typically, expensive items are offered first, with impulse items being placed near the cashier, which in this case is not happening. 1.13.1 Questions related to Case 1: Maine East Pharmacy 1. What kind of feasibility study would this case entail? (environmen- fal, etc.) 2. Discuss how a customer could experience some form of apprehen sion by walking into the store 3. Prepare a short prefeasibility study and list all POVs, rank them, and group them where applicable (es. by level of potential lost sales). 4. Can perceived value be augmented by revamping the store layout 1.13.1 Questions related to Case 1: Maine East Pharmacy 1. What kind of feasibility study would this case entail? (environmen- tal, etc.) 2. Discuss how a customer could experience some form of apprehen- sion by walking into the store. 3. Prepare a short prefeasibility study and list all POVs, rank them, and group them where applicable (eg., by level of potential lost sales). 4. Can perceived value be augmented by revamping the store layout