Customer Reviews

Store Wars: The Battle for Mindspace and Shelfspace

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the first book I have read about grocery where the battle between manufacturer and retailer is examined for the dirty little war that it really is - too many pass over this as just another compeitive issue, when it is a fight that will see one side losing big time.

Buy a copy and keep it a secret - you will appear to have mastered the major strategic issues in grocery, this book is that good.

The issues are examined in a balanced way and the conclusions are well drawn. Be warned, it takes time to read as every three or four pages gave me so many ideas that I would put it down and write a paper inside my business from the ideas and options the book had generated.

Well worth the cost, but keep this between just us.

I have been reading books on retailing for at least five years, and I have no doubt this is the one book that everyone in Retailing should read. It is clearly written (with some anglo french words which give flavour), and though Corstjean its a great acdemic researcher , this book can be read by anyone. Its deep, because they go into deep analysis of the real problems facing food stores today. Its deep because their explanations go always to the basic understanding of the problems. Its not a book full of superficials facts, its arguments are always supported by basic consumer behaviour theory.

Although this book contains a bit too many references to European brands/retailers, overall it's a very frank, up front discussion of who controls the power in grocery retailing. I recommend it to anyone involved in Category Management. Brand Managers especially will benefit from the discussions about extensions, Private Label (called "own label" in this book)and competition at the street level. Reading this book is a great investment.

The author touches on many subjects, but two stuck in my mind long after I was done reading.

The first is the interaction between manufacturers, retailers, and consumers. Specifically, the idea that there is a cost to consumers when they switch brands, and also when they switch stores. Those two costs are in constant struggle with one another. An example might be that if a product, say a designer shampoo, is strongly desired by consumers (i.e. there are high product switching costs) and you don't carry it, they may consider shopping somewhere else as a result. If there is another grocery store next door that has the shampoo (i.e. the store switching costs are low) then you are likely to lose that customer.

The second important subject is the emphasis on private labels. Consumers have long associated private label products with low cost. Increasingly, retailers are working with manufacturers to create compelling, quality-based private label brands. These new brands have the advantages of low cost (particularly with regard to marketing) but because they are seen as a premium product, can still yield a high price. This transformation explains much of the success behind Trader Joes and other retailers that deal primarily in own-brand products.

Overall the book is getting a bit dated, and it also has an international focus. Those seeking an up-to-the-minute analysis of US retailing should look elsewhere. However, Store Wars provides an interesting perspective on retail principles that are still relevant today.

Good text to use in a retailing course in that it accurately depicts the rivalry between retailers and their suppliers on the issues of gross margins, brand loyalty, advertising, and share of display space. The text is critical of brand extensions, in a somewhat overly simplistic view, in that the supplier must introduce new products--or is not in pursuit of innovation or growth. Additionally, it holds that the greatest opportunity for retailers are in Type II private label items, which have not been able to "take off" in U.S. stores, as the share of private label seems always to be in a state of flux. All said, a very interesting book with a provocative tone that can inspire discussion for graduate students and undergraduate students alike.

The Corstjens have produced a rare book. It's not -as it's commonly the case- an extended article. It's a book full of precious content with several deep insights about the trade. By the way, that's another accomplishment of them: they talk about real things, not about academia concepts, although they do have deep fundaments in all their arguments. It's a dense and high level reading for all of those interested in understanding the naturally existent bargain disputes between manufacturers and retailers.

The introduction alone would suffice as a history of marketing 101 class. This book is relavent to anyone selling anything. Clear consise and fun to read, it left me with the burning question What next?