• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.97-109
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• 2011

As a marketing vehicle to survive in intensified retailing competition, retailer brand development has been adopted by retailers in Korea. As evidence, the retailer brand share of a major retailer, Tesco Korea, has grown from 20% in 2007 to 22.8% in the first half of 2008. It means that retailers have provided more and more retailer brand foods for customers. With the growing accessibility to retailer brand foods, it would be expected that the number of retailer brand food claims will increase. Customers have increasingly exposed to a variety of marketing activities conducted by retailers. When buying the retailer brand foods, customers tend to be affected by marketing activities of retailers. Despite the fact that customers trust retailers and then, buy their brand foods, in case of food accidents caused by production process, customers have to seek compensation from a retailer brand supplier. Of course, a retailer tends to shift its responsibility to its suppliers. Accordingly, it is not easy for customers to solve food claims. The research, therefore, aims at exploring the relationship between the buying-decision processes of retailer brand customers and which side takes legal responsibility for food claims. To effectively achieve the research aim, the author adopted a quantitative and a qualitative research technique, in order to supplement the disadvantages of each method. Before field research, based on the developed research model, the author pre-tested questionnaire with 10 samples, amended, and handed out to 400 samples. Amongst them, 316 questionnaires are available. For a focus group interview, 9 participants were recruited, who are students, housewives, and full-time workers, aged from 20s to 40s. Through the focus group interview as well as the questionnaire results, it was found that most customers were influenced by a retailer or store image in a customer's mind, retailer reputation and promotional activities. Surprisingly, customers think that the name of a retailer is a more important factor than who produces retailer brand foods, even though many customers check a retailer brand supplier, when making a buying-decision. Rather than retailer brand suppliers, customers trust retailers. That is why they purchase retailer brands. Nevertheless, production-related food claims is not involved with retailers. In fact, it would be difficult for customers to distinguish whether a food claim is related to selling or manufacturing processes. Based on research results, from a customer perspective, the research suggests that the government should require retailers to take the whole responsibility for retailer brand food claims, preventing retailers from passing the buck to retailer brand suppliers. In case of food claims, in order for customers to easily get the compensation, it is necessary to reconsider the current system. If so, retailers have to fully get involved in retailer brand production stage, and further, the customer awareness of retailer brands will be improved than ever before. Retailers cannot help taking care of the whole processes of retailer brand development, because of responsibility. As a result, the process to seek compensation for food claims might become easier, and further, the protection of customer right might be improved.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.15-27
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• 2011

Although a huge number of academic researchers have paid considerable attention to exploring both the degree to which store image influences retailer brand customers and how to develop store personality, they have overlooked the contemporary retail context in which retailers have developed many different types of retailer brands, that is, price-oriented or quality-oriented retailer brands. Rather than focusing on the latter, much literature has looked at the former. Accordingly, even though there are many articles related to store image, a few authors have shown their interest in identifying the extent to which store personality affects customers purchasing retailer brands at lower prices. As a result, their efforts have been to illustrate the relationship between store image and consumer behaviours buying retailer brands. In that multiple retailers over the world such as E-Mart, Lotte-Mart, Tesco Korea and Tesco UK have actively introduced not only the quality-focused retailer brands that quality is better than, or equal to national brands, and prices are slightly higher than, or equal to them, but also price-focused retailer brands, academicians should make an effort to investigate how store image affects customers purchasing a quality-oriented retailer brand, comparing with previous research results. That is why the authors illustrate the extent to which store personality components influence retailer brand customers, including particularly quality-oriented retailer brand customers through an empirical research. By adopting a questionnaire method as a research technique to illuminate the relationship between store image components and retailer brand customers, research validity increases and further, data gathered through a field survey are analysed through a few statistic analysis methods, in order to minimise statistical deviations. Compared with the prior research concentrated on price-focused retailer brands, the authors have significantly shed light on customer behaviours purchasing retailer brand products with higher quality. When it comes to store personality components, the research suggests the following five items: merchandise attributes, services, physical facilities, promotions, and institutional image, considering the subcomponents mentioned by the previous research. Proposing the conceptual research model which those elements are differently hypothesised, according to retailer brand types: PR (Price-oriented Retailer brand) and QR (Quality-oriented Retailer brand), the research is proceeded. Through empirical research, the authors found that amongst the five items, only promotion influenced retailer brand customers in the Korean retailing marketplace, unlike other countries explored by many researchers, such as UK. Although much literature emphasises that those elements are closely related to retailer brand buying proneness, it is completely not fit to the Korean market. Also, research findings provide new insights into the degree of store image effects on retailer brand customers for academiciansand practitioners. Whether the retailer brand development program that a retailer has carried simultaneously both price-focused and quality-focused retailer brand types is practically profitable should be explored in the future.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.11 no.9
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• pp.5-15
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• 2013

Purpose - The research aim is to shed empirical light on whether quality-focused retailer brands such as Premium brand of Tesco Korea, Prime of Lotte Mart, and Best of E-Mart in the grocery market, make a contribution to developing store loyalty in the Korean market particularly. Research design, data, methodology - After developing sixconstructs, such as higher quality, stock availability, price levels, national brands, retailer brand attitudes, and store loyalty, the authors adopted exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, chi-square test and structural equation modelling as a research technique. Results - It was found that higher quality strongly influences the retailer brand attitude formation, and that retailer brand customers were sensitive to price levels. Buyers are, nevertheless, relatively less aware of price levels, when purchasing quality-oriented retailer brand types. Conclusions - The research implied that quality-oriented retailer brand types make a significant contribution to retailer brands attitude formation, and further, building store loyalty.

• Journal of Distribution Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.29-62
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• 2012

As distribution environment is changing rapidly and competition is more intensive in the channel of distribution, the importance of retailer image and retailer equity is increasing as a different competitive advantages. Also, consumers are not functionally oriented and that their behavior is significantly affected by the symbols such as retailer image which identify retailer in the market place. That is, consumers do not choose products or retailers for their material utilities but consume the symbolic meaning of those products or retailers as expressed in their self images. The concept of self-image congruence has been utilized by marketers and researchers as an aid in better understanding how consumers identify themselves with the brands they buy and the retailer they patronize. Although self-image congruity theory has been tested across many product categories, the theory has not been tested extensively in the retailing. Therefore, this study attempts to investigate the impact of self image congruence between retailer image and self image of consumer on retailer equity such as retailer awareness, retailer association, perceived retailer quality, and retailer loyalty. The purpose of this study is to find out whether retailer-self image congruence can be a new antecedent of retailer equity. In addition, this study tries to examine how four-dimensional retailer equity constructs (retailer awareness, retailer association, perceived retailer quality, and retailer loyalty) affect customers' repatronage intention. For this study, data were gathered by survey and analyzed by structural equation modeling. The sample size in the present study was 254. The reliability of the all seven dimensions was estimated with Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability values and average variance extracted values. We determined whether the measurement model supports the convergent validity and discriminant validity by Exploratory factor analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. For each pair of constructs, the square root of the average variance extracted values exceeded their correlations, thus supporting the discriminant validity of the constructs. Hypotheses were tested using the AMOS 18.0. As expected, the image congruence hypotheses were supported. The greater the degree of congruence between retailer image and self-image, the more favorable were consumers' retailer evaluations. The all two retailer-self image congruence (actual self-image congruence and ideal self-image congruence) affected customer based retailer equity. This result means that retailer-self image congruence is important cue for customers to estimate retailer equity. In other words, consumers are often more likely to prefer products and retail stores that have images similar to their own self-image. Especially, it appeared that effect for the ideal self-image congruence was consistently larger than the actual self-image congruence on the retailer equity. The results mean that consumers prefer or search for stores that have images compatible with consumer's perception of ideal-self. In addition, this study revealed that customers' estimations toward customer based retailer equity affected the repatronage intention. The results showed that all four dimensions (retailer awareness, retailer association, perceived retailer quality, and retailer loyalty) had positive effect on the repatronage intention. That is, management and investment to improve image congruence between retailer and consumers' self make customers' positive evaluation of retailer equity, and then the positive customer based retailer equity can enhance the repatonage intention. And to conclude, retailer's image management is an important part of successful retailer performance management, and the retailer-self image congruence is an important antecedent of retailer equity. Therefore, it is more important to develop and improve retailer's image similar to consumers' image. Given the pressure to provide increased image congruence, it is not surprising that retailers have made significant investments in enhancing the fit between retailer image and self image of consumer. The enhancing such self-image congruence may allow marketers to target customers who may be influenced by image appeals in advertising.

• Fashion, Industry and Education
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.30-39
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• 2018

This study investigates the importance of brand and retailer associations when consumers evaluate a product category extension in the context of brand and retailer collaborations. Although brand extensions are considered to reduce costs for introducing a new product category, limited study has focused on the role of brand and retailer associations in the context of brand and retailer collaborations. Using a total of 440 participants, a hypothesized model was tested using a structural equation modeling (SEM). The results show that brand and retailer associations influence the perceived fit between a brand and a retailer. In addition, the image fit and quality fit are significantly related to brand and retailer attitudes as well as brand extension evaluation. Since consumers may use their associations with brands or retailers when they perceive product differentiation, market position, and brand extensions, the role of brand or retailer associations is important to marketers, retailers, and consumers. Given the importance of brand and retailer collaborations as a brand positioning strategy in the global branding and retail setting, the findings of this study contribute to brand and retail management by providing empirical evidence on how consumers perceive new products from extended brands in the marketplace when a brand collaborates with a retailer.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.13-24
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• 2011

With the increasing market share of retailer brands, many authors have paid considerable attention to retailer brands. Before market liberalisation in 1996 in Korea, retailer brand market was led by the supermarket retailing format, although the first retailer brand product was developed by the department store format. In parallel with the entry of foreign multiple retailers, the retailer brand market has experienced rapid growth. Particularly, the expansion of Tesco UK with well-established retailing know-how into Korea has encouraged Tesco Korea to actively get involved in retailer brand program. As a result, Tesco Korea has led retailer brand market in the Korean marketplace. The research starts with the question of why Tesco Korea has achieved such a higher retailer brand share. Accordingly, this study is to explore how Tesco UK has transferred its own retailing knowledge into Tesco Korea, in terms of retailer brand program development. In order to explore why the retailer brand share of Tesco Korea is higher than that of its counterparts, the author adopted in-depth interview with prepared-questions and store observation as a research methodology. To examine working process as well as information flows within Tesco Korea and from UK to Korea, in-depth interview method is one of the most suitable research methodologies, because of the difficulty of quantifying information or data related to work flows. In addition, to increase the validity of information, the researcher had interviews with Tesco Korea supplier and store personnel. Based on these research techniques, this research explored how Tesco UK has influenced or advised Tesco Korea, particularly, from the point of view of knowledge transfer. Since the entry of Tesco UK into Korea as a joint-venture, the retailer brand market share of Tesco Korea has continuously increased. It would be expected that Tesco UK has helped Tesco Korea to settle down in the Korean market. During interviews with Tesco and a Tesco supplier, the researcher found that Tesco Korea has obviously taken an advantage of retailing know-how created by Tesco UK. Furthermore, the retailer brand development and handling process of Tesco Korea has been operated with the help of Tesco UK. This might mean that Tesco UK has directly or indirectly an impact on the improvement of Korean retailer brand development skills. As a mechanism to transfer retailing knowledge developed in the home market into the host market, one of the international retailers, Tesco UK has adopted many different ways such as annual meeting, trading meeting to import or export own retailer brand products, offering of operation manual developed by Tesco UK and buyer cooperation between Tesco UK and Korea, in order to share information. Through these communication techniques, the knowledge of Tesco UK has been transferred to Tesco Korea. This research accordingly suggests that retailer brand market share is apparently related to how sophisticated or advanced the knowledge of the retailer brand development and handling process of retailers are. It is also demonstrated by this research that advanced development and handling skills make a considerable contribution to increasing retailer brand share in markets with a lower share or no presence of retailer brands.

• Proceedings of the Korean DIstribution Association Conference
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• 2000.05a
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• pp.3-19
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• 2000

롯데 인터넷백화점 현황 $\square$ NON - STORE RETAILER : 무점포소매업(통판) $\square$ REAL - RETAILER : 점포소매업(물류기능 + HELP DESK + 카드결제가능) $\square$ E - RETAILER : 편리성(INTERNET / 24H) $\textbullet$ FULFULLMENT:수주에서 배달,고객 고충처리까지 $\textbullet$ 물류기능 + HELP DESK + 카드결제가능 $\textbullet$ REAL- RETAILER + E - RETAILER (중략)

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.11-22
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to examine how congruity between self-image and store image affects a customer's satisfaction with the retailer, loyalty towards that retailer, and patronage behavior toward that retailer in a fashion retailing context. In addition to the direct effects of selfcongruity on consumer responses, the mediating roles of satisfaction and retailer loyalty were also examined. A convenience sample of 137 college students participated in an online survey. Path analysis showed that self-congruity had a direct effect on satisfaction, but not on retailer loyalty and patronage behavior. However, the effect of self-congruity on retailer loyalty and patronage behavior was fully mediated by satisfaction. Satisfaction had a positive effect on both retailer loyalty and patronage behavior. The effect of satisfaction on patronage behavior was partially mediated by retailer loyalty. As supported in the study, self-congruity can induce retailer loyalty. Given that retailers have direct control over developing a certain store image that affects perceptions of self-congruity of their target market, the findings of the study provide useful information for fashion retailers. The findings of the study add to current selfcongruity literature by extending to fashion retailing and also by examining the mediating roles of satisfaction and retailer loyalty on the effects of self-congruity.

• Journal of the Korean Operations Research and Management Science Society
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.169-187
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• 1994

The efficiency of marketing channel of distribution between a sholesaler and a retailer with uncertain characteristics can be improved by influencing the retailer's ordering pattern. The wholesaler with large unit invetory holding cost can offer a large quantity discount tanks to the great benefit which comes from the transfer of part of his inventory to retailer. The retailer's increasing average inventory holding cost can be offset by the quantity discount and by savings of the ordering cost. Conditions under which marketing channel improvement can be possible are derived.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.49-60
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• 2020

Purpose: The primary objective of this research is to propose answers of rider's accident of food retailer in South Korea, in view of business sustainability of food retailer and his precious fate of rider who is a father that has a responsibility to the family. Research design, data, and methodology: We investigated previous studies such as food retailer, delivery, delivery application of mobile, rider's accident and statistics of delivery business agency, motorcycle accident ratio, annual fatalist, and further we analyzed cases of rider's accidents. Results: Rider's accident on the road toward food retailer is serious risky factor to their business reputation, corporate image, because claim amount related to death and physical/mental disability can be heavily damaged to food retailer. The point when rider dies is that rider is a person responsible for supporting his/her family, that is, a life itself issue together with downfall of family. Conclusions: In view of growth of South Korean' delivery rider industry, the authors recommended that focus of stability and sustainablity of both food retailer and delivery rider should establish to executable and practical ideas such as rider's readiness, abandon of speed guarantee, duty of delivery app business and legal aids.