Evaluate: Pricing and Retail Strategy How products are sold and at what price has always been important to business and marketing; however, the demands for pricing and retail strategies moving at the speed of business are even more critical. The internet has changed both the pricing and retail strategies which companies must follow to be successful. On-line giants like Amazon have changed the pricing and retail model forever; does it spell the end of brick and mortar stores? I think not; however, companies like Sears Holdings Corporation are struggling to make the right decisions to keep up with the changing demands of the market. A review of Sears Holding Corporation’s failing pricing and retail strategies and what needs to be changed …show more content…
In today’s business environment, it is critical that a company’s retail strategy includes the right channels or “the specific avenue a seller uses to make a finished good or service available to you for purchase… referred to as the product’s marketing channel (or distribution channel)” (Tanner & Raymond, 2014, p. 157). These distribution channel can be very simple; a product is sold from the manufacturer directly to the consumer. However, for retail stores like Sears, the distribution channel can be very complex, where the channel consists of many distribution channels, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors etc. Prior to Sears’s downturn, their retail strategy was to open many stores on prime real estate and provide products at a premium price. Their distribution channel was made up of products made specifically for Sears, like Kenmore, Craftsman, and Lands’ End; as well as, many other different types of products. However, even the iconic Sears brands like Craftsman are no longer controlled by Sears, when on January 5th, 2017, “The struggling retailer (Sears) us selling its iconic Craftsman brand to tool maker Stanley Black & Decker” (La Monica, 2017). Furthermore, Sears has also sold off other pieces of their brand(s); Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores divisions, Lands’ End and Sears Canada (La Monica, 2017). Because of Sears’ actions, it has hurt itself even further because their market channel suppliers are nervous about getting paid and some companies are cutting back their shipments, refusing to take bigger orders or demanding Sears make early payments (Peterson,