GLOBALISATION OF RETAILING : COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF IKEA AND COURTS WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR RETAIL MARKETING MANAGEMENT

Abstract

International retail activities dated as far back as three decades ago but it has become more of an issue today with the expansion of the global marketplace. In the Singapore furniture industry, influxes of foreign competition had resulted in an increasingly saturated industry. A major challenge for these retailers is to develop a comprehensive and integrated marketing program that can establish a viable position within the competitive global environment. There is a need to examine the motives for a retailer to internationlise and the need for marketing research to develop more detailed localized strategies for defining and reaching key Singapore consumer market segments. Using sequential triangulation (qualitative/quantitative research sequence) to triangulate on key issues, this study explores the motives behind internationalisation and the interface between retailers' attributes and shopper. The results shows that motives for internationalisation are multidimensional and are more complex than the simplistic "push" and "pull" dichotomies. It is also observed that the shoppers' choice of retailer is affected by four main factors, namely, product-related attributes, service level, shopping environment and physical attributes. Two shopper groups were identified and results showed these groups to be unique in purchase decision-making characteristics. Furthermore, it is noted that latent dimensions of retailer attributes are different for Courts and IKEA although comparative analysis suggests that shoppers share almost the same favourable opinion that the retailers have about themselves. This study has provided a further exploration of the underlying reasons for market divestment pertaining to the Singapore furniture industry. It is also timely as local furniture retailers are floundering in the recession. It is hoped that through this study, appropriate marketing strategies can be developed in order to adapt to the dynamics of a fragmented industry and diverse consumer marketplace.