Assortment factors and category performance: an empirical investigation of Australian organic retailing

摘要

The broad objective of this study is to examine how assortment factors and category performance are related within the context of specialty retailing. This study formulates two clusters of research questions. The first cluster of research questions focuses on product assortment in general, for example assortment variety and composition. The second cluster of research questions concentrates on a specific area of product assortment, that is, private label products. An organic retailer in Australia collaborates by providing its assortment records and sales reports. The Australian organic retailing industry is an ideal candidate for this study for 1) it is specialty retailing, and 2) the supply situation allows organic retailers considerable flexibility to experiment with different assortment compositions.This study analyses store level cross sub category data and, to supplement this, it conducts a qualitative study and collects field data. Included in the cross sub category analyses are approximately 140 to 180 organic sub categories. The results show that assortment variety has a positive influence on sub category sales. The strength of this positive relationship varies across different sub category types, for example food or non-food. For the private label analyses, the results show that, within the focal store, private label SKUs are more likely to be present in sub categories with larger sales and with supermarket competition present. This study also finds that a deeper manufacturer brand assortment hurts private label performance.This study contributes to a body of cross category empirical generalisations about the complex decisions retailers face by examining the effects of assortment decisions within the context of specialty retailing. It provides some clear empirical evidence for how assortment factors and sub category performance are related through an empirical investigation in a bricks and mortar retail environment. In addition, it tests the generalisability of extant private label research beyond the much discussed conventional supermarket industry and convenience consumer goods contexts.Keywords: assortment, private label, store brand, specialty retailing, cross category, sub category, empirical investigation, organic retailing, Australia