At the start of the Millennium, retailers were facing a number of threats and opportunities in the development of their store formats and concepts:
budget constraints – increasing cost pressures and price competition
global sourcing – greater opportunities but required quality data
online tenders – greater opportunities but required detailed specification
speed of innovation – critical for competitive advantage, especially newer markets
declining service – manufacturers reducing ‘front-end’ resource
design standards environs – increasing quality and H&S demands
environmental pressures – increasing Govt. & consumer pressures |