Employees
Stadium has a total roster of 15 employees in Dubai Marina Mall, with 2 shift rotations which include the store manager, cashier, sales people and supervisors. All store employees must have a non-specific graduate degree with a minimal background in sales. However in the case of a Business degree graduate, the opportunities available include positions spanning in all departments - which include finance, marketing, accounting etc…- ranging from supervisor, customer service, to a managerial position at RSH such as brand manager, store manager, and retail manager. RSH’s management arranges weekly visits to its stores in order to verify that performance are up to satisfactory standards. The main drawback in terms of the employees and mainly sales people in this case, is that they do not receive any kind of special training program as soon as they are hired to work at Stadium, so as a result they do not abide to any kind of uniform code or procedures by which they should follow. Their only obligation is to be as knowledgeable as they can in regards to the assortments they offer within the store. When it comes to evaluating their choice in employee recruitment, although seemingly satisfactory, the lack of uniformity within their training as a sales force can cause an issue as they do not reflect a unified and recognizable store image apart from the fact of working in the same physical space and wearing the same uniform, the result is a lack of store identity as well as a possible lack of sales training. Employees are not obligated to wear the retailer’s clothing and are garnered in a standard store uniform with the exception of the store manager who is dressed however they choose to as long as they conform to a professional look. The only exception among the employees is applied to the Golf section, as they are conform to a different management, although still under the Royal Sporting House name, they do not have direct relations with the store or its employees, and that includes the store manager, and is effectively an in-store shop. As a result employees of the Golf section wear a separate set of uniform differentiating them all together from the rest. All employees have a 40% discount on the store’s assortment.
Merchandise Mix
Stadium is a sports retail store and carries mainly sports related assortments such as swimsuits, tennis and golf accessories and health and fitness products but also provides active lifestyle attires and accessories such as shirts, shorts and sun glasses. The store caters a few brands such as Speedo, Wilson, Golf House, Copper Tone, Oakley and a small variety of Singaporean brands. The store’s merchandise mix lacks width and depth as well as caters for a very limited number of sporting activities, namely swimming, tennis and golf. They also lack basic sport retailer assortment such as shoes, even though RSH has a consignment with Adidas and is the direct whole seller for Reebok for the U.A.E. The main argument is that Dubai Marina Mall already has an Adidas and Reebok brand themed stores within it, and it would not make sense for them to open sub-sections of these brands within Stadium, but as a result, the latter becomes less attractive to consider as a shopping destination for sports related assortment, since Adidas and Reebok are known and well established brands, with their stores positioned in better and much more convenient locations within the mall. While all the named stores have a direct link to RSH and the lack of width and depth of assortment in Stadium in Dubai Marina Mall, it is understandable that this measure is eliminating cannibalization for RSH, however it is rendering Stadium in that particular mall less attractive by offering so little and limited assortment compared to their competitors such as Sun & Sands and Go Sport – to whom RSH is their whole seller- who offer a wider variety of choice for their customer’s benefit, and as a result Stadium in Dubai Marina Mall has no real competitive advantage as a sports retail store. Stadium’s pricing strategy is that of value pricing in order to attract potential customers in a competitive market. Stadium carries about 28,000 SKUs and has 2 turnovers per year only.
Overall Retail Image
Stadium’s overall image is very standard and does not contain uniqueness which can allow it to attract potential customers. The stores logo is very standard in big white bold letters, this does not build a brand image nor does it give customers a sense of what the store is trying to sell. The way that Stadium is positioning itself in the market is through its exclusive merchandise, which cannot be bought except through Stadium’s holding company RSH (Royal Sporting House). The types of exclusive merchandise offered in Stadium in the Dubai Marina Mall, are Wilson tennis rackets, Oakley, and a tanning products company called Copper Tone. The rest of the products are not exclusive ranging from clothing to golf equipment. The strategy that is followed by Stadium primarily focuses on providing quality sporting goods to a certain niche market. This target market consists of people who care more about the brand of the merchandise rather than the store itself. To a certain extent Stadium is using destination merchandise to attract customers and gain an advantage over its main competitors GoSport, and Sun&Sand. Stadium would not be considered a decompression store, in a sense that upon entering there is no change in atmospherics. The atmosphere lacks all the major components for creating a sporty theme in line with the stores products. This is clearly seen from the lack of any type of music, scent, or color contrast. The store experience is minimal, customer do not carry away a warm feeling of coming back to purchase additional merchandise. This explains the poor performance of the store with a yearly inventory turnover ratio of two. The store atmospherics also give out a feel of uncertain financial status and success of the store, as they do not provide many brands or assortment related to many popular sporting activities that they should have exploited as do their competitors. Unfortunately Stadium does not cater for the needs of the disabled; this is seen through the fitting rooms which lack space and features supporting handicapped individuals. The fitting room had some cloths hanging when entered and did not have a chair to sit when changing. This destroys the overall image of the store and should be a major factor to consider especially that the store holds merchandise applicable to the entire community.
Visuals
Stadium is following a boutique layout where all the merchandise are grouped by brand rather than product. There is no merchandise depth where only one or two products are under each brand rather than category. Stadium is emphasizing its brands to the customers without allowing for an opportunity to choose among different brands and merchandise. The use of signage is minimal, in terms of category, location, lifestyle, and point of scale. There are no signs pointing out each category of merchandise, rather the merchandise is categorized by the brand. Thus customers know where the merchandise is located through the brand itself. In terms of location signage, the only one that is available if through the Dubai Marina Mall central directory which includes all the shops available. Visuals related to lifestyle are distributed around the store however lack creativity and power of attractiveness. Most of the pictures are simple and include people wearing the brands that the store carries. The visuals do not motivate the customers to buy the products nor do they carry a certain message that brings out the brand as opposed to other brands in the store. Stadium also lacks signage pertaining to the point of scale, given that the cash counter is located in the in front of the entrance, Stadium should put a sign stating “cash counter” or something along those lines.
Customer Encouragement
Stadium staffs follow a suggestive selling approach where employees keep giving suggestions to customers on different merchandise encouraging for more purchases. In addition employees practice face to face selling technique and allow customers to try out merchandise, such as the massage chair. Stadium also has a golf activity which includes a mini golf set placed next to the golfing stand which allows customers to use the clubs and practice. Stadium is following a more standardized approach through customer service, as employees do not go through a training program and follow a set of rules when approaching customers. Customers will receive consistent service from employees each time they enter the store, this creates lower benefits to customers. Customer service is very important for any store and with it comes loyalty which increases preference for customers and profits for the store. Stadium is meeting customer needs through assurance of the products through warranties on the majority of the merchandise, reliability through accurate billing, providing tangibility by having employees wear tags and uniforms, and empathy by taking customers phone numbers and names to call whenever the store has promotions. However Stadium does not follow responsiveness in terms of following up with customers after purchasing merchandise, and do not maintain a post service electronic system.
Promotional Mix
Stadium follows a certain criteria in terms of promotions and discounts. Promotions are offered only twice a year during two major events. The first is in Dubai Summer Surprise and the second is in Dubai Shopping Festival, mainly because most of the merchandise being offered is not very expensive and is affordable to all classes. Thus Stadium does not carry promotions throughout the year and only focuses on these two events. Stadium has seasonal advertisements through different channels such as through newspaper (7 days), signboards on the street, and sometimes through the electronic advertisement located inside the metro. Stadium distributes brochures of some of the merchandise such as the golf equipment and the massage chairs. Direct marketing is not a tool used by Stadium to market its merchandise nor does it provide coupons, gift vouchers, and does not participate in any form of sporting events. The main promotions done through the store derive directly from the seasonal discount events which are held twice a year. This is not an effective promotional strategy as it does not engage customers to purchase more products given that the target market refers to middle to low income individuals. Thus price is a concern and Stadium should develop more promotional advances to gain customer preference on its merchandise relative to other competitors.
Other Interesting Facts
According to the branch manager Julie, we have gained insights on the internal procedures when operating a sporting goods shop. This was important as it portrayed how most of the employees working at Stadium lacked efficient training and motivation, primarily because the management cares more about saving cost rather than improving customer experience. This results in low salaries for sales staff and explains the lack of culture integration along the store. The average salary for a sales individual was AED 4,000 including shared accommodation, as for the manager that we interviewed the salary that she was earning was AED 5,500. Having low salaries and lack of training for staff can create a negative overall store experience which ultimately lowers customer service thus harming the entire organization in terms of sales, and customer loyalty.
References
Levy, M., Weitz, B., 2012, “Retail Site Location” in Retail Management, 8th edn, McGraw-Hill, International Edition
