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Retail
Glossary
A B
C D
E F
G H
I J
K L
M N
O P
Q R
S T
U V
W X
Y Z
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A
Accepted
Stock Out |
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The stock
outs that will be accepted
in an effort to prevent overstock. |
Accessories |
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Merchandise
that is worn with fashion
apparel, such as handbags,
gloves, millinery, neckwear,
and hosiery. |
Additional
Markup |
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An addition
to the original retail price,
a marking over and above the
initial marking. |
Advance
Dating |
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Invoice
due date which occurs after
the actual shipment of merchandise;
usually payable within 30
days after date of invoice,
e.g., a shipment made on September
5 may have an invoice dated
September 25 with terms of
2/10 net 30. Payment may be
made on October 5 to earn
the 2% cash discount but payment
is not due until October 25. |
Advanced
Shipment Notice (ASN) |
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An EDI
transaction from vendor to
retailer which identifies
the vendor number, order number,
carton contents and store
destination for a particular
delivery. |
Advertising
Allowance |
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Allowance
offered by the vendor as support
toward the cost of advertising. |
Allocation |
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A method
for determining how many SKUs
should be distributed to each
store. Allocation involves
dividing a predetermined amount
of merchandise among stores
based on the distributor's
perception of the stores'
needs and capabilities to
sell it. |
Annual
Deal |
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A deal
that is extended for a period
of time, generally a year
but not necessarily. |
Anticipation
Discount |
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Payment
of an invoice in advance of
the due date to earn an extra
discount; generally computed
at the rate of 8% per annum. |
Assortment
Plans |
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A lower
level form of merchandise
plan used to create a mix
of merchandise, such as price,
brands, sizes, colors, and
coordinating merchandise. |
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B
Back
Office System |
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A store
management workstation tied
to the point of sale system,
typically located in the back
office of a store, and utilized
for functions such as payroll,
personnel and sales reporting. |
Basic
Merchandise |
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Items which
consumers expect to find in
good assortment throughout
the year or a season. Basics
have a long selling life cycle,
often lasting several seasons. |
Big
Ticket |
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Merchandise
which is usually big in physical
size and price, such as major
appliances and furniture. |
Bill
Back |
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When a
discount or rebate will be
billed back to the supplier |
Blanket
Order |
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An order
for merchandise which specifies
the total quantity of an item
to be shipped at stated release
intervals over a period of
time. |
Bonded
Warehouse |
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A warehouse
that is bonded to insure the
owners of the stored goods
against loss. |
Book
Inventory |
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The amount
of retail inventory that is
shown to be on hand by a perpetual
inventory accounting system. |
Buyer |
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The person
responsible for procuring
merchandise. |
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C
Cancellation
Notice |
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Document
sent by the buyer to the vendor
that notifies the vendor that
an order has been canceled. |
Cascade |
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This determines
that the discounts of multiple
components will be taken in
order. Therefore a discount
of 2% will be taken and the
10% would be taken against
the net of the 2% discount |
Catalog
Showrooms |
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These stores
offer consumers a great variety
of products with moderate
to large depth of selection.
Customers choose products
from a catalog or store display
(the same catalog and prices
generally appear in all stores). |
Category
Killers |
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Stores
which dominate ("kill") the
market in a category of merchandise
with deep assortments at bargain
prices. |
Change
Notice |
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Document
sent by the buyer to the vendor
that notifies the vendor of
any changes to the original
P.O |
Class |
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Further
breakdown of a merchandise
within a department. Also
referred to as classification. |
Clearance
Center |
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A store
operated by a major retailer
(sometimes under a different
store name or no identity)
to dispose of its slow sellers,
markdown items and/or including
manufacturer's unsold items. |
Client/Server
Computing |
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Using intelligent
workstations, usually microcomputers,
that interactively communicate
with the host system. |
Close
Out or Clearance |
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Merchandise
offered at a reduced price
in order to sell out immediately. |
Complex
Deal |
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A set of
discounts and/or rebates held
together by a common supplier,
currency, locations, and start
and end dates. |
Consignment
Merchandise |
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Ownership
of merchandise retained by
the vendor until merchandise
is sold or resumed to the
vendor. |
Consumer
Price Index |
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A technique
used to measure inflation
rates based on changes in
the retail price of a standard
"basket" or mix of products
over time. |
Cooperative
Advertising |
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See "Advertising
Allowance". |
Coordinate
Group |
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Two or more
items that the consumer typically
buys together. The items or
Ensembles have their own price
tickets and can be purchased
separately. |
Cost
Complement Percent ( CC% ) |
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The percentage
of cost relating to the retail
price. |
Cost
Department |
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A department
within a retail store that
is operated on the cost method
of accounting; also, one of
the independent departments
selling merchandise or service
(principally service) but
carrying no inventories at
retail value; e.g., restaurant,
barber shop, fur storage and
beauty parlor. |
Cost
Method |
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The determination
of the value of goods on hand
based on its original cost.
Contrast with retail method. |
Cost
of Goods Sold (Cost of Sales) |
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The cost value
of merchandise sold in a given
accounting period which reflects
markdowns and discounts. |
Cross
Dock |
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A shipment
from a vendor that is prepacked
by store, and, as soon as
it is received at the DC,
goes immediately from receiving
to shipping. |
Cross
Docked |
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Shipments
will be sent by the supplier
to a warehouse where they
will be directed to the appropriate
stores. |
Cross-Selling |
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Term applied
to salespersons selling in
more than one department. |
Cumulative |
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This determines
that the discounts of multiple
components will be added together.
Therefore a discount of 2%
and another of 10% will be
added together to give 12%. |
Cumulative
Markup |
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Markup percentage
reflecting the cumulative
effect of markdown discounts
and shrinkage on initial markup. |
Cycle
Billing |
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Instead of
billing all customers at the
first of the month, customers
are billed in various cycles
throughout the month. Due
dates then are also varied
in accordance to billing dates. |
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D
Dating |
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Returns to
the time at which full payment
for the merchandise is due
to the vendor. |
Dead
Net Net Cost |
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The net net
cost subtracting any discounts
that were designated as affecting
dead net net cost. Generally,
bill back deal components
and certain rebates that did
not go into net net cost. |
Deal
Component |
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The parts
of the deal that when applied
create the attributes of the
deal |
Deal
Partners |
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A partner
with the supplier who extends
rebates to the retailer, such
as a manufacturer or a distributor. |
Deal
Types |
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Identifies
the timeframe when a deal
is active. |
Demo
Stock |
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This is stock
that is used for demonstration
purposes. It is part of the
store inventory but is not
used for replenishment calculations. |
Department
Stores |
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These stores
offer a wide variety of merchandise
with moderate depth of selection.
The typical product mix is
60 to 75% soft goods (e.g.,
apparel, shoes, linens), 40
to 25% hard goods (e.g., appliances,
hardware, sporting equipment). |
Direct
Marketing |
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Non-store
selling through the use of
catalogs and other promotional
material sent to potential
customers, either soliciting
mail order purchase or directing
customers to particular products
or retail stores. |
Direct
to Store |
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Shipments
will be delivered directly
to the stores from the supplier. |
Discount
Store |
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A store which
offers a broad assortment
of merchandise but emphasizes
lower to moderate price points
in a relatively plain, self-service
format. They usually carry
a higher percentage of hardline
goods than a department store. |
Distribution
Center ( DC ) |
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A facility
used by the retailer to receive
items from vendors, process
merchandise, and distribute
it to the stores. |
Distribution
Schedule |
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Specifies
to the DC the quantities of
merchandise to be shipped
to each store. |
Divisional
Merchandise Manager ( DMM
) |
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Abbreviation
for Divisional Merchandise
Manager, who supervises a
number of buyers. |
Dollar
Plans |
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Any merchandise
plans that are developed in
terms of dollars. |
Domestics |
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Merchandise
that includes items such as:
sheets, pillow cases, towels,
pads, blankets, bedspreads,
etc. |
Drop
Shipment |
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Vendor shipment
delivered directly to a store,
without first going to the
DC. |
Due
Order Processing |
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Due implies
that waiting until the next
review cycle would result
in the item not meeting its
service level objective and
therefore it has to be ordered
today. |
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E
Electronic
Cash Registers ( ECR ) |
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Stand-alone
registers that perform very
limited functions, such as
simple sales reporting. They
are mainly used at the point
of sale. |
Electronic
Data Interchange ( EDI ) |
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An electronic
exchange of predefined documents
and information between the
vendor and the retailer. |
Estimated
Stock Out |
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How many
stock outs are estimated to
occur if this item\location
is not ordered during this
review cycle. |
Everyday
Low |
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Marketing
strategy based on continuous
value pricing. Contrast with
Price promotional. |
Exclusive |
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This deal
component is taken over all
other discount. Normally a
special promotion that over
rides all other discounts. |
Expert
System |
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A type
of information system that
offers automated analysis
and decision making. |
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F
Factoring |
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A specialized
financial service whereby
manufacturers, wholesalers
or retailers sell accounts
receivable to financial institutions,
including banks and sales
finance companies, often on
a nonrecourse basis. |
Fashion
Merchandise |
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Merchandise
with a relatively short life
span, lasting a single season
or less. |
Financial
Operating Results ( FOR) |
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A book published
by the National Retail Federation. |
First
Cost |
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Base merchandise
cost of imported goods before
other charges. See also Landed
Cost. |
Floor
Markdowns |
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A type of
markdown where a store associate
makes the decision to lower
the price of a particular
item, usually due to an imperfection
(e.g., button missing, stain,
scratch). |
Four-Five-Four
Calendar |
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A fiscal calendar
which is used to keep time
periods comparable from year
to year. Every month begins
on a Sunday and ends on a
Saturday. Every quarter contains
13 full weeks. Quarters have
a four week month, followed
by a five-week month, and
ended by a four week month. |
Free
On Board (FOB ) |
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Free On Board
is the point at which the
buyer takes title to merchandise,
( FOB ) and assumes all risks
of loss or damage. |
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G
General
Ledger |
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The overall
system module that maintains
the financial information
required to produce financial
statements (e.g., balance
sheet and income statement)
and perform financial analysis. |
General
Merchandise Manager ( GMM
) |
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The senior
merchandising executive responsible
for a number of merchandise
divisions. |
General
Merchandise Retailing Industry |
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Retailing
industry segment composed
of department, specialty,
and discount/mass merchandise
retailers |
Graphical
User Interface ( GUI ) |
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Video displays
that offer desirable user
interfaces paralleling human
Interface ( GUI ) senses.
GUI combines graphics with
video and sound. These systems
are also interactive. This
could mean using a mouse,
a pen, or a touch sensitive
screen for human interaction. |
Gross
Margin |
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The difference
between cost and retail price,
usually expressed as a percentage
of retail. |
Gross
Margin return on |
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A statistic
indicating the amount of gross
margin dollars returned for
every dollar invested in inventory.
It is the ratio of gross margin
to Inventory (GMROI) average
inventory, at cost. |
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H
Hand
Held |
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Small remote
device which allows for mobile
data gathering and Terminal
( HHT ) transmission to a
base station. |
Hardlines |
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Merchandise
which is normally packaged,
and shipped in cartons. |
Hold-stock |
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Inventory
held in the DC to cover planned
or unplanned events, such
as promotions or unexpected
sales. It is not distributed
until actual or anticipated
demand requires moving a to
stores. |
Host |
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The data repository
for an integrated network
of workstations. |
Hypermarket |
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Sells everything
from food to drugs (60,000
to 180,000 square feet). |
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I
In
Transit Merchandise |
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Merchandise
en route to the store from
the DC. |
Initial
Markup |
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Difference
between the cost and the retail
selling price originally established
for merchandise expressed
as a percent of retail. |
Initial
Plan |
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The first
approved version of a plan.
Subsequent versions are not
referred to as the initial
plan. |
In-Store
Processor ( ISP ) |
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A central
administrative processor used
to manage daily store operations. |
Interstore
Transfer |
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Merchandise
shipped from one store to
another, within a given company. |
Inventory
Overage |
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Value of physical
inventory in excess of the
book value. Also known as
"stock overage". |
Inventory
Shortage |
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Value of physical
inventory less than the book
value. Also known as "stock
shortage". |
Inventory
Turns |
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Computed as
the ratio of cost of sales
divided by average inventory
value at cost. See also "Turnover". |
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J
Jobbers |
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Suppliers
of many different brands of
merchandise. |
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K
Key
Rec |
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A serially
numbered control document
recording the receipt of merchandise. |
Kiosk |
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Stand?alone,
user friendly computer terminals
located in the store to provide
additional customer services. |
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L
Landed
Cost |
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Total cost
of imported merchandise, including
first cost plus transportation,
insurance and customs. See
also First Cost. |
Lay-Away
(Will-Call) |
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A marketing
tactic in which a customer
deposit holds merchandise
in the (Will-Call) store until
it is completely paid for. |
Leased
Operation |
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A merchandise
or service department in a
retail store that is contracted
to an outside individual or
company, such as a beauty
salon, book department, music
department. |
Linear |
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Linear rebates
give a discount based on the
total amount of the threshold
reached. For example, the
rebate thresholds are set
up so that if 0-100,000 is
purchased, a discount of 2%
is given. If 100,001-200,000
is purchased, a discount of
3% is given. If 200,001 or
over is purchased, a discount
of 4% is given. In this case,
the entire purchase amount
is given for the entire amount
purchased e.g. if 275,000
is purchased, a discount of
4% of 275,000 is given. |
Logistics |
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All activities
vital to the movement of merchandise
from its original source (supplier)
to the ultimate consumer. |
Loss
Leader |
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Merchandise
sold at a loss, generally
to attract customers. |
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M
Manifest |
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Shipping term
used by carriers to list contents
of a particular vehicle. It
is also referred to as a billing
of lading. |
Markdown |
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A reduction
in the retail price of merchandise
either permanently (until
it sells out) or temporarily
(for a specific period of
time), in order to increase
sales velocity. |
Markdown
Allowance |
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Allowance
given by a vendor to a retailer
to enable the retailer to
reduce the retail price of
an item that is a slow seller. |
Market |
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Any place
where buying and selling occurs
such as a vendor's showroom
or a large exposition center. |
Market
Share |
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The ratio
of a company's sales to the
total industry sales or local
market sales. |
Markup |
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The difference
between cost and retail, expressed
as a percentage of retail.
See also Initial Markup and
Cumulative Markup. |
Mass
Merchandisers |
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Retailers
that carry broad assortments
of merchandise but emphasizes
lower moderate price points
in a relatively plain, self-service
store format. Includes some
of the oldest and best-established
retailers such as Sears, J.C.
Penney, Montgomery Ward. Usually
combined with discount stores
as a category. |
Merchandise
Hierarchy |
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A structure
for identifying and categorizing
merchandise based on product
characteristics and classifications.
Typical levels include: company,
division, department, class,
style, color, and size. Also
called item hierarchy. |
Merchandise
Plan |
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A dollar and/or
unit projection of performance
over a specified period of
time, such as a season. Sales,
inventory, markdowns, gross
margin, etc. goals are defined
within the plan. |
Merchandising
Operating Results (MOR ) |
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A book published
by the National Retail Federation. |
Middleman |
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See "Wholesaler". |
Minimum
and Maximum Inventory |
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Two stock
levels used together to quantity
replenishment orders. When
a store's on-hand inventory
falls to the minimum, it is
replenished back up to the
maximum. Minimum inventory
(reorder point): Store on-hand
inventory level that signals
the need to place a reorder.
This figure must allow for
the minimum presentation,
reserve stock, and sales up
to receipt of a reorder. Maximum
inventory (order-up-to-level):
Maximum quantity to be maintained
on-hand in a store. |
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