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HIGHER COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT: BUSINESS STUDIES
Final Examination:
Assignment Based Assessment
Semester: II A. Y.: 2019 / 2020
Diploma I and II Year
Start Date: Tuesday, 19 May Time: 1.00 PM
Due Date: Thursday, 21 May Time: 1.00 PM
Student Name
Student ID
Specialization MARKETING
Section 1 & 2
Level DIPLOMA SECOND YEAR
Course Name RETAIL MANAGEMENT
Course Code BAMK 2204
For official Use Only
Question No. Max.
Marks
Obtained
Marks
Question No.
Max.
Marks
Obtained
Marks
1 5 1 5
2 5 2 5
3 5 3 5
4 5 4 5
5 5 5 5
6 5 6 5
7 5 7 5
8 5 8 5
9 5 9 5
10 5 10 5
Grand Total
Marks
50 50
First Marker: Second Marker:
Date: Date:
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Guidelines for Students to Submit the Assignment:
1) The final assessment for semester 2, 2019-20 will be done through comprehensive
assignment for a maximum of 50 marks. The schedule of the final assessment is available
in the college website. https://www.hct.edu.om/about/the-college/announcements/final-
assessment-timetable-041620
2) All the students are expected to have only one assignment at one time. In case, if
the students have more than one assignment on the same day, please report to the
exam committee through the following mail id. exam.bus@hct.edu.om as soon as
possible.
3) All students are given 48 hours to complete and submit each assignment from the
day, date and time the assignment is uploaded. Students are advised not to wait till
the last moment of the deadline to submit the assignment.
4) The students can check the assignment anytime and any number of times from the
opening of the assignment. The answer to the assignment need to be uploaded in e-
learning within 48 hours.
5) The answer to the assignment can be uploaded only one time. No requests for
resubmission of the assignment will be entertained.
6) The students may contact the following mail Ids if they face any difficulties while
related to final assignment.
For Academic related support :
Business Courses
For Technical Writing 1
For Technical Writing 2
For Technical Communication
anand.kalimani@hct.edu.om
karri.krishna@hct.edu.om
ramil-ecot@hct.edu.om
khulood.aiadi@hct.edu.om
jocelyn.balili@hct.edu.om
For issues related to e-mail
accounts and Microsoft Teams
office365support@hct.edu.om
Any issues related to E-Learning
Moodle
support.elearning@hct.edu.om
Any other IT Troubleshooting helpdesk2@hct.edu.om
7) Students may contact their respective lecturer through college email (within the 48-
hour period given) if they have any doubts and clarifications on the assignments.
8) Students should be aware that this assignment is an independent assessment.
Students are not allowed to get help from any other person during the assessment
period.
9) Students assignment will be checked for plagiarism through Turnitin software. This
assignment will be assessed as per the College Assessment Policy. Student will be
investigated in case of plagiarism as per the College policy and procedures. The
maximum acceptable similarity index is 25%.
https://www.hct.edu.om/about/the-college/announcements/final-assessment-timetable-041620
https://www.hct.edu.om/about/the-college/announcements/final-assessment-timetable-041620
mailto:exam.bus@hct.edu.om
mailto:anand.kalimani@hct.edu.om
mailto:karri.krishna@hct.edu.om
mailto:ramil-ecot@hct.edu.om
mailto:khulood.aiadi@hct.edu.om
mailto:jocelyn.balili@hct.edu.om
mailto:office365support@hct.edu.om
mailto:support.elearning@hct.edu.om
mailto:helpdesk2@hct.edu.om
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10) In case the students face any technical issues regarding the submission of
assignment, the answer to the assignment can be mailed to the concerned lecturer
within the 48-hour period using college email.
11) Any assignment submitted after the 48-hour period will not be considered for
evaluation.
12) The assignment should be submitted only with the file in MS Word document. No
other format is acceptable at all (e.g. pictures, JPEG, PDF, etc).
13) The students need to answer the assignment in the prescribed number of words as
mentioned in the assignment.
14) The students need to follow the following format while preparing the assignment :
Font Style: Times New Roman
Font Size: 12 point for body and 14 point for Headings
Line Spacing: 1.5
Margin: 2.54cm (One inch) on all the sides
Page Number : At the bottom right hand corner of each page
Colour: All words should be in black colour
15) Students who will fail to submit their assignment as per the deadline given are
required to make an online appeal along with the valid excuses as the guidelines
which will be announced through the college website or e-learning portal within three
days from the date of submission deadline.
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RETAIL MANAGEMENT/BAMK 2204
VERSION -2 -SEMESTER-2 (2019-2020)
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION NOT LESS THAN 100 WORDS EACH
(10QX5M=50MARKS)
1. Why would a supermarket want to lease space to an outside operator rather than
run a business, such as dry cleaning, itself? What would be its risks in this
approach? (3M+2M).
2. How can an independent retailer avoid becoming over reliant on the owner?
(1M+4M).
3. Case Analysis: Carefully read the case below and answer the questions that follows
with suitable justifications.
Amazon.com’s Mom Program
The Amazon Mom membership program began in fall 2010 after a successful
test market in June 2010. The Amazon Mom program is targeted at parents,
relatives (such as grandparents, aunts, and uncles), and caretakers who regularly
purchase such goods as baby wipes for babies and young infants. Because these
items are bought with high frequency, Amazon.com views this as a major
opportunity to “lock in” these consumers to a pattern of regular purchasing at
Amazon.com. Even though Amazon.com customizes its home page for any
customer based on his or her purchase history, Amazon Mom goes a step further
by suggesting related products. An Amazon Mom member, for example, may see
selections of baby monitors, nursery furniture. Amazon.com sees Amazon Mom
as a gateway to make consumers aware of and experience the benefits associated
with Amazon’s Prime and Subscribe & Save programs.
Under the Amazon Prime program (www.amazon.com/ prime), members pay a
OMR79 yearly fee for unlimited two-day shipping with no minimum purchase
requirement. Amazon Mom members receive an additional month of Amazon
Prime every time they purchase OMR25 of baby products. Amazon Prime is
advantageous to Amazon.com because it rewards the most loyal customers. At
the same time, Amazon Prime encourages members to purchase more goods
through Amazon.com. According to a former Amazon Prime team member,
Prime membership “was never about the OMR79. It was really about changing
people’s mentality so they wouldn’t shop anywhere else.” Subscribe & Save is an
Amazon.com program that provides an additional discount to consumers who
elect to purchase an item at selected intervals. Subscribe & Save members also
receive free shipping on every shipment. While Subscribe & Save was originally
targeted at consumer purchases of laundry supplies, coffees, and paper goods,
Amazon Mom extends this program to products aimed at babies and infants.
Amazon.com hopes that the Amazon Mom program will yield continual use of its
Subscribe & Save program as both children and their parents get older.
Amazon.com believes Amazon Mom is an effective strategy to attract parents,
relatives, and caretakers who often have little time and patience for purchasing
consumables.
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Some analysts believe that Amazon.com’s strategy for Amazon Mom is to lure
consumers with low-price products such as feeder bottles and then encourage
them to purchase goods with higher profit margins, such as car seats.
Questions for Discussions:
i. Discuss the pros and cons of Amazon Mom’s membership program from
a consumer’s perspective. (2M)
ii. Evaluate the pros and cons of Amazon Mom’s membership program
from Amazon’s perspective. (2M)
iii. Evaluate the pros and cons of Amazon Mom’s low-price strategy. (1M)
4. Comment on this statement: “A poor location may be such a liability that even
superior retailers cannot overcome it.” Is it always true? Give examples. (5M)
5. How do facilities like adequate parking and easy access to public transportation
affect the developments of shopping areas? Elucidate. (5M)
6. What criteria should a small retailer use in selecting a general store location and a
specific site within it?
7. Case Analysis: Carefully read the case below and answer the questions that follows
with suitable justifications
Since 2004, Buxton, a site-selection software firm, has worked with Vitamin Shoppe in
developing and fine-tuning a model that identifies new markets and specific sites in
Muscat region. The model is also useful in predicting the performance of new stores. In
2004, Vitamin Shoppe had about 235 locations in 20 states. As of 2011, its store count
had grown to about 500 stores in 39 states. Mohammed Waleed, Vitamin Shoppe’s
president, estimates that the chain has the potential of 900 Muscat stores. Buxton’s
analysis of retail sites and market areas is based on such general factors as population
density, the composition of nearby retailers, and demographic data on an area’s
residents. Buxton also uses data from Vitamin Shoppe’s loyalty program; this is
particularly valuable since 87 percent of the retailer’s overall sales are loyalty plan
members. Consumer lifestyle and behaviour from more than 120 million households are
also part of Buxton’s data base. The Vitamin Shoppe forecasts sales based on its
classifying consumers into about 60 categories. This analysis is then adjusted by a
customer’s distance from each store. Customers living within one mile of a store are
expected to spend much more than those living three miles away.
Questions for Discussions:
i. What is site identification and evaluation and what is the purpose of having
Buxton software firms. (2M)
ii. What factors should also be considered while selecting and evaluating the site
using Buxton Software firms. (2M)
iii. Will you recommend Buxton software to shopping malls in Oman? (1M)
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8. Describe and evaluate the merchandising philosophy of your favourite Electronic
store. (5M)
9. Case Analysis: Carefully read the case below and answer the questions that follows
with suitable justifications
Costa Coffee, came into inception satisfying the need for quality coffee with
consistently superior service in a range of convenient locations. The brand has been
embraced by its customers and through its adoption of a successful franchise
platform the business has seen continued growth, with stores spanning a range of
environments including central business districts, regional areas, airports and
hospitals. BrandM8 is used within Costa Coffee to conduct regular store audits
across 38 stores nationwide. Each store has to undergo a regular detailed audit that
covers customer service, product quality, food safety, health and safety, store
ambience and cleanliness. All store audit information is immediately available at
head office, allowing them to benchmark store performance and highlighting areas
of non-conformance and corrective action required.
Questions for Discussions:
i. Analyse the case and interpret it. (1M)
ii. What are the benefits of having regular audits at Costa Coffee? (2M)
iii. What challenges will Costa coffee face while undergoing regular store audits.
(2M)
10. Comment on the statement “The layout of retail outlet creates the constraints”. (5M)
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