Posted to The Age (11/4/2012) on 11/4/2012 at 9:00 PM
Commenting on "The ugly side of online shopping"
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/the-ugly-side-of-online-shopping-20120411-1wq5q.html
Time has changed and so must the retailers. Yes, I’m on the side of the retailers, because I can see that their livelihood is seriously being jeopardised. The price of an item sold includes many costs, and besides the brick-and-mortar cost, the running costs, and a large component is the service cost and the related on-cost for the staff. It is not unreasonable that if service is rendered, even though the item is not purchased, the business operator should have every reason to recoup the service cost incurred.
While Canberra Business Council’s intention may be good, their advice on adjusting to the business cycle is far from satisfactory. Many small business operators do not have the purchasing power and hence the bargaining power. Due to the size of our country, and low population density, cost of product distribution is very high. While the concept of jut-in-time may be appropriate for component usage in large manufacturing companies, this may not work for small ticket items in most retail outlets. The opportunity cost for losing sales will also have negative impact on business good will.
End of Part 1 of 2
Commenting on "The ugly side of online shopping"
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/the-ugly-side-of-online-shopping-20120411-1wq5q.html
Time has changed and so must the retailers. Yes, I’m on the side of the retailers, because I can see that their livelihood is seriously being jeopardised. The price of an item sold includes many costs, and besides the brick-and-mortar cost, the running costs, and a large component is the service cost and the related on-cost for the staff. It is not unreasonable that if service is rendered, even though the item is not purchased, the business operator should have every reason to recoup the service cost incurred.
While Canberra Business Council’s intention may be good, their advice on adjusting to the business cycle is far from satisfactory. Many small business operators do not have the purchasing power and hence the bargaining power. Due to the size of our country, and low population density, cost of product distribution is very high. While the concept of jut-in-time may be appropriate for component usage in large manufacturing companies, this may not work for small ticket items in most retail outlets. The opportunity cost for losing sales will also have negative impact on business good will.
End of Part 1 of 2
