시판 유통 중인 건조 인삼류(백삼 24점, 홍삼 26점) 포 장 제품을 수집하여 곰팡이 발생 조사를 수행하였다. 백 삼과 홍삼은 각각 50%와 46%의 시료에서 곰팡이가 검출 되었고 검출 시료의 평균 곰팡이 오염도는 각각 0.5와 0.2 log10 CFU/g이었다. 백삼에서는 Penicillium polonicum, P. chrysogenum, Rhizopus microsporus가 각각 18.2%로 우점하 였으나 홍삼은 Aspergillus spp.이 87.6%로 우점하였으며 이 중 A. chevalieri가 50.0%로 가장 높았다. 이 중 독성 종으로 알려진 P. polonicum, P. chrysogenum, P. melanoconidium, A. chevalieri 균주의 citrinin 독소 생성 가능성을 분석한 결 과, 13 균주 모두 독소 유전자가 검출되지 않았다. 이 결 과는 조사한 시료의 곰팡이독소 오염 위험은 매우 낮지만, 건조 인삼류에 곰팡이 오염이 가능함을 보여준다.

Market potential for a line of retail trade within a geographic market has been defined as the difference between (i) actual sales of the line of trade in the geographic market and (ii) potential sales based on the marketing environment, current retailers’ marketing efforts, and competition from related lines of trade and nearby geographic markets (Ingene and Takahashi 2012). In this current research we examine the rate of change of retail market potential in Japan over a sixteen year span (1991-2007).We theoretically address, and empirically estimate, key factors that affect the rate of change of retail sales per household in four major lines of retail trade: frequently purchased consumables (food and drink), less frequently bought non-durables (apparel, shoes and dry goods), and infrequently acquired durable goods that range from moderately costly (furniture) to truly expensive (autos). Information on these lines is drawn from the Japanese Retail Trade Censuses of 1991 and 2007 at the Industrial Classification (IC) level. We examine Dry Goods, Apparel and Accessory stores (largely clothing, shoe, linen and accessories (IC 56; Share of retail trade in 2007: 8%)); Food and Beverage stores (primarily grocery, liquor, and specialty food stores (IC 57; Share of retail trade: 30%)); Furniture, Household Utensils, and Appliances (IC 59; Share of retail trade: 9%); and Motor Vehicles and Bicycle stores (IC 58; Share of retail trade: 12%). Note that because our measure is sales, autos dominate in the IC 58 category. These four lines of trade collectively comprise about 60% (1991: 62%, 2007: 58%) of all retail sales. We previously explored determinants of the absolute value of retail sales per household in these lines of retail trade (Ingene and Takahashi 2013). However, this research deals with the rate of change of retail sales per household. Thus, we explain differences in change of retail market potential among 528 Japanese cities, in all 47 prefectures, that are home to over 75% of Japan’s people. According to our previous study (Ingene and Takahashi 2013), retail sales are determined by three fundamental factors: the Market Environment (which is beyond the control of retail managers), Intertype Competition (which is influenced, but not controlled, by managers in the line of trade), and the Marketing Mix in each line of trade (which is set by managers). The essence of our argument is that the Market Environment determines a base level of rate of change in sales per household. Intertype Competition takes sales away from the focal lines of trade. Finally, the Marketing Mix in each line of trade augments sales (a) by appealing to customers and (b) by countering the negative impact of Intertype Competition.Turning to our empirical model (Figure 1), we include seven variables in the Market Environment that are measured by their rate of change between 1991 and 2007: per capita income, home size in square meters (a proxy for household wealth), population growth, daytime population relative to residential population, auto ownership per capita (a proxy for mobility), distance to the prefecture’s capital city (a proxy for out-shopping), and newspapers per capita. We expect each of these independent variables to increase our dependent variable: retail sales per household.For the Marketing Mix we measure three variables in terms of their rate of change in the same time period: average square meters of selling space per store (a proxy for assortment), employees per square meter of selling space (a proxy for service), and number of stores per 1000 people (a proxy for locational convenience); each of them should increase retail sales per household in its line of trade, but not in other lines (e.g., the marketing mix for Food stores should only affect food sales per household).For Intertype Competition we use General Merchandise Stores (largely department stores and supercenters (IC55; Share of retail trade in 2007: 12%)) that, in Japan, directly compete with Clothing, Furniture and Food stores. We focus on the same three variables (assortment, service, and access); they are expected to be inversely related to the rate of change in sales per household in the lines with which they compete. There is no intertype competition in our Motor Vehicle regressions. In the first stage of our analysis we use the change of the Market Environment to explain the variation in the rate of change in retail sales per household and four lines of trade (i.e., four regressions). The Market Environment generates adjusted R2’s of 2% (Clothing) to 25% (Autos).In our second-stage analysis our dependent variable is the residuals from the first-stage regressions. Here we include the Marketing Mix and Intertype Competition variables as explanatory; they account for 2% (Autos) to 43% (Clothing) of the variation in the first-stage residuals. Taking the two stages together, we are able to explain26% (Autos) to 54% (Food) of the variation in retail sales per capita across the four lines of trade. We make four contributions with our empirical research. First, we investigate data from two censuses that span a sixteen year period; few previous studies have examined changes in retail structure over time (e.g., Hall, et al. 1961). Second, we demonstrate the time-variant stability of the Marketing Mix variables. Third, we show the importance of intertype competition – although in our data it appears that only the Food and Beverage category experiences significant intertype competition. Fourth, we examine retailing in Japan; the world’s third largest economy has rarely been the focus of retail trade studies.

이 논문은 한국 쇠고기 시장을 대상으로 도매 단계와 소매 단계에 초점을 맞추어 유통업자들의 시장지 배력 정도를 측정하였다. 다양한 유통 채널상에 존재하는 가격들을 보면 유통비용 외에 추가적인 가격 차 이가 있음을 보게 되는 데 이러한 비용을 넘는 가격 차이가 시장지배력을 보여주는 것으로 볼 수 있다. 연별 가격과 물량 자료를 이용하여 도매 단계와 소매 단계에서 유통상인들의 시장지배력을 측정하였다. 추정 결과를 보면, 소매단계는 완전경쟁에서 멀리 떨어져 있음을 알 수 있고, 도매단계는 상대적으로 완 전경쟁에 가까운 것으로 나타났다.

The present study aims to analyze factors of brand equity in the retail stores in Vietnam; to recognize sub-dimensions connected with the forms of brand equity and thereby study the extent of the relationship among bases of market segmentation and brand equity. The present research made a collection of data by conducting a preliminary study. Responses were collected from the customers through a structured questionnaire to buy goods and services from the retail store in Vietnam. The sample size selected for the study was 196. The study applied various statistical tools, namely, Cronbach’s Alpha for reliability checking, correlation and regression statistics with the support of SPSS Software. The brand association is treated as a vital determinant of brand equity that significantly influences the bases of market segmentation. Further, the study also recognized the fact that the majority of consumers who prefer to buy from retail stores are young and in the age-group of 18-24 years. The present study made an initial attempt to study the relationship among bases of market segmentation with the factors related to brand equity; thereby to offer a novel conceptual framework designed for retail stores in Vietnam for brand positioning.

Purpose - This research addresses the question of how an international retailer like Costco can succeed in a foreign mature market and satisfy the local consumers. Our study aims to promote our understanding of how foreign retailers influence local consumers in a mature market with differentiated business models. Research design, data, and methodology – Our study uses company publications, secondary sources of information and the results of a questionnaire survey consisting of 106 participants. Consumer responses were solicited through a questionnaire survey conducted in the city of Kobe in December of 2013. Results - Product differentiation from local retailers in a mature market like Japan gave Costco a competitive edge. Compared with local supermarkets, Costco was preferred by Japanese consumers for its variety of goods that it carries, as well as in-store promotion large package of selling units, in-store amenities, and customer services. Conclusions - First, a theoretical framework is proposed in this study that can aid in developing localization strategies in a mature market such as Japan. Second, it reveals that an international retailer can succeed in a foreign market by stimulating local consumers to change their purchasing behavior, without having to alter the prevailing format of operation.

This study aimed to predict retail sales of local markets in Jinan city of China with the Huff model. Using the Huff Model, we examined whether the predicted retail sales of local markets may be different in Jinan, China, from the department stores, supermarkets, shopping centers/shopping malls, and home appliance stores. The probability that a customer shops at location depends upon the store size and the travel time factors calculated by the Huff Model. We found that the predictedretail sales of shopping malls have a greater value than others. People who live in a mid-sized city may have easier access to any stores within the city boundary than people in metropolitan areas. Therefore, people in a mid-sized city are more sensitive to store size, because a bigger store size means greater opportunities, incentivizing consumers to travel further to competing stores after passing by nearer, smaller stores. This study has some limitations. First, the data is somewhat restricted in that the subject stores do not represent all of the stores in Jinan. Second, we cannot compare the estimated market share of the stores and the actual sales data. It is further suggested in this study that more databases be developed throughout such East Asian countries as Korea and Japan and that a different parameter λ value in the Huff Model be utilized for mid-sized cities.