Sadia Hussain Unit 29
Unit 29 - Introduction to retail
P1 - Describe the structure and organisation of the retail sector
Introduction
Facts about UK retail:
Retails stores sell goods or services to consumers in order to earn a profit, either by online or in store. In
2017, there were 2.9m people employed in UK retail which shows how large the retail sector is in the UK,
66% of all those employees work for the largest 75 retail companies and half of these employees work
part-time, and 18% of all retail staff are managers or senior officials. In 2017, the total value of sales in
the UK was £366 billion, and in 2016, the UK made £358 in sales. There are many different types of retail
stores such as department stores, discount stores, grocery stores and supermarkets ‘’Grocery stores and
supermarkets sell a variety of food and non-food products, such as meat, produce, cereal, dairy products,
health and beauty aids and cleaning products.’’ UK’s top retailers include Tesco, Sainsbury’s, ASDA,
Morrisons, John Lewis, Aldi and M&S. The number of retail sales made online is also pretty high, 9% of all
retail sales were made on the internet, which shows that people purchase goods online as well as in the
shop, and businesses can benefit from this by having an online website. There are about 287,000 retail
outlets in the UK, which shows that the UK generates a lot of their money from just retail.
Location
Out of town
High streets
Retail parks
Out of town
Different types of retail stores require different types of locations. In out of town, there are small
independent retail shops such as corner shops and sole trader businesses, because the rent is cheaper so
they are located out of town, it will be more affordable for them to operate out of town which is an
advantage because they are small businesses that do not make enough profit to be able to afford to run
in locations where the rent is expensive. The disadvantage of the businesses in out of town is that they
tend to be more expensive for the consumers because they do not get discounts, they cannot buy in
bulks like big retailers such as Tesco, and do not receive any discounts as they do, so because of this they
tend to be more expensive than the retailers such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s. If the products are more
expensive, they do not get many customers which is why they have to rely on customer loyalty and
customer service. They have to provide excellent customer service to all their customers and gain trust
because the business does not gain any new customers daily so they need to make sure that the ones
that they get return to them time after time.
High street
In High street there are multinationals, big businesses such as McDonald’s and Apple because the high
street is the busiest place with the most customers, therefore has more rent because everyone wants to
be there, and large stores make a large amount of revenue so they are able to pay the expensive rent.
The advantage for businesses being in the high street is that there are more people, which mean they get
more customers and that leads to more sales and profit. There is a lot of popularity in the high street
because all the people want to be there due to the big names such as Apple. This makes it easier to for
businesses to gain customers. The disadvantage of businesses operating in the high street is that there is
more competition because there is a lot of retail stores there can also be a lot of similar stores which
means businesses will have more competition, for example, McDonalds and KFC. High streets can also be
overcrowded, which means some people do not get any room for parking, this can put people off from
buying stuff from there because without parking they will not be able to carry the shopping.
1
Unit 29 - Introduction to retail
P1 - Describe the structure and organisation of the retail sector
Introduction
Facts about UK retail:
Retails stores sell goods or services to consumers in order to earn a profit, either by online or in store. In
2017, there were 2.9m people employed in UK retail which shows how large the retail sector is in the UK,
66% of all those employees work for the largest 75 retail companies and half of these employees work
part-time, and 18% of all retail staff are managers or senior officials. In 2017, the total value of sales in
the UK was £366 billion, and in 2016, the UK made £358 in sales. There are many different types of retail
stores such as department stores, discount stores, grocery stores and supermarkets ‘’Grocery stores and
supermarkets sell a variety of food and non-food products, such as meat, produce, cereal, dairy products,
health and beauty aids and cleaning products.’’ UK’s top retailers include Tesco, Sainsbury’s, ASDA,
Morrisons, John Lewis, Aldi and M&S. The number of retail sales made online is also pretty high, 9% of all
retail sales were made on the internet, which shows that people purchase goods online as well as in the
shop, and businesses can benefit from this by having an online website. There are about 287,000 retail
outlets in the UK, which shows that the UK generates a lot of their money from just retail.
Location
Out of town
High streets
Retail parks
Out of town
Different types of retail stores require different types of locations. In out of town, there are small
independent retail shops such as corner shops and sole trader businesses, because the rent is cheaper so
they are located out of town, it will be more affordable for them to operate out of town which is an
advantage because they are small businesses that do not make enough profit to be able to afford to run
in locations where the rent is expensive. The disadvantage of the businesses in out of town is that they
tend to be more expensive for the consumers because they do not get discounts, they cannot buy in
bulks like big retailers such as Tesco, and do not receive any discounts as they do, so because of this they
tend to be more expensive than the retailers such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s. If the products are more
expensive, they do not get many customers which is why they have to rely on customer loyalty and
customer service. They have to provide excellent customer service to all their customers and gain trust
because the business does not gain any new customers daily so they need to make sure that the ones
that they get return to them time after time.
High street
In High street there are multinationals, big businesses such as McDonald’s and Apple because the high
street is the busiest place with the most customers, therefore has more rent because everyone wants to
be there, and large stores make a large amount of revenue so they are able to pay the expensive rent.
The advantage for businesses being in the high street is that there are more people, which mean they get
more customers and that leads to more sales and profit. There is a lot of popularity in the high street
because all the people want to be there due to the big names such as Apple. This makes it easier to for
businesses to gain customers. The disadvantage of businesses operating in the high street is that there is
more competition because there is a lot of retail stores there can also be a lot of similar stores which
means businesses will have more competition, for example, McDonalds and KFC. High streets can also be
overcrowded, which means some people do not get any room for parking, this can put people off from
buying stuff from there because without parking they will not be able to carry the shopping.
1
