Comparative Analysis of Department Stores and Shopping Centers in Germany and Spain
					
	
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			Zusammenfassung
			
				Inhaltsangabe:Abstract:	
Why are traditional German department stores close to bankruptcy in a time when so many new shopping centers with a similar offering of goods are being built? Is this phenomenon just a problem of German companies or do other countries have the same situation? For comparison, the situations in different countries, Germany and Spain are picked.
Most of the literature in the field of retail management is written about US American companies. Thus, this thesis cannot totally ignore it. E-commerce, despite its growing importance, is not part of this comparison, as both retail formats are faced with the same opportunities and threats by it.
The starting point of this thesis is the difficult situation Karstadt was facing in the last two years and the story about the successful department store concept of El Corte Inglés in Spain; hence these two companies play a major role throughout this thesis.
The introduction provides the reader with an overview of the thesis. Furthermore, the question is addressed, if department stores and shopping centers can be compared.
The main body of this thesis consists of three parts, which are structured after the same pattern: country level, industry level and company level. First, data is collected for a later analysis. Chapter 2 gathers all relevant information about Germany and Spain and then narrows down to the history of department stores and shopping centers. The company data is shown in its own chapter 3, as a major part of this thesis should be the company comparison of Karstadt and El Corte Inglés. The market leaders in the respective markets are shown in case studies and complemented by data of the two companies that emphasizes the final analysis and conclusion.
The theoretical background of company analysis is given in chapter 4. Again, the first part about the macro environment concentrates on the country level. Then, the micro environment forces comparing the attractiveness of industries are explained. The last part contains the fundamentals of the internal environment analysis, which reflects the company level.
In chapter 5, the findings are used to construct profiles, point out differences between the different countries, industries and companies, and to find ideas for improving the existing management strategies of the given companies.
The conclusion not only provides a summary of the thesis, it also gives a forecast and identifies sources and possibilities for further […]
	Why are traditional German department stores close to bankruptcy in a time when so many new shopping centers with a similar offering of goods are being built? Is this phenomenon just a problem of German companies or do other countries have the same situation? For comparison, the situations in different countries, Germany and Spain are picked.
Most of the literature in the field of retail management is written about US American companies. Thus, this thesis cannot totally ignore it. E-commerce, despite its growing importance, is not part of this comparison, as both retail formats are faced with the same opportunities and threats by it.
The starting point of this thesis is the difficult situation Karstadt was facing in the last two years and the story about the successful department store concept of El Corte Inglés in Spain; hence these two companies play a major role throughout this thesis.
The introduction provides the reader with an overview of the thesis. Furthermore, the question is addressed, if department stores and shopping centers can be compared.
The main body of this thesis consists of three parts, which are structured after the same pattern: country level, industry level and company level. First, data is collected for a later analysis. Chapter 2 gathers all relevant information about Germany and Spain and then narrows down to the history of department stores and shopping centers. The company data is shown in its own chapter 3, as a major part of this thesis should be the company comparison of Karstadt and El Corte Inglés. The market leaders in the respective markets are shown in case studies and complemented by data of the two companies that emphasizes the final analysis and conclusion.
The theoretical background of company analysis is given in chapter 4. Again, the first part about the macro environment concentrates on the country level. Then, the micro environment forces comparing the attractiveness of industries are explained. The last part contains the fundamentals of the internal environment analysis, which reflects the company level.
In chapter 5, the findings are used to construct profiles, point out differences between the different countries, industries and companies, and to find ideas for improving the existing management strategies of the given companies.
The conclusion not only provides a summary of the thesis, it also gives a forecast and identifies sources and possibilities for further […]
Leseprobe
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Christoph Wappler 
Comparative Analysis of Department Stores and Shopping Centers in Germany and 
Spain 
ISBN-10: 3-8324-9815-X 
ISBN-13: 978-3-8324-9815-3 
Druck Diplomica® GmbH, Hamburg, 2006 
Zugl. Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Deutschland, MA-Thesis / 
Master, 2006 
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© Diplomica GmbH 
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Printed in Germany
III
Table of Contents 
Page 
List of Figures ...VI 
List of Tables ...VII 
List of Abbreviations ... VIII 
1 Introduction ... 1 
1.1 Overview... 1 
1.2  Comparing Department Stores and Shopping Centers ... 3 
2 Data 
Collection... 6
2.1 Countries ... 6 
2.1.1 Germany... 6 
2.1.2 Spain... 8 
2.2 Large-Scale 
Retailing... 11 
2.2.1 Department Stores... 12 
2.2.2 Shopping Centers ... 15 
3 Case 
Studies ... 20 
3.1  Karstadt Warenhaus/Karstadt Quelle... 20 
3.1.1 History... 20 
3.1.2 Karstadt's Crisis... 22 
3.1.3  Facts and Figures ... 23 
3.1.4 Forecast ... 24 
3.2  El Corte Inglés ... 27 
3.2.1 History... 27 
3.2.2  Facts and Figures ... 28 
Table of Contents 
IV
3.2.3 Forecast ... 29 
3.3 ECE 
Projektmanagement ... 30 
3.3.1 History... 30 
3.3.2  Facts and Figures ... 32 
3.3.3 Forecast ... 33 
3.4  Sonae Sierra/Sonae SGPS... 34 
3.5  Excursus: Galeria Kaufhof/Metro Group... 34 
3.6 Excursus: 
ALDI ... 35 
4 Strategic 
Analysis ... 38 
4.1  External Environment Analysis ... 39 
4.1.1  Macro Environment Forces... 41 
4.1.1.1 Political 
Factors ... 41 
4.1.1.2 Economic 
Factors... 42 
4.1.1.3 Socio-cultural 
Factors ... 43 
4.1.1.4 Technological 
Factors... 44 
4.1.2  Micro Environment Forces ... 44 
4.1.2.1 Buyers ... 45 
4.1.2.2 Substitutes ... 47 
4.1.2.3 Suppliers ... 47 
4.1.2.4 Potential 
Entrants ... 48 
4.1.2.5  Rivalry among Existing Firms ... 48 
4.2  Internal Environment Analysis ... 49 
4.3 Strategy 
Formulation ... 50 
4.4 Successful 
Business 
Models ... 53 
Table of Contents 
V
5 Benchmarking... 55 
5.1 Profiles ... 56 
5.1.1  Germany vs. Spain ... 56 
5.1.2  Department Stores vs. Shopping Centers... 57 
5.1.3  Karstadt vs. El Corte Inglés ... 59 
5.2 Implications... 61 
6 Conclusion... 64 
6.1 Further 
Research ... 66 
Annex 1: Six-year Summary of Karstadt... 67 
Annex 2: Comparison of Germany and Spain ... 68 
Annex 3: Comparison of the EU and the USA ... 69 
Annex 4: Index Scores and Ranks for Countries and Regions from the IBM Set ... 70 
Annex 5: Computations for the Profiles... 71 
Bibliography... 76 
VI
List of Figures 
Figure 1: Overview of the Thesis...2 
Figure 2: Department Store vs. Shopping Center vs. Central Business District...5 
Figure 3: Business Unit Strategic-Planning Process...38 
Figure 4: Opportunity Matrix...40 
Figure 5: Threat Matrix...40 
Figure 6: Five Competitive Forces...45 
Figure 7: Generic Strategies: Karstadt Stuck in the Middle ...61 
VII
List of Tables 
Table 1: Case Studies...20 
Table 2: Checklist for Performing Strength and Weakness Analysis...50 
Table 3: Generic Strategies ...51 
Table 4: Characteristics of Successful Business Models ...54 
Table 5: Profile of the Macro Economic Forces in Germany and Spain ...57 
Table 6: Profile of the Internal Environment Analysis of Karstadt and El Corte Inglés 60 
VIII
List of Abbreviations 
CEO   
Chief executive officer 
EBIT   
Earnings before interests and taxes 
EBITDA 
Earnings before interests, taxes, depreciation and amortization 
ECE   
ECE Projektmanagement GmbH & Co. KG 
ed.  
Edition 
et al.   
Et alii (and others) 
ETA   
Euskadi Ta Askataska (Basque Homeland and Freedom) 
EU  
European 
Union 
EU-15  
The 15 initial countries of the European Union 
EU-25  
All 25 current European Union member countries 
FRG   
Federal Republic of Germany 
GDP    
Gross Domestic Product 
GDR  
German 
Democratic 
Republic 
GLA   
Gross leasable area 
H&M   
Hennes and Mauritz 
ICSC    
International Council of Shopping Centers 
IVA   
Impuesto sobre el valor anadido (value added tax in Spain) 
loc. cit. 
Loco citato (at the place already cited) 
n/a  
Not 
available 
NATO  
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 
OECD  
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 
PEST  
Political, economic, socio-cultural and technological 
PSOE   
Partido Socialista Obrero Español (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) 
List of Abbreviations 
IX
SWOT  
Strength,  weaknesses, opportunities and threats 
USt 
Umsatzsteuer (value added tax in Germany) 
UN  
United 
Nations 
VAT   
Value added tax 
vs.  
Versus 
1
1
Introduction 
Why are traditional German department stores close to bankruptcy in a time when so 
many new shopping centers with a similar offering of goods are being built? Is this 
phenomenon just a problem of German companies or do other countries have the same 
situation? For comparison, the situations in different countries, Germany and Spain are 
picked. 
Most of the literature in the field of retail management is written about US American 
companies. Thus, this thesis cannot totally ignore it. E-commerce, despite its growing 
importance, is not part of this comparison, as both retail formats are faced with the same 
opportunities and threats by it. 
The starting point of this thesis is the difficult situation Karstadt was facing in the last 
two years and the story about the successful department store concept of El Corte Inglés 
in Spain; hence these two companies play a major role throughout this thesis. 
1.1
Overview 
The introduction provides the reader with an overview of the thesis. Furthermore, the 
question is addressed, if department stores and shopping centers can be compared. 
The main body of this thesis consists of three parts, which are structured after the same 
pattern: country level, industry level and company level. First, data is collected for a 
later analysis. Chapter 2 gathers all relevant information about Germany and Spain and 
then narrows down to the history of department stores and shopping centers. The 
company data is shown in its own chapter 3, as a major part of this thesis should be the 
company comparison of Karstadt and El Corte Inglés. The market leaders in the 
respective markets are shown in case studies and complemented by data of the two 
companies that emphasizes the final analysis and conclusion.  
Introduction 
2
Figure 1: Overview of the Thesis 
D
ATA 
C
OLLECTION
Countries and Industries 
Company Case Studies 
I
NTRODUCTION
T
HEORETICAL 
B
ACKGROUND
Strategic Analysis 
C
OMPARATIVE 
A
NALYSIS
Benchmarking 
C
ONCLUSION
C
HAPTER 
1 
C
HAPTER 
2 
C
HAPTER 
3 
C
HAPTER 
5 
C
HAPTER 
4 
C
HAPTER 
6 
Introduction 
3
The theoretical background of company analysis is given in chapter 4. Again, the first 
part about the macro environment concentrates on the country level. Then, the micro 
environment forces comparing the attractiveness of industries are explained. The last 
part contains the fundamentals of the internal environment analysis, which reflects the 
company level. 
In chapter 5, the findings are used to construct profiles, point out differences between 
the different countries, industries and companies, and to find ideas for improving the 
existing management strategies of the given companies. 
The conclusion not only provides a summary of the thesis, it also gives a forecast and 
identifies sources and possibilities for further research. 
1.2
Comparing Department Stores and Shopping Centers 
The typical comparison made in literature as well as in politics, is the comparison of 
shopping centers and central business districts. While central business districts were the 
dominant form in the past, the importance of shopping centers has grown within the last 
decades. Stores, sited in central business districts for many decades, went bankrupt, 
after a new shopping center in the neighborhood opened its doors.
1
 European central 
business districts are not ready for this competition from well-managed shopping 
centers. They need the help of the government to keep them from dying, because if the 
right combination of specialty stores exists in a shopping center, it can replace a 
traditional department store
2
 or central business district. 
1
 See Gipp (2005), p. 1. 
2
 See ECE Projektmanagement GmbH & Co. KG (2006a). 
Introduction 
4
There are different opinions about whether or not shopping centers are retailers.
3
 From a 
pragmatic point of view, a shopping center can be considered as large-scale retailer.
4
The shopping center management companies do not engage in the selling of 
merchandise, but rent the location to shops. As the rent consists of a fixed payment and 
a variable payment, based on the shops income, the management of shopping centers is 
interested in successful tenants and shows many parallels to department store 
management.
5
How do department stores fit into this comparison? Comparing the separate departments 
of these large-scale retailers with their competitors, the answer to this question is easier 
to find. A typical department has its competitors in the next shopping street, in a central 
business district or in a shopping center.
6
 Not just other department stores, but also the 
combination of stores existing in shopping centers or central business districts can 
replace a whole department store.  
The concept of benchmarking allows not only comparisons within an industry, but 
encourages a company to learn from other sectors.
7
 Hence, taking shopping centers as a 
benchmark might help the department store industry to overcome weaknesses, and 
profit from new concepts and vice versa. 
Normally, department stores are located in premium locations in central business 
districts, shopping streets of suburbs or in shopping centers. Shopping centers can be 
found in central business districts, shopping streets of suburbs and especially in the 
USA in Greenfield sites. As illustrated in figure 2, even the intersection of all three 
types is prevalent: a department store in a downtown shopping center. 
Within the scope of this study, department stores and shopping centers will be 
compared. Department stores in Europe, like Karstadt and El Corte Inglés, are normally 
3
 See Nieschlag/Kuhn (1980), p. 200. 
4
 See Marzen (1985), p. 178. 
5
 See ECE Projektmanagement GmbH & Co. KG (2006c). 
6
 See Karstadt Warenhaus GmbH (2005). 
7
 See Macharzina (2003), p. 243. 
Introduction 
5
not located in shopping centers. They are present in central business district and other 
premium locations like the main shopping street of a suburb, since they were built many 
years before shopping centers were invented.
8
Figure 2: Department Store vs. Shopping Center vs. Central Business District 
In the next chapter, data about the two countries and the history of department stores 
and shopping centers is presented to provide a more sophisticated understanding of the 
leading question of this thesis. 
Why are traditional German department stores close to bankruptcy in a time when so 
many new shopping centers with a similar offering of goods are being built? Is this 
phenomenon just a problem of German companies or do other countries have the 
same situation? 
8
 See Karstadt Warenhaus GmbH (2005). 
6
2
Data Collection 
2.1
Countries 
In order to later compare Germany and Spain; this chapter collects information about 
these member countries of the EU. The political, economic, socio-cultural and 
technological information is needed for an analysis of the macro environment forces in 
chapter 5.1.1. The concept is explained in chapter 4.1.1. 
A summary of the country data is listed in annex 2 and 3. 
2.1.1
Germany 
Germany is a key member of the political and defense organizations of the European 
Union (EU). Germany triggered two World Wars and was occupied by the Allied 
powers of the USA, UK, France and the Soviet Union after the end of World War II. In 
1949, the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German 
Democratic Republic (GDR) were formed. The FRG was democratic and become part 
of the Western world's economic and security organizations. The Communist GDR was 
in Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. After the decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War 
in 1990, Germany had its re-unification and since then, has tried to bring the former 
Eastern Germany's productivity and wages up to Western standards.
9
The integration of the Eastern German into Western German economy is a long-term 
process, costing year to year, around 70 billion euros. The aging population and the high 
unemployment have put strong pressure on the social security system, where outlays 
already exceed the contributions from workers. Because wages are often set on a 
national basis and the strict labor laws, unemployment is one of Germany's main 
problems in these years. Opportunities for Germany are corporate restructurings and the 
growing capital markets in the EU.
10
9
 See Central Intelligence Agency (2006b). 
10
 See loc. cit. 
Data Collection 
7
Germany is not only the nation in Europe with the most neighbor countries, but it also 
has the leading economy and the highest population within the EU.
11
 But the fifth 
largest economy in the world is the slowest growing in the EU.
12
 Even if German is the 
most widely spoken language in the EU, the official language of the EU is English. 
In Germany, unemployment has become a chronic problem in the last few years. After 
adjusting the figures for seasonal effects, 11.3% of the civilian labor force is currently 
unemployed. While in Western Germany 9.6% of the labor force is unemployed, 
Eastern Germany has to fight unemployment of 18%. The highest monthly percentage 
within the last couple of years with seasonally adjusted figures, was 12.1% (12.7% 
without adjustment), which occurred in March 2005.
13
The value added tax (VAT)  Umsatzsteuer (USt) in German  is 16%. On 01 January 
2007, the VAT will be increased by 3%.
14
 The German Council of Economic Experts 
advised the German government against taking this step.
15
 As an effect of the increase, 
the growth rate of the economy will be 1% less and some hundred thousand jobs will be 
wiped out.
16
 Other job killers are the regulations and laws in Germany, which influence 
nearly all parts of life. Middle class entrepreneurs especially suffer under the torrent of 
bureaucratic obstacles.
17
The German market shows a polarization towards discount and premium products. 
Department stores offering middle class products are the losers of this trend.
18
11
 See Kohl (1999), p. 53.  
12
 See Central Intelligence Agency (2006b). 
13
 See Bundesagentur für Arbeit (2006), p. 40. 
14
 See Axel Springer AG (2005b). 
15
 See Axel Springer AG (2005c). 
16
 See Axel Springer AG (2005b). 
17
 See Schmidt (1999), p. 25. 
18
 See ECE Projektmanagement GmbH & Co. KG (2006c). 
Data Collection 
8
Germany is a technologically advanced country.
19
 The expenditure for research and 
development in Germany represented 2.5% of GDP on an EU wide high level, but still 
less than from countries like the USA (2.8%) or Japan (3.1%).
20
The political risk in Germany is low, showing a stable environment. In 2002, Germany 
had 88 from 100 points (82 in 1998) in the International Country Risk Guide from the 
PRS Group. For the situation on law and order, Germany gets 5 out of 6 points. This 
stands for low risk. The Global Competitiveness Report from the World Economic 
Forum ranks Germany as number 14 out of 80 tested countries. The Global 
Competitiveness Report measures the capacity of an economy to achieve sustained 
economic growth over a medium-term.
21
2.1.2
Spain 
The Spanish civil war from 1936 to 1939 ended with the dictatorship of General 
Francisco Franco. Not only were many human lives lost, but also the destruction of a 
large part of the production facilities was a consequence of the war. Thus, Spain could 
not gain economic benefit from staying neutral in World War II, like other countries 
did. Until 1959, the politics of Franco incorporated the ability to stay independent from 
imports by subsidizing the industry. Because it was not included in the Marshall Plan, 
Spain experienced an era of stagnation.
22
Until 1957, many sectors were controlled by the state, including prices on agricultural 
products, allocation of resources and wages. The consequences were wrong investment, 
bureaucratic delaying, quality problems of the industry, insufficient quotas, corruption, 
a growing black market and an increase in the difference in the standards of living of the 
rich and the poor. 
19
 See Central Intelligence Agency (2006b). 
20
 See Eurostat (2005), p. 2. 
21
 See Enterprise Estonia (2006). 
22
 See Nohlen/Hildenbrand (2005), p. 21. 
Data Collection 
9
When Spain opened up for foreign countries, the Economic Miracle began. The 
economic growth rates reached nine per cent per year, supported by a sky rocketing 
tourism industry.
23
 In 1975, the dictatorship ended with the death of the 82-year-old 
Franco, and Juan Carlos I became king of Spain. The political system in Spain is a 
parliamentary monarchy. 
Even though voices for the independence of Catalonia get louder
24
, the biggest problem 
in internal politics in Spain is the conflict with the Basque "Euskadi Ta Askatasuna"
25
(ETA).
26
 The group became radical under the Franco regime in the 1960s, because any 
kind of independence for the Basques was repressed. Numerous ceasefires were broken 
by the ETA and resulted in bomb attacks, killings and abduction of industrialists.
27
 On 
the 11 March 2004, the days before the elections of the "Cortes Generales"
28
, bomb 
attacks in four trains in Madrid killed 191 people. The former prime minister of Spain 
José María Aznar accounted the ETA guilty for the killings. Large demonstrations 
against the misinformation politics of the Aznar started, when the Al-Qaeda was held 
responsible.
29
The outsider "Partido Socialista Obrero Español"
30
 (PSOE) with José Luis Rodríguez 
Zapatero won the elections with a small majority. During the government of Aznar, 
Spain isolated itself in Europe with US oriented politics, while the cabinet around 
Zapatero is more oriented towards the EU.
31
23
 See loc. cit., p. 22. 
24
 See Deutschlandradio (2006). 
25
 Translated: Basque Homeland and Freedom. 
26
 See Nohlen/Hildenbrand (2005), p. 338. 
27
 See loc. cit., pp. 273-275. 
28
 Los Cortes Generales are the Spanish parliament. 
29
 See 3sat (2004). 
30
 Translated: Spanish Socialist Workers' Party. 
31
 See Nohlen/Hildenbrand (2005), pp. 16-17. 
Data Collection 
10
Spain is one of the ten largest economies in the world, the second largest country, by 
size, in the EU-15 after France and the driest country in the EU.
32
 Very strong sectors 
are the construction, real estate and tourisms industries as well as private consumption. 
Just the construction sector contributes 17.7% to the GDP.
33
 Spain (1.1% of GDP) is far 
behind the EU-25 average (1.9%) on research and development expenditures.
34
With the inclusion in the EU in 1986, Spain experienced five years of intensive growth 
above EU average. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of Spain started with 
only 70.4% of EU average in 1985 and increased to 79.3% in 1991 (75% of the German 
GDP). Especially, the high domestic demand helped the economy. After some years of 
recession, Spain together with Ireland showed again the highest growth rates in the EU 
in the second half of the 1990s.
35
The unemployment in Spain was cut in half from 1995 (22.9%) to 2002 (11.3%).
36
 The 
VAT in Spain is called impuesto sobre el valor anadido (IVA) and amounts to 16%.
37
The inflation has been on a high level for decades. From 1990 to 1995 the average 
inflation was 5.4%, while from 1991 to today the inflation averaged out less than 
3.0%.
38
 Spain used to be the biggest beneficiary of EU payments. But from 2007 these 
payments will constantly be decreased as Spain's GDP per capita will be above the 
critical 90% line of the now bigger EU-25.
39
In Spain, four languages are official. While the Spanish constitution says in article 3 
that Castilian (Spanish) has to be known by everyone and everybody has the right to use 
it
40
, three regions are bilingual and speak Catalan, Basque or Galician as well. Around 
32
 See loc. cit., pp. 21, 108. 
33
 See Burgdorff et al. (2004), p. 513. 
34
 See Eurostat (2005), p. 2. 
35
 See Nohlen/Hildenbrand (2005), pp. 23-27. 
36
 See loc. cit., p. 27. 
37
 See Spanieninfo Agrupacion (2006). 
38
 See Wirtschaftskammers Österreichs (2006), p.1. 
39
 See Burgdorff et al. (2004), p. 513. 
40
 See Congreso de los Diputados (2002). 
Data Collection 
11
425 million people in the world speak Spanish, what make Spanish the fourth most 
widely spoken language in the world.
41
But behind the term Spain, not only four languages are hidden. The country 
incorporates four different cultures and four different nations
42
, minorities like the 
Gitanos  the Spanish gypsies  not included.  
Trademarks and quality are very important to Spanish consumers.
43
2.2
Large-Scale Retailing 
Technology and globalization are reshaping the world with an accelerating rate of 
change. Companies can change or they will disappear from the market.
44
 Thus, they 
need to find new competitive advantages. Some department store companies faced these 
challenges successfully for more than 100 years and constantly reinvented its business. 
Others were not able to prosper and lost their competitive advantage in the last years. 
Thus, these companies went bankrupt. 
To learn how department stores and shopping centers grew over time to the big large-
scale retailers they are now, this chapter gives an overview of their history.  
41
 See Pearson Education (2006). 
42
 See Bernecker/Oehrlein (1991), p. 387. 
43
 See Müller (2005), p. 3. 
44
 See Kotler (1999), p. 3. 
Data Collection 
12
2.2.1
Department Stores 
Department Stores are large retail stores, which are arranged in sometimes more than 
100 different departments and sell a wide variety of merchandise, making it available in 
one place. Generally, the two major categories sold are apparel and home furnishings. 
Department stores offer various services, like fashion shows, home delivery and credit 
service, usually in the form of charge accounts. Within department stores 
some specialized services or goods are offered by independent companies. They run 
their own departments under the name of the department store. Services like 
photographic supplies, shoe repair, beauty salons or millinery are often outsourced.
45
In the 1860s, the Bon Marché in Paris became the first department store. This former 
dry-goods store was founded in 1838 as a small retail store. A wide assortment of items 
was offered at a low and clearly marked price.
46
 Most of the first department stores 
were outgrowth of dry-goods stores, but also some general stores were the basis for this 
new retail format. In 1885, the first store not converted into but directly operated as a 
department store was Printemps, which was sited in Paris as well.
47
In the USA, Wanamaker in Philadelphia, Marshall Field in Chicago, Macy & Company 
in New York and Jordan Marsh Company in Boston were transformed from dry-goods 
stores into department stores in the 1860s and 70s.
This development was encouraged 
by the concentration of the American population in urban centers and the growth of a 
middle class. Also the introduction of mass manufacturing, new logistic methods as 
well as innovations like the telephone, billing machines and the electric light were 
needed for this new concept.
48
But not only had the fixed prices characterized this new retail format, merchandise 
could be returned and the price was reimbursed or the good exchanged. Another 
45
 See Microsoft Encarta (2006), Department store. 
46
 See loc. cit., Bon Marché.
47
 See loc. cit., Department store. 
48
 See loc. cit. 
Details
- Seiten
- Erscheinungsform
- Originalausgabe
- Erscheinungsjahr
- 2006
- ISBN (eBook)
- 9783832498153
- ISBN (Paperback)
- 9783838698151
- DOI
- 10.3239/9783832498153
- Dateigröße
- 678 KB
- Sprache
- Englisch
- Institution / Hochschule
- Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg – Fakultät für Wirtschaftswissenschaft
- Erscheinungsdatum
- 2006 (September)
- Note
- 3,0
- Schlagworte
- warenhaus einkaufszentrum spanien marketing karstadt
- Produktsicherheit
- Diplom.de
 
					