Critical Review and Future Action Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Critical Review and Future Action Plan - Essay Example Altogether it has 37 retail outlets in UK and online cross channel offering. The company has an annual turnover of $5.2 billion. Critics have given the credit of John Lewis persistent success to its distinctive business model and integrated multimedia retailing which has also enabled the organization to recognize its employees as the company partners. Currently John Lewis is successfully catering to the needs of its customers through its various retail outlets, inexorable pledge and focus on excellence. Ultimately the company has acquired a distinctive position in retail marketing through innovative ideas of reaching to their customers which ultimately leads to increased sales and augmented brand equity (Cisco, 2012). John Lewis welcomes all its customers and makes sure that everyone has an easy access to their products and services and all the customers are catered with equivalent level of services. Their multichannel retailing strategy includes shops, call centers, online shopping, mobile app and home delivery which indicate that their customers have an easy access to their goods and services.In addition to this John Lewis is offering multimedia and multi-platform purchasing experience which is quite evident from the fact that internet facility for customers is available in two-third of all its retail stores (John Lewis, 2013). Challenges of Multimedia Retailing At present the multimedia retailing is facing significant challenges in the corporate world related to brand management on micro and macro level. If we analyze it from a micro perspective then marketers are required to manage all the individual channels and the communication options to enhance their brand equity effect in addition to increasing sales.While on the other hand they also have to maintain indirect brand equity effects which are particularly connected with a specific channel or a communication option. At the macro level marketers are required to formulate and execute communication options a nd multimedia channels in a way that they enables synergy between sales and brand equity (Kevin Lane Keller, 2010). The brand as a whole comprises of four components with respect to multimedia retailing: Direct and interactive channels including mail, telephone, mobile, online shopping and company stores. Indirect channels including discount stores, departmental stores, superstores, catalogue showrooms, specialty stores, super markets and convenience stores. Personal communications include personal selling, word of mouth, direct marketing and interactive marketing. Mass communication includes advertising, sales promotions, public relations, events and experiences. At John Lewis marketers are required to develop clear understanding of all the retail channels and their integration in association with consumer behavior. In addition to this their job is to identify the related multimedia retailing components and to subsequently apply them so as to increase sales and brand equity (Kevin Lane Keller, 2010). It is a fact that in the past few years the concept of multimedia retailing has occupied strength and it is growing with an enormous speed while bringing scope, diversification and sophistication to the overall retail environment. However, research indicates that the consumer behavior regarding multimedia retailing is rather inadequate. The initial challenges faced by a marketer operating in such a retail environment are to