Visual Merchandising
The Last Weapon of the Brick and Mortal Fast Fashion Retail

Visual Merchandising
The Last Weapon of the Brick and Mortal Fast Fashion Retail

David Game College HND Business Management
Simeon Alvas D0913058
David Game College HND Business Management
Simeon Alvas D0913058

Abstract
Consumer behaviour models are designed to explain how individuals make decisions to spend their available resources. It includes what they buy, how they buy it, why and when they buy it and how often they used it. One of the ways to influence this behaviour in a fast fashion retail setting is to use visual merchandising strategies which trigger a number of stimuli influencing the consumers’ perception. The purpose of this research is to establish to what extent this visual merchandising strategies influencing consumers with a different cultural background in a highly competitive multicultural retail environment with an emphasis on the flagship store of Armani Exchange Regent Street, London. The author argues that the available models of consumer behaviour does not provide sufficient flexibility due to their linear nature. Therefore, they are unsuitable to address the needs of a contemporary retailer operating in a multicultural environment. The researcher build his hypothesis by examining the available literature in the area of retail marketing. Consequently, the hypothesis is tested by analysing a mixed sources of primary and secondary data. The conclusion of the author is that due to the absence of adequate consumer behaviour model the researched organisation is missing on a considerable amount of sales. Furthermore, the author argues that the contemporary society will diversify even further which means that there is imminent necessity of a new or enhanced model of consumer behaviour which will allow more flexibility when designing retail marketing strategies. Especially visual merchandising strategies which are extremely important for the fast fashion retail.
Key words: Visual Merchandising, retail Marketing, Consumer Behaviour.

Table of Contents Abstract 0 Introduction 4 Chapter 1: Literature Review 5 Chapter 2: Research Methodology 14 Chapter 3: Data Analysis 17 Chapter 4: Findings 23 Chapter 5: Discussion 33 References 37 Appendix A 39 Bibliography 39 Appendix B: Code of Conduct 42 Appendix C: Gantt chart for the Research Project 43 Appendix D: Observation Logs 43 Observation Log 1 43 Observation Log 2 45 Appendix E: Transcript Interview 1 46 Interview 1 Transcript 46 Appendix F: Transcript Interview 2 48 Interview 2 Transcript 48 Appendix G: Interview Transcript 3 50
Table of figures Figure 1: Casual Chain Connecting Atmosphere and Purchase Probability (Kotler, 1973) 7 Figure 2: Factors Affecting Consumer Buying Behaviour 11 Figure 3: Nicosia Model of Consumer Buying Behaviour 12 Figure 4: Black Box Model of Consumer Behaviour 13 Figure 5: Classification of Ethnic Groups Used for the Purposes of this Research 16 Figure 6: Summary Interview 1 21 Figure 7: Summary Interview 2 22 Figure 8: Summary Interview 3 22 Figure 9: Line Chart Sales Figures for Garments Positions against Base Period 25 Figure 10: Levels of Exposure Shop Floor Map 25 Figure 11: Numbers of Customers Positively Influenced by the VM (Visual Merchandising) effort. 26 Figure 12: Distribution of Positively Influenced Customers for Observation Period 1 (17th of May - 30th of May, 2015) 27 Figure 13: Distribution of Positively Influenced Customers for Observation Period 2 (31th of May - 13th of June, 2015) 28 Figure 14: Percentage of Directly Positively Influenced by the VM effort customers (Combined Primary and Secondary Sources of Data) 32

Table of Tables Table 1: Changes in the Retail Marketing Affecting the UK Retail Environment 6 Table 2: Sales Figures Armani Exchange Regent Street (17th of May - 13th of June, 2015) 19 Table 3: Observation Log Table Represent the Movement of Garments on the Shop Floor for the Periods Identified. 20 Table 4: Combined Table Sales Figures and Garments Positions on the Shop Floor (index numbers) 24 Table 5: Categorisation of the Primary Data (Interviews with the Members of the Management Team) 30

Introduction

Opened in the beginning of 2008 the Armani Exchange Regent Street is the largest shop of the brand in Europe. The brand itself is designed to attract a new generation of fashion consumers through an accessible collection representing unique and modern style. The Regent Street store incorporates the new Armani Exchange retail concept with original shop design including a luminous portal at the entrance to the store made of translucent back-painted glass and marked with the A/X logo. Further inside, there is a ten foot high video wall, the content of which changes regularly to depict the latest seasonal collections. Furthermore the shop organised a number of promotional events and DJ nights to attract customers.
Unfortunately in recent years the shop is suffering a significant decline in terms of footfall and sales. The video wall is removed and the DJ events are occasional. One of the reasons for this decline may be related with the visual merchandising techniques used throughout the shop and to what extent the latter techniques correspond to the ever changing highly competitive multicultural environment in which the outlet operate. The aim of this research is to establish if there is a link between consumers buying behaviour and visual merchandising and does this link affect the overall performance specifically in achieving competitive advantage in highly competitive multicultural retail environment with an emphasis on the flagship shop of Armani Exchange in London. The results should illustrate to what extent the presentation techniques are influencing the customers buying behaviour and patterns. Further recommendation will be made for any problems identified. Thereby the researcher will try to answer the question: How the Visual Merchandising influence consumer buying behaviour in a highly competitive, multicultural environment?
Therefore the objectives of the research are as followed: * To create a theoretical framework based on literature published in the area of fashion and retail marketing and the importance of the visual merchandising for today’s high street businesses with references to the Armani Exchange and the highly competitive, multicultural environment in which they operate. * To gather secondary data (sales figures for the time of the research and participative observations for the same period) in order to establish the level of influence between visual merchandising and consumer buyer behaviour. * To conduct primary research(semi – structured interviews with members of the management team) at Armani Exchange flagship store in order to understand the views of the management team about the effectiveness of the visual merchandising techniques used in the shop and assess if there is a link between retail marketing and competitive advantage. Consequently to confirm the findings derived from the secondary data analysis. * To create conclusions and recommendations to the management team related with the efficient use of visual merchandising resources and techniques and assess the relevance of the theoretical framework in Armani Exchange flagship store.
Furthermore, as the focus of the research is concentrated solely on one organisation and on one of the functions in this organisation the author will use a mixed method sequential explanatory research design to gather and analyse quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data will include sales figures and observation conducted by the researcher. Qualitative data will be formed from the interviews conducted by the researcher, where non-probability purposive, homogeneous sampling technique will be used, to identify the participants in the interviews. This technique is useful for in-depth focused researches, have a low cost and specifies the selection criteria.
Upon successful collection of the data the researcher will analyse and present the finding to the reader by using a number of visualisation tools such as tables, maps and different charts and graphs. Consequently a detailed reflection of the results will inform the reader about the significance of the results and their meaning for the company in question.
Finally the author will summarise the information, draw conclusions and provide recommendations in the light of the established hypothesis derived from the theoretical framework, based on the existing literature in the area of visual merchandising and retail marketing.

Chapter 1: Literature Review

Introduction
The purpose of this literature review is to establish the connection between the developments of the retail marketing and visual merchandising techniques and consequently, investigate their relation with consumer buying behaviour. Thereby the author will establish a theoretical framework which will allow further development of feasible hypothesis based on the research question. The hypothesis will try to prove that there is a gap in the existing models of consumer behaviour which does not take into account the contemporary development of multicultural societies in regards to the big urban centres such as London. In order to achieve that the researcher will trace back the development of the retail marketing studies with emphasis on the UK market. Furthermore the author will discuss the visual merchandising as one of the commonly used marketing tools in the contemporary high street retailing. Consequently the major models of consumers’ behaviour will be discussed and analysed, in order to establish how the visual merchandising can influence the consumers buying behaviour in today’s highly competitive multicultural retail environment in UK.
Retail Marketing
Kotler and Keller (1997) defines retailing as “the activities in selling goods or services directly to final consumers for personal non business use.” Therefore a retail store or retailer is any business enterprise whose sales volume comes primarily from retailing. Further to the above definition Gilbert (1999) state that retail is “any business that direct its marketing efforts towards satisfying the final consumer based upon the organisation of selling goods and services as a means of distribution.” The above definitions illustrates the retail as the activity of selling goods to the final consumer. However, Gilbert definition includes marketing efforts as a medium to satisfy the final consumer. It is imperative to note that, because the retailing compromises all the activities involved in the distribution of goods or services, therefore, marketing should be a core area for any retail operation. Due to the fact that the success or failure of this operation will depend highly on how well the retailer understands and satisfies the needs of their customers. Further evidence for the close connection between marketing and retail can be found in the definition of modern marketing suggested by Kotler at al. (1999) “Social and Managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others”. The emphasis here is on creating and exchanging products as a medium of satisfying needs and wants. However, marketing concept should not be confused with sales approach. According to Levitt (1960) “selling is preoccupied with the seller’s need to convert his product into cash; marketing with the idea of satisfying the needs of the customer by means of the product and the whole cluster of things associated with creating, delivering and finally consuming it.” Levitt inferred that, in time when the consumer orientation was merely accepted as a business concept. Since then the retail marketing has evolved significantly due to different social and business changes. The changes affecting the retail environment in UK are outlined in Table1: Changes Affecting the Retail Environment in UK. Consequently the author will illustrate the connection in the development of marketing and the changes in the retail environment in UK.
Table 1: Changes in the Retail Marketing Affecting the UK Retail Environment Period | Changes Affecting Retail Environment in the UK | 1950s | Austerity and shortage were prevalent; Population were careful with expenditure and debt. Self-service supermarket introduced in UK. Just a few national retail chains. TV advertising was introduced and helped boost sales of leading branded products. The prices was set by the manufacturer. (Gilbert, 1999) | 1960s | Characterised with increased wealth and increased demand. Repeal of the Price Maintenance Act allowed greater freedom for retailers to compete on price. Change in the social attitudes allowed developing of consumer society. Retailers’ growth to size large enough to deal with the manufacturers directly. The development of the fashion and leisure industries. (Gilbert, 1999) | 1970s | Youth market continuing to develop consumer society. Retailers start to introduce segmentation strategies. UK joined the European Community. Scanning technology were introduced for the first time in UK. Supermarkets extend their range of products into fresh foods.( Gilbert, 1999) | 1980s | Major decline in specialised local stores. Public realising the benefit of the one stop shopping approach. The beginning of the superstores era. Retailers started to centralise their purchases. Rise in the proportion of own-branded products. (Gilbert,1999) | 1990s | Large chains achieved national coverage. European retailers entered the UK marketplace. Sunday opening and extended working hours were legalised. Rapid growth of the internet, launch of e-commerce services. (Gilbert, 1999) | 2000s | Smart cards and variety of new ways of payment are introduced. Traditional brick and mortar retailers developed their own internet web sites. The emphasis is shifting towards more value for money and brand values and loyalty. (Gilbert, 1999). | Current State | “The UK apparel retail industry is expected to generate total revenues of $59.2bn in 2012”,(MarketLine,2013).Furthermore, “Britain’s supermarkets have suffered their first fall in sales in at least 20 years as lower food prices and a vicious price war cut the amount customers spend on groceries.” (Felsted & Aglionby, 2014) |

It is imperative to note that similar changes can be observed in most of the western world. Furthermore, according to Gilbert, (2003) from 1950s onwards “the companies adopted a consumer- led approach and concentrated on improving the marketing mix. It was recognized that customer needs and satisfaction were the most effective basis for planning.” Consequently, the marketing concept was developed. Therefore, the changes in the retail industry were aligned with the development of the marketing concept. Based on the above the researcher argues that, the current trend in retail is marketing orientated. Consequently, a contemporary retailer should structure the organisation that supports the consumer orientation throughout the company, should encourage innovative methods of thinking and planning, create clear proposition of their retail offer and create additional advantages and value combined with the right environment, in order to ensure that the customer is offered the complete package of benefits available. (Gilbert, 2003). For the purposes of this research the emphasis will be focused on the creation of the right environment and how this environment can influence positively the consumer buying behaviour.
As mentioned above one of the special characteristics of the marketing orientated retailer is to create the right environment for the consumer. Therefore, the place where the product is bought or consumed becomes one of the most significant features of the total product. (Kotler, 1973). Consequently, the relationship between retail marketing and the methods to design the “right environment” will be discussed further.
Visual Merchandising
In “Atmospherics as a Marketing Tool” (Journal Of Retail, 1973), P. Kotler suggested two propositions which emphasised the importance of the atmospherics or visual merchandising for the retail industry. * “Atmospherics is a highly relevant marketing tool for retailers”(Kotler, 1973) due to the fact that in the retail situation the seller have design options to influence the purchase or consumption of the product. * “Atmospherics becomes a more relevant marketing tool as the number of competitive outlets increase”(Kotler, 1973) with a small difference between the products and the prices one of the best ways to attract more customers is to distinguish your environment by changing the ways in which your merchandise is presented and sold to the customers.
Further in the same article Kotler (1973) suggested a Casual Chain Model outlining the relation between Atmosphere and Purchase Probability. See Fugure1
Figure 1: Casual Chain Connecting Atmosphere and Purchase Probability (Kotler, 1973)

Impact of buyer’s modified information and affective state on his purchase probability.
Impact of buyer’s modified information and affective state on his purchase probability.
Sensory qualities of space surrounding purchase object

Sensory qualities of space surrounding purchase object

Buyer’s perception of the sensory qualities of space

Buyer’s perception of the sensory qualities of space

Effect of perceived sensory qualities on modifying buyer’s information and affective state
Effect of perceived sensory qualities on modifying buyer’s information and affective state

Kotler suggested that if the purchase object is presented in environment with certain specially designed sensory qualities/stimuli, each buyer will perceive this qualities individually. According to Williams (1981), perception is a complex process by which people interpret sensory stimulation in to a meaningful picture. In order to sort out the masses of stimuli into a manageable amount three processes can be used: * Selective attention - “the process by which the individuals screening out stimuli that are neither meaningful nor consistent with their experiences and beliefs.” (Jobber & Ellis-Chadwick, 2013). According to Kotler and Kellar (1997) people are more likely to notice stimuli relate with current need, stimuli that they anticipate or stimuli whose deviations are larger in comparison to the normal size of the stimuli. Furthermore, Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick (2013) outlined a number of factors influencing attention: size, colour, movement, contrast and position. * Selective distortion- is “the tendency to interpret information in a way that fits our preconceptions.” (Kotler and Kellar, 1997). Furthermore, Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick (2013) defined selective distortion as the process of distorting information received according to individual existing beliefs and attitudes. Therefore, each customer will fits the incoming information into their existing mind-set in order to support his own beliefs. * Selective retention- is “the tendency of retaining information which will support our own attitudes and beliefs.” (Armstrong, et al., 2012). According to Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick (2013) the human memory can retain only a certain amount of messages. Therefore, we tend to remember what is in line with our current attitudes and beliefs. Consequently, according to Kotler and Kellar (1997), in retail marketing perceptions are more important than the reality, because it is the perceptions that affect consumers’ actual behaviour.” Furthermore, the researcher argues that the sensory qualities/stimuli will have effect on person’s information and affective state. Therefore, buyer’s modified information and affective state may lead to a purchasing decision. Considering the above we can state that the atmosphere/visual merchandising of the outlet can convert “behavioural intentions into actual buying behaviour” (Kotler, 1973). Furthermore, Donovan and Rossiter (1982) stated that the effect of “store-induced pleasure is a very dominant determinant of either approach or avoidance behaviour as well as in-store spending patterns”. Since then the traditional brick and mortar retailing changed significantly and as mention above the apparel retail industry is growing and is expected to continue growing steadily until 2017(MarketLine, 2013).A survey conducted by Kurt Salmon Associates (2000) in United States identified that three of the top ten reasons for customers to leave an apparel shop without purchase are related with the visual merchandising of the shop. Stressful in-store experience, inconveniently merchandised store and difficult entry/exit of the shop are all related to some extent with the way in which the shop is executing their visual merchandising. Although this survey is limited to the USA the author argues that the retail environment in the USA is similar to the retail environment in the UK, in particular with the likes of NYC versus London. In addition, according to Levy and Weitz (2004) the visual merchandising is becoming an essential part of the communication mix, that provides satisfying shopping experience and influencing the consumers buying behaviour by attracting their attention and motivate them to make unplanned, impulse purchase. Furthermore Berman and Evans (2007) stated that the visual merchandising not only stimulating shopping behaviour but can also form the customers impressions of the retailer, which can lead to tendency to spend more and likelihood of future patronage. It is imperative to note that “fashion retailers are generally more dedicated to visual presentation then are any of their counterparts such as supermarkets and appliances shops” (Diamond, 1993). The need of this dedication is justified because of the existence of variety of customer behaviours in the fashion retailing context. According to Harcar at al. (2006) the most common reasons for that are: * Today’s consumers are a lot more demanding; * Consumers want to know how to combine clothes; * Consumers actualise their wardrobe more frequently; * Consumers seek better quality related with the price; * Consumers seek a lot more personalisation; * Consumer’s tendency to purchase mainly during sales periods. Analysing the consumers trends in the apparel industries lead to further conclusion that the visual merchandising is an important marketing tools in contemporary fashion retail industry. Therefore, the development of the visual merchandising should correspond with the current consumer behavioural trends in order to act as a valuable tool in satisfying consumer wants and needs. Consequently the author will outline the different elements of the visual merchandising in order to analyse the development of the process and create a clear connection between visual merchandising and consumers buying behaviour. According to Bailey and Baker, (2014) Visual merchandising elements that contribute to satisfying the consumer needs and wants can be described as macro and micro elements. Where the Macro elements are consistent of: * Space layout- the way in which the product positioning reflects the brand identity; * Live Brand experience- style and representation of the visual identity of the brand; * Store Guide- signposts and directions leading the consumer to particular products; * Communication tool- creating an appealing story by outlining the current fashion trend; * Commercial tool- performing silent sale by influencing the consumers’ decision making process with price points and merchandising to increase sales. * Marketing opportunity – act as a promotional collateral by supporting larger marketing promotional events. * Entertainment – promoting escapism and inspiration by engaging consumers in more than just a shopping. * Art/creativity – creating a unique selling point and provide the different experience than the competitors. Furthermore, the Micro Elements of the visual merchandising according to Bailey and Baker (2014) are as follow: * High Level – consistent of ceilings, walls, lighting, architecture, graphics, overhead signage; * Eye level – products positioning, mannequins, probes, points of sale, main focal points, countertop installations; * Ground level – fixtures, seating areas, flooring, floor graphics, lightning. * Windows - including fascia of the store, store front and entrance, the total outlook of the store. * Service area- circulation paths, fitting rooms, and other supporting facilities. It is imperative to note that some of the elements are not directly related with influencing the consumer behaviour. However, the mixture of all the elements executed correctly is more likely to positively influence the customer buying decision. Furthermore, analysing the existing elements is evident that throughout the years the visual merchandising process evolved from a convenient way to arrange your outlet to an important marketing tool that can differentiate one retailer from another. In addition, the relation between visual merchandising and consumer buying behaviour is clearly defined throughout the literature. Therefore, the consumer buying behaviour can be influenced by different visual merchandising techniques in highly competitive environment such as Regent Street London. However, it is questionable to what extend the latter techniques can influence equally effective customers with different cultural background. According to Kotler (1973) “the main visual dimensions of an atmosphere are: * Colour; * Brightness; * Size; * Shape”. Furthermore, according to Bailey and Baker, (2014) bright and/or contrasting colours create visual impact that is cost effective and is one of the first design elements that a customer notice. Consequently, different shapes such as pyramids and other geometric patterns works well as they bring certain balance or imbalance to the display. Therefore, they are widely used in the contemporary visual merchandising especially when creating store front and windows designs. The researcher argues that is imperative to note how different cultural background can bring a different perception among customers of the same outlet. Due to the fact that different cultures have different ideas about colours and their meanings. Same confusion can occur with the different interpretation of certain shapes. Equally important are the different perceptions of music volume and light brightness associated with the differences in age. Consequently, the intended atmosphere of the outlet designed to trigger buying decision can backfire and bring opposite to the desired reaction. A number of academic researches related with the visual merchandising and the apparel industry discussed the relation between visual merchandising and consumer behaviour (Lea-Greenwood, G., 2010, Barry J. and Ward, D.P., 2005, Khurram Bhatti, K. L. and Latif, S., 2013). However, the cited works does not provide any information related with addressing a multicultural customer segment, although they provide evidences that relation between visual merchandising and consumer buying behaviour exist. Therefore, a further analysis of the consumer buying behaviour theory should determine if there is valuable model that can be applied in order to gain a maximum value from the visual merchandising strategy designed to influence multicultural cluster of customers.
Consumer Behaviour
Faison and Edmund (1977) defined consumer behaviour as “The assumption that people have series of needs which lead to drive state.” This definition identifies needs as the essential driving force in consumer behaviour. Engels and al. (1986) argues that specific acts of individuals are the force shaping consumer behaviour- “Those acts of individuals directly involved in obtaining, using, and disposing of economic goods and services, including the decision processes that precede and determine these acts”. Furthermore, Kotler (1994) simplifies the definition stating that, “Consumer behaviour is the study of how people buy, what they buy, when they buy and why they buy.” More comprehensive definition is provided by Solomon at al., (1995) “Consumer behaviour is the study of the processes involved when individuals or groups select, purchase, use, or dispose of products, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy needs and desires”. The emphasis here is focused on the processes involved in satisfying the needs of an individual or a group. Similar approach is evident in the definition provided by Schiffman (2007) “the behaviour that consumers display in searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products and services that they expect will satisfy their needs”. According to Blackwell at al., (2006) consumer buying behaviour is itself a complex and dynamic issue which cannot be defined easily and commonly. Furthermore, Kotler and Kellar (2011) emphasised on the importance of understanding the consumer buying behaviour as a way to gain competitive advantage. Hence, studying the consumer buying behaviour will enhance the understanding of buying decision making, what influence it and who motivate it. The outcome of the former will determine the overall success or failure of marketing efforts within the organisation.
The literature examining the subject suggested that the consumer buying behaviour is influenced by cultural, social, and personal factors. According to Kotler and Kellar (2011) the cultural factor “exert the broadest and deepest influence”. However, according to Armstrong at al. (2012) additional psychological factor need to be taken into consideration as well. Therefore, four main factors forming the consumer buying behaviour. See Figure2 Factors Influencing consumer buying behaviour.
Figure 2: Factors Affecting Consumer Buying Behaviour
Social
Reference group
Family

Roles and Status
Social
Reference group
Family

Roles and Status
Personal
Age and life cycle stage
Occupation
Economic situation
Lifestyle
Personality

Personal
Age and life cycle stage
Occupation
Economic situation
Lifestyle
Personality

Cultural
Culture

Subculture

Social Class
Cultural
Culture

Subculture

Social Class
Psychological
Motivation
Perception
Learning
Beliefs and attitudes
Psychological
Motivation
Perception
Learning
Beliefs and attitudes

Buyer

Buyer

(Armstrong at Al., 2012) As evident from the above figure the factors influencing consumer buying behaviour are extremely complex due to their individualistic nature. Therefore, for the most part of the process they are difficult to predict and control. However, a number of models were developed in order to better understand the relation between the above factors. For the purposes of this research the author will discuss two of the commonly used Models of Consumer Behaviour. The Nicosia Model was developed in 1966 by Francesco Nicosia a well-known expert in consumer motivation and behaviour. The Nicosia Model trying to explain the consumer behaviour by creating a link between the organisation and its prospective consumers by suggesting that firstly a massage from the organisation influences the inclination of the consumer towards the product or service that the organisation offers. Depending on the situation the consumer will create a certain attitude towards the product or service. Consequently “the possible transformation of this attitude into a motivation, the possible conversion of this motivation into an act of purchase and back to the consumer’ predisposition and back to the organisation” (Nicosia, 1966). The Nicosia model is illustrated in four different stages that groups the above process. The first stage is formed of two sub stages illustrating the relation created between organisation and consumer. Where field one consists of the output of an advertising message and field two represents the same message in the form of the input for the consumer once he received the message. Upon receiving the consumer will form a certain attitude. The latter will serve as an input for stage two which “represents the search for an evaluation of the offered product and existing alternatives.”(Naik, C. N. K., and Reddy L. V., 1999) Stage three of the process represent the actual decision or act of purchase, leading to the four stage that can be used as a feedback to the organisation and the retention of post purchase experience by the buyer which will create a positive or negative effect from the product influencing the predisposition of the consumer. Figure 3 illustrates the Nicosia Model.

Figure 3: Nicosia Model of Consumer Buying Behaviour

(Nicosia, F., 1966)
According to Jones, Shaw, & McClean, (2009) Nicosia Model is credited as the first comprehensive model of consumer buying behaviour. However, “there is little empirical work to support the model, whereas there is much empirical work to suggest that relationships depicted in the model are not in fact valid “(Tuck, 1976). Further limitation of the model can be found in the research conducted by Milner, T. & Rosenstreich, D. (2013) where the authors stated that the model depict the marketers perspective instead of the consumers one. Hence the marketers’ perspective will not take into account the personal beliefs of the consumer whom may perceive the message in a favourable way and this may lead to positive evaluation but due to his own personal beliefs or beliefs related with his social class or reference group may stop him from making positive purchasing decision. Therefore, the model suggested by Nicosia is not suitable for the needs of a multicultural society.
Consequently the author will discuss in details the Stimulus-Response/Black Box consumer behaviour model. According to Sandhunsen, (2008) the Black Box Model shows how different stimuli, consumer characteristics and decision processes interact in extracting consumer responses. Suggested by Kotler (2000) this model provide a very basic view of the consumer behaviour by categorising all variables. See Figure 4: Black Box Model of consumer behaviour.
Figure 4: Black Box Model of Consumer Behaviour
(Kotler, 2000)
As evident from the illustration the model consisting of three stages where the first stage is the stimuli that produce certain choice/response from the consumer by entering into buyer’s “black box”. Consequently in the second stage the inputs created by the set of stimuli are turned into observable buyers responses which are represented in the third stage. It is imperative to note that the individual buyer’s characteristics impact the perception and the reaction to the applied stimuli differently. Therefore, the consumer decision process will be affected by those individual characteristics. Hence, the simplicity of this model does not provide the necessary information in regard to a multicultural society. Furthermore, Kotler and Kellar (2011) stated that “different ethnic and demographic niches did not always respond favourably to the same stimuli” largely used in the mass-marketing adopted by the fashion high street retailers.
As evident form the analysis of the two models none of them provide an alternative for addressing a multicultural target of customers. Furthermore, the other existing models of consumer behaviour such as McCarthy, Perreault, and Quester Model (1997), Howard and Sheth Model (1969) and Engel, Kollat, and Blackwell Model (1968) although more complex in nature face the same criticism for too linear approach (Milner, T. & Rosenstreich, D., 2013). The author argues that such a linear approach is not suitable for today’s contemporary fashion retail. Furthermore, marketing strategy adopting one of the above models is likely to send wrong message expressed via their shop design.
Conclusion
The above literature review present a comprehensive analysis of three major topics by providing the reader with an overview of the development of the retail marketing within the boundaries of the researched area. Consequently, the development of the visual merchandising was analysed with an emphasis on the effects on consumer buying decision. Furthermore, the consumer behaviour was defined and major models discussed. In the analysing process the author tried to establish the existence of a comprehensive consumer behaviour model that can be adapted to address the need of the contemporary fashion retailer to attract equally members of a multicultural cluster of customers with different ethnic origin with the use of visual merchandising techniques which is largely exploited tool by the high street outlets. Based on the findings of this literature review the author argues that such a model cannot be found in the existing consumer behaviour models due to their linear approach which does not allow the necessary flexibility when addressing cultural and ethnic differences. Furthermore, the researcher is confident that this findings representing a gap in the contemporary retail marketing and will further develop this topic by gathering primary and secondary data from a flagship store of a brand that is representative of contemporary fast fashion retailer, by using the theoretical framework established in the literature review the researcher will compliment his findings by analysing the collected data and providing sound conclusion with further recommendations.

Chapter 2: Research Methodology

In the following chapter the researcher will discuss the chosen approach to collect primary and secondary data that will provide further evidence in favour of the identified gap discussed in the Literature Review. According to Crotty, (1998) the choice of method to collect data should be explained to the reader in order to provide a reliability of the results. Therefore, the author will explain in details his philosophical position and approach towards collecting data, followed by methodological choice, strategies and specific techniques and procedures of collecting data related with the chosen methodology. Furthermore the author will address the ethical and resources issues which may arise during the process of collecting data and consequently impose a number of limitations to the research as a whole. Consequently the researcher will summarise the information in order to provide a sound understanding of the process for the reader which will create a strong foundation for the following data analysis.
Philosophical position
According to Saunders at al. (2012) a pragmatist researcher is usually driven by the research question, the research context and the likely research consequences. Furthermore, the pragmatists value both quantitative and qualitative research. Considering the researcher’s choice of data collection method consisting of primary and secondary data sources is evident that the pragmatism philosophical position can be adopted for this research.
Research Approach
“Deductive reasoning occurs when the conclusion is derived logically from a set of premises, the conclusion being true when all the premises are true” (Ketokivi and Mantere, 2010). Therefore, if the research start with establishing a theoretical framework and consequently this theory is tested the research approach will be deductive. This approach generalising from the general to the specific and the data collection is used to evaluate the proposition generated from the theoretical framework. However, during the design of the literature review the author decided that for the purposes of the literature review a certain amount of primary data will be necessary in order to identify the models of consumer behaviour which are relevant for this research. Therefore, the approach changed from deductive to abduction, where according to Saunders at al. (2012) “data collection is used to explore a phenomenon, identify themes and patterns, locate this in a conceptual framework and tes this through subsequent data collection.”
Methodological choice and strategy.
A mixed method sequential explanatory research design will be used by gathering and analysing quantitative and qualitative data. “In this method the researcher will follow the use of one method with another in order to expand or elaborate on the initial set of findings.”(Saunders at al., 2012). The suggested by Yin (2009) strategy which allow to the researcher to use a mixed research design and at the same time is aligned with the researcher current choice of organisation is the holistic case study strategy. The research in this case is concentrated solely on one organisation and on one department/function within this organisation, which ideally correspond with the author’s case where the research is focused only on the flagship store of the company and the research question is concentrated only into the retail marketing function where the identified gap is located. This strategy often use the mixed sequential explanatory research design, which eliminate the biases of the researcher by establishing a higher credibility of the research by combining data to ascertain the findings of the one method confirms the findings of the other and/or compliment themselves. * Quantitative – sales figures for the period of 4 weeks. This represents approximately 2 visual merchandising cycles in Armani Exchange Regent Street; Participative Observation which will establish: the changes of the display in the shop floor (movement of the different categories of garments); the number of customers visiting the shop per day; the number of customers purchased items influenced directly by the visual merchandising effort; percentage of customers with different ethnic background. * Qualitative- in the form of semi-structured/ in-depth interviews from the members of the management team at Armani Exchange Regent Street.
This method will allow sequential analysis and triangulation of the data, which will limit the possibility of misinterpretation of data. Therefore the results will have validity and reliability for the reader.
Data Collection
The population for this research is strictly limited to the management team of Armani Exchange Regent Street consisting of 8 people defined as persons with management roles aged between 25–50 years old. This group represents the most likely decision makers in terms of visual merchandising. Therefore their opinion is essential for the purposes of this survey.
A non-probability purposive, homogeneous sampling technique will be used, as this technique is useful for in-depth focused researches, have a low cost and specifies the selection criteria.(Saunders at al.,2012) The disadvantage is related with the low likelihood the sample being representative. However, considering that the research is limited only to the flagship store of the brand this sampling technique seems appropriate. Furthermore, the use of mixed method sequential explanatory methodology will secure the appropriate level of reliability and validity by triangulating the secondary with the primary data.
As mentioned above the survey will be conducted in the forms of semi structured interviews with 3 members of the management team. Each interview will be consistent of 10 questions plus a follow up questions if required. Interview timing will be approximately 40 to 60 minutes. The interview will take place at the beginning of June or the middle of the month depending on the availability of the members of the management team.

Time Horizon of the research.
The time horizon of the research can be defined as cross-sectional as the research question is focusing on the current state of the flagship store of the researched organisation and it does not take into account historical data or future forecasts.
Ethics
The research will be conducted according to the established ethical norms. All participants will be informed and asked for their participation of the research. No financial incentives will be distributed. All the information will be used only for the purposes of this survey and it will not be shared with third parties, excluding David Game College members of staff and external verifiers from other academic institutions or establishments. See Appendix B for Code of Conduct for Research at David Game College. Furthermore for the purposes of this research a classification of ethnic origin will be introduced. However, this classification will be used only to establish the different groups and their perception without referring to any discriminatory statements or other acts of ethnical discrimination. The researcher and the David Game College will not be responsible for any discrimination statements made by the interviewees during their interviews as the Code of Conduct does not allow any changes of the transcript of the interviews. The classification can be found below:
Figure 5: Classification of Ethnic Groups Used for the Purposes of this Research * Asian - including Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese. * Arabic – Includes OAE, Countries from the Middle East. * Latin and Mediterranean- Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Latin America. * Caucasian – Any White background. * Blacks – Any with Black background. Includes Africans, Caribbean, etc.

* Asian - including Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese. * Arabic – Includes OAE, Countries from the Middle East. * Latin and Mediterranean- Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Latin America. * Caucasian – Any White background. * Blacks – Any with Black background. Includes Africans, Caribbean, etc.

* Asian - including Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese. * Arabic – Includes OAE, Countries from the Middle East. * Latin and Mediterranean- Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Latin America. * Caucasian – Any White background. * Blacks – Any with Black background. Includes Africans, Caribbean, etc.

Resources and Limitation
The financial resources necessary for the research will be provided solely by the researcher. All the expenses related with the research, such as printing scanning, traveling, etc. will be covered by the researcher. The data collection process will be executed by the researcher as well and there is no other participants involved. The time frame for the research is authorised by the David Game College administration and should be strictly followed, no late submission are allowed without adequate reason. A Gant Chart can be found in Appendix C with detailed schedule of the research. Furthermore, additional resources such as specialised transcript software will not be used. The technical equipment used during the research is a property of the researcher and therefore is not accounted as additional cost. Overall the research is limited to 20 weeks with a very tight budget. Hence a number of limitation are imposed due to those restrictions: * The research is limited to the flagship store of the brand and does not include the other outlets of the brand. Therefore will not be valid for them. * The research is for the Armani Exchange brand only and will not take into consideration other brands, except for comparison purposes. Therefore the research will not be valid for other brand stores operating in the area in question. * The research is concerned with the effect of the visual merchandising only. Other marketing tools such as shop music, promotional events, online shopping, and social media advertisement will not be subject of this research. * The perception of the management team regarding the buyers’ behaviour will be taken into account, not the customers’ opinion on the subject. Therefore a customer survey is excluded from this research. * The sales figures will be as recent as possible but due to the limitation of the access this information will be only from the period when the survey is executed. Historical data for previous periods and forecasts for future periods are not included in this survey. * The recommendations provided will be valid only for the flagship store of the brand and may not be relative for the others outlets of the company. * Due to the above limitations the author will based part of his finding on assumptions explained further in the findings section. Conclusion
The latter chapter illustrated in detail the chosen by the author research methodology and the reasons behind this choice. Further the researcher defined the links between the chosen methodology and the research questions with an emphasis on the gap identified in the literature review. Consequently upon successful collection of the data following the identified techniques and procedures the author will explain the process of analysing the gathered data. Furthermore, the actual analysis will provide sufficient material for informed discussion of the results which will lead to conclusion of the findings and further recommendations and eventual areas of improvement.

Chapter 3: Data Analysis

The former chapter identified the procedures and techniques that were used to collect the necessary data for the research. Consequently the researcher successfully collected the data and in this chapter the different techniques and procedures of analysing data will be discussed. The latter procedures and techniques should provide evidence that the secondary data collected is numerical and will be used to examine the trends identified in the literature review and meet the objectives of the research. The initial analysis of secondary data will use tables and line graphs to show the trends identified previously. Furthermore, the researcher will illustrate his findings on specially designed shop floor map which will provide a better understanding for the reader. Successively, the primary data will be prepared for analysis by transcribing the interviews including the non-verbal observation executed by the researcher during the interviews. Consequently the researcher will analyse the data using a deductive perspective by predicting a pattern of outcomes based on the hypothesis identified in the literature review. Hence, the analysed primary and secondary data will provide results which will be further discussed in the next chapter.
Secondary Data
The secondary data for this research is consisting of sales figures for two periods which represents two changes of the visual merchandising cycle in the Armani Exchange flagship store and a participative observation conducted during those two periods. The first period for which sales figures are available start on 17th of May 2015 when the visual merchandising team at Armani Exchange relocate the garments throughout the store. The first observation took place at the same day. The visual merchandising cycle finished on 30st of May 2015 when a second relocation of the garments took place on 31st of May 2015. Hence the second observation was conducted on 31st of May 2015. The collected data in the form of sales figures plus the numerical data from the observation logs will allow to the researcher to explore the trend identified in the literature review. The use of numerical data, according to Saunders at al. (2012) provide more categorical and precise information. Furthermore, the numerical data will be subdivided in to discrete data which will simplify the process of comparing the figures from the two periods. The sales figures will be represented in a table format. See below: Sales Figures Armani Exchange Regent Street.

Table 2: Sales Figures Armani Exchange Regent Street (17th of May - 13th of June, 2015)

PERIOD 1: FROM 17TH OF MAY TO 30TH OF MAY 2015 CATEGORY | PRODUCT GROUP | QUANTITY | GROSS SALES £ | LADIES | BAGS& SML LTHR GOODS | 154 | 13757.00 | | DRESSES | 170 | 27200.00 | | JACKETS& OUTERWEAR | 70 | 7880.00 | | TOPS | 139 | 11815.00 | | TROUSERS | 135 | 16200.00 | | T-SHIRTS | 238 | 11781.00 | | Total | 906 | 88633.00 | MENS | ACTIVEWEAR | 126 | 15120.00 | | JACKETS | 95 | 12728.50 | | JEANS&TROUSERS | 367 | 37902.00 | | OUTERWEAR | 57 | 4966.00 | | POLOS&T-SHIRTS | 541 | 27909.50 | | SML LTHR GOODS | 49 | 1967.00 | | Total | 1235 | 100593.00 |

PERIOD 2: FROM 31ST OF MAY TO 13TH OF JUNE 2015 CATEGORY | PRODUCT GROUP | QUANTITY | GROSS SALES £ | LADIES | BAGS&SML LTHR GOODS | 173 | 16302.14 | | DRESSES | 195 | 31200.00 | | JACKETS&OUTERWEAR | 106 | 12460.00 | | TOPS | 110 | 9350.00 | | TROUSERS | 162 | 19440.00 | | T-SHIRTS | 187 | 9256.50 | | Total | 933 | 98008.64 | MENS | ACTIVEWEAR | 137 | 16440.00 | | JACKETS | 52 | 13000.00 | | JEANS&TROUSERS | 392 | 38395.00 | | OUTERWEAR | 52 | 4647.00 | | POLOS&T-SHIRTS | 708 | 38162.00 | | SML LTHR GOODS | 51 | 2014.50 | | Total | 1392 | 112658.50 |

The data represented in the above tables will be used to determine the connection between the different position of the garments on the shop floor and their sales levels for the periods in question. The comparison will be made using index numbers, which according to Saunders at al.,(2012) although related with complex calculations is a well-known way of compare change over time against a base period. Once the index number calculation are executed the researcher will be able to determine the changes of the sales levels for the periods in question. Consequently, the data from the Observation Log, related with the position of the items will be used together with the calculated data from the sales figures to establish the levels of exposure to visual merchandising techniques. The data from the Observation Log is represented in table (see below)
Table 3: Observation Log Table Represent the Movement of Garments on the Shop Floor for the Periods Identified.
PERIOD 1: 17TH MAY – 30TH MAY 2015 PERIOD 2: 31ST MAY – 13TH JUNE 2015
PERIOD 1: 17TH MAY – 30TH MAY 2015 PERIOD 2: 31ST MAY – 13TH JUNE 2015

Category | Product Group | Previous Position | New Position | Category | Product Group | Previous Position | New Position | Ladies | Bags, small leather goods, accessories | ST | ST | Ladies | Bags, small leather goods, accessories | ST | SF | | Dresses | BS | SF | | Dresses | SF | SF | | Jackets | SF | ST | | Jackets | ST | SF | | Tops | BS | SF | | Tops | SF | BS | | Trousers/jeans | SF | BS | | Trousers/jeans | BS | ST | | T-shirts | BS | BS | | T-shirts | BS | ST | | | | | | | | | Mens | Active wear | BS | SF | Mens | Active wear | SF | SF | | Jackets | ST | ST | | Jackets | ST | BS | | Jeans and trousers | SF | BS | | Jeans and trousers | BS | SF | | Outer wear | SF | BS | | Outer wear | BS | ST | | Polos and T-shirts | BS | SF | | Polos and T-shirts | SF | SF | | Small leather goods and accessories | ST | ST | | Small leather goods and accessories | ST | ST | The shop floor at Armani Exchange Regent Street is divided into three main categories. Windows and shop front- SF, stage and tills- ST, back of the shop and fitting rooms- BS.
The combined information from the changes of the sales figures and the position of the garments on the shop floor during the two periods in question will provide the necessary information to determine the levels of exposure throughout the shop. A specially designed map will illustrate the levels of exposure using grading as follow: * Highest exposure; * Moderate exposure; * Low exposure;
In order to illustrate the overlapping of the zones of exposure the author will use different colours representing the different levels.
Furthermore, the researcher will use the combined information to determine to what extent the visual merchandising is affecting the consumer buying behaviour in Armani Exchange Regent Street. Consequently, to confirm the reliability of the above information the author will use information from the Observation Log gathered from the cashier positions at Armani Exchange where for each sales entered a sales assistant name should be recorded. If a sale assistant is not recorded the sales is automatically counted as management sales. As mention in the limitation section of the data collection chapter the author assumes that each sale for which there is no sales assistant name is influenced directly by the visual merchandising effort. A pie chart will represent the percentage of customers influenced positively by the visual merchandising effort against the total number of customers visited the shop for the date of the observation. The total number of customers visiting the shop can be found in the Observation Log Sheets in Appendix D.
Consequently the researcher will use the number of positively influenced customer to establish a proportion that will determine to what extent the different ethnic groups are influenced by the visual merchandising effort. The author will assume that the total number of positively influenced customers can be used to correspond to the numbers of customers from different ethnic group that visited the shop on the day of the observation. This information will represent the percentages of positively influenced member of different ethnic groups. The information will be presented using a Pie Chart for better illustration.
Hence, after summarising and analysing the above information the author will have sufficient amount of data to confirm the established in the literature review hypothesis. In order to cross check the conclusion the researcher will use the qualitative data from the interviews conducted with the members of the management team in Armani Exchange Regent Street.
Primary Data
The primary data for this research is consisting of three interviews conducted immediately after the end of the second visual merchandising cycle in Armani Exchange that covers the period 31st of May 2015 to 13th of June 2015. The interviews took place in the following week. A short summary of each interview can be found below.
Figure 6: Summary Interview 1
The interviewee discussed the influence of the Visual Merchandising on consumers buying behaviour. With a very strong emphasis of the importance of Visual Merchandising for today’ brick and mortar retail. Furthermore, the participant discussed a number of details and insights related with the visual merchandising strategy of the shop and also give example for certain techniques used by the Visual Merchandising team in order to better influence the consumer experience, which eventually will lead to a positive purchasing decision. When asked question related with the different ethnic groups and their differences the interviewee stated that sales are not part of her role in the shop. Therefore, her answers are based on assumptions. However, the participant mention that in her own opinion certain ethnic groups, defined by the researcher in the informal exploratory interview conducted prior to the formal self – administered questionnaire, are more likely to be influenced by certain element of the Visual Merchandising strategy adopted by the shop. Consequently the interviewee answered questions related with the future of the Visual Merchandising, where she expressed a strong believe that the Visual Merchandising is “the way forward in retail”

The interviewee discussed the influence of the Visual Merchandising on consumers buying behaviour. With a very strong emphasis of the importance of Visual Merchandising for today’ brick and mortar retail. Furthermore, the participant discussed a number of details and insights related with the visual merchandising strategy of the shop and also give example for certain techniques used by the Visual Merchandising team in order to better influence the consumer experience, which eventually will lead to a positive purchasing decision. When asked question related with the different ethnic groups and their differences the interviewee stated that sales are not part of her role in the shop. Therefore, her answers are based on assumptions. However, the participant mention that in her own opinion certain ethnic groups, defined by the researcher in the informal exploratory interview conducted prior to the formal self – administered questionnaire, are more likely to be influenced by certain element of the Visual Merchandising strategy adopted by the shop. Consequently the interviewee answered questions related with the future of the Visual Merchandising, where she expressed a strong believe that the Visual Merchandising is “the way forward in retail”

It is imperative to note that this interview was conducted in the form of Self-Administered questionnaire with an open ended question. Due to the unwillingness of the interviewee to be recorded. A number of follow up questions were required due to the above reason.

The participant show confidence from the beginning of the interview. While discussing the importance of the Visual Merchandising the interviewee provide essential information in terms of sales figures and percentages for certain items. Furthermore, the participant strongly emphasised the importance of the shop windows and mannequins, while making a short analysis of the shopping behaviour of different ethnic groups. Consequently the questions relate with the current state and future of the Visual Merchandising in A/X were answered with a bit of uncertainty, probably due to the fact that the interviewee role in the shop is not specifically related with the Visual Merchandising strategy. However, the participant provide his own opinion stating that the Visual Merchandising is important and there is a constant need of improvement in order to create an “attractive and strong display”. Furthermore, the interviewee stated that in a highly competitive retail environment the Visual Merchandising is a valuable tool that can help for the success of the outlet and the brand.
The participant show confidence from the beginning of the interview. While discussing the importance of the Visual Merchandising the interviewee provide essential information in terms of sales figures and percentages for certain items. Furthermore, the participant strongly emphasised the importance of the shop windows and mannequins, while making a short analysis of the shopping behaviour of different ethnic groups. Consequently the questions relate with the current state and future of the Visual Merchandising in A/X were answered with a bit of uncertainty, probably due to the fact that the interviewee role in the shop is not specifically related with the Visual Merchandising strategy. However, the participant provide his own opinion stating that the Visual Merchandising is important and there is a constant need of improvement in order to create an “attractive and strong display”. Furthermore, the interviewee stated that in a highly competitive retail environment the Visual Merchandising is a valuable tool that can help for the success of the outlet and the brand.
Figure 7: Summary Interview 2

The interviewee show professionalism and confidence while answering the questions. It was evident that the participant have a lot of experience in management of a retail fashion outlet. Answers provided a valuable insights of the activities related with the Visual Merchandising. Furthermore, information about the different shopping patterns of the customers was discussed and the different elements of the Visual Merchandising illustrated. The interviewee expressed his own opinion on a number of issues related with the contemporary fashion retail. Consequently questions related with the future of Visual Merchandising was answered with confidence and strong believe that the Visual Merchandising is a fundamental part of today’s fashion retail.
The interviewee show professionalism and confidence while answering the questions. It was evident that the participant have a lot of experience in management of a retail fashion outlet. Answers provided a valuable insights of the activities related with the Visual Merchandising. Furthermore, information about the different shopping patterns of the customers was discussed and the different elements of the Visual Merchandising illustrated. The interviewee expressed his own opinion on a number of issues related with the contemporary fashion retail. Consequently questions related with the future of Visual Merchandising was answered with confidence and strong believe that the Visual Merchandising is a fundamental part of today’s fashion retail.
Figure 8: Summary Interview 3

A full transcript of the interviews with a non-verbal explanation notes can be found in Appendixes E; F; G. Consequently the data from the interviews will be categorised and reorganised according to the categories which will be derived from the literature review and the research questions. Furthermore some of the questions in the interview were specially designed to seek an exact figure which will allow the author to quantify some of the primary data by creating pie charts illustrating the figures mentioned in the interview process. Hence, increasing the validity and the reliability of the secondary data by complimenting the existing findings. Furthermore, the author will design a table with the identified categories and the patterns found in the interview answers. Therefore, a visual representation of the relationship between categories will be created. According to Saunders at al. (2012) this is will allow a test of the hypothesis derived from the literature review. Consequently the researcher will follow explanation building pattern- matching procedure to analyse the categorised data. According to Yin (2009) this explanation- building procedure use the following stages: * Create a theoretical based proposition(literature review) which, consequently, will be tested; * Initiate data collection through initial case study (Armani Exchange flagship store) in order to be able to compare the findings with the theoretical proposition derived from the literature review; * Apply amendments of the theoretical proposition if necessary. Part of the literature review was created after the interviews in order to adapt the proposition to the specific case study; * A further round of data collection (the observation conducted by the researcher) to compare the findings of the revised theoretical proposition; * Repeat the process until a satisfactory explanation is reached.
It is imperative to note that due to the existing limitations in terms of time and resources the researcher will not be able to conduct an additional round of data collection. Therefore will rely only on the data already collected. Hence, a recommendation for a further research may be consequently included in this paper.
Conclusion
The former chapter discussed the procedures and approaches that the researcher will use to analyse the collected data. The author will apply the logical and chronological sequence of collecting the data into the data analysis. Hence, in the following chapter the secondary data will be analysed and discussed first, following by the analysis and discussion of the primary data. Consequently the results will be presented and discussed simultaneously in the light of the hypothesis derived from the literature review. This approach will allow to the reader to easily understand the core purpose of the research and the findings reached.

Chapter 4: Findings The following chapter will visually represent the results from the data collected. Starting with the secondary data results followed by the primary data results. A number of visual tools such as tables and graphs will be used in order to present the facts in easy to understand manner. Consequently the author will reflect on the findings by presenting his interpretation of the results and linking the results with the hypothesis and the research question. Furthermore, the researcher will consider the implication of the theories discussed in the literature review with an emphasis on the gap identified. Successively, the author will summarise the facts and his interpretation which will provide enough information for forming a feasible recommendations in the following chapter. Secondary Data Findings
Initially the author will present the secondary data consisting of sales figures in number of garments sold for the periods: 17th of May – 30th of May 2015 and 31st of May – 13th of June 2015 and garments position information for the same periods extracted from the observation log (See Appendix D for full Observation Log Sheet). The combined data will represent the connection between the different positions of the garments on the shop floor and their sales levels for the periods mentioned above. Thus, the author will be able to determine the levels of exposure to visual merchandising effort throughout the shop. The comparison between the two periods will be made by the use of index numbers where the change in the sales levels in the second period will be compared to a base level which will be represented by the first period. According to Saunders at al. (2012) the base period is usually given the value of 100. Therefore, the first period will be given the value of 100. Thus, value above hundred in the second period will represent increase against the base period. Hence the value below 100 will represent decrease. See Table: COMBINED TABLE REPRESENTING SALES FIGURES AND GARMENTS POSITONS ON THE SHOP FLOOR WITH INDEX NUMBERS. Furthermore, the table includes information regarding the garments positions in the shop floor during the periods in question. The combined information will be presented in the in- line Chart visualising the changes described above.

Table 4: Combined Table Sales Figures and Garments Positions on the Shop Floor (index numbers)
Legend:
SF - Shop front and windows; ST - Stage and tills
BS – Back of shop and fitting rooms;
Base period - 17th of May to 30th of May
Index period2 – 31st of May to 13th of June
102.98 – Value above base period

Legend:
SF - Shop front and windows; ST - Stage and tills
BS – Back of shop and fitting rooms;
Base period - 17th of May to 30th of May
Index period2 – 31st of May to 13th of June
102.98 – Value above base period

From the Table above is evident that all garments positioned in the shop front and windows are with value bigger than 100 which represents an increase against the base period. Furthermore, all the items positioned in the back of the shop are below the value of 100 which is an evidence for a decrease against the base period. Hence, the front of the shop and the window display are with the higher exposure than the back of the shop. Further, the figures for the stage and tills area are divided equally with two positions higher than 100 and two positions lower than 100, it is also imperative to note that the higher value for the garment placed at the stage and tills section (ladies trousers and jeans) is 120, this compared with the highest value of 151.42 for item placed in the shop front and window section (ladies jackets and outerwear) represent the moderate level of exposure achieved in the stage and tills section. Consequently, a comparison between the back of the shop and fitting room area and the stage and tills section shows similar results. Therefore, the author can conclude that the levels of exposure are as follow: * Highest exposure – shop front and windows area; * Moderate exposure – stage and tills area; * Low exposure – back of shop and fitting room area. However, it is imperative to note that there is a very small difference between ladies tops garments positioned at the back of the shop area (79.13) and the ladies t-shirts items positioned at the stage and till section at 78.57. Hence, there is overlapping between the different positions. The information of the above table is visually represented in the Line chart Sales figures for garment positions against base period (below)
Figure 9: Line Chart Sales Figures for Garments Positions against Base Period

The chart above clearly visualise the finding discussed above. Furthermore, analysing the chart the researcher identified 10 position that are above the 100 value mark. In addition it is evident that the positive trend is evident throughout the different types of products offered in the shop. The above figures will be used from the author for the creation of a specially designed map which will illustrate the levels of exposure spread out throughout the real layout of the shop, this will allow the reader to imagine the real environment in which the research is focused.
Figure 10: Levels of Exposure Shop Floor Map
Street
Street
Entrance
Entrance
Signage display
Signage display

Street
Street

Staff lift
Staff lift Tills
Tills

Fitting rooms
Fitting rooms Accessories display Stage and Tills Back of Shop Stage

Stage

Front of Shop and Windows

Map Legend: The Above Map is designed to visually represent the levels * High Level of Exposure of exposure throughout the flagship store of Armani * Moderate Level of Exposure Exchange situated on 244 Regent Street London. * Low level of Exposure - Mannequins Consequently the researcher will attempt to confirm the established positive influence of the visual merchandising by analysing secondary data extracted from the observation logs for the two periods in question. The data is consisting of the number of customers visited the shop for the day of the observation, and the number of customers positively influenced by the visual merchandising effort. The latter figure is based on the assumption that every sale registered on the tills without a sale assistant performing the sale is considerate directly influenced by the visual merchandising effort. Two observations were conducted during the period of the research. First one took place on 17th of May 2015 when 1347 people visited the shop. The cashier position software showed that 380 sales were performed without a sales assistant code attached to them. Therefore, based on the assumption discussed above 380 customers were positively influenced by the visual merchandising effort and purchased an item based on this influence. The second observation took place on 31st of May were 1673 customers visited the shop from which 533 sales were performed without a sale assistant involvement. Hence, directly influenced by the visual merchandising effort. The data will be represented in the table format and visualised using a pie chart. See Figure: Number of Customers positively influenced by the VM (Visual Merchandising) effort.
Figure 11: Numbers of Customers Positively Influenced by the VM (Visual Merchandising) effort.

Based on the figures presented in the table and the pie charts it is evident that the visual merchandising effort directly influencing approximately one third of the customers that visited the shop and purchased a product. The similar figures from the two periods shows that the percentage of influenced customer is constant instead of being one off event. Hence, the positive trend identified in the previous findings is confirmed with the above figures.
The consequent area of analysis will focus on the different ethnic groups visiting the shop and to what extent the identified visual merchandising influence is affecting different ethnic groups. For the purposes of this research the author will assume that the percentage of positively influenced customers calculated above can be distributed among the numbers of the different ethnic groups visited the shop during the observation periods. The data will be presented in a table format and visualised via a pie chart.

Figure 12: Distribution of Positively Influenced Customers for Observation Period 1 (17th of May - 30th of May, 2015)

The distribution number is calculated by dividing the number of positively influenced customers for observation period one to the total number of customers for the same period. Consequently the distribution number is multiplied by the number of customers of each ethnic group. The result of 379.854 can be rounded up to 380 which is the number of positively influenced customers for period one. Consequently, the results are transferred to a pie chart which calculate and visualise the percentage for each ethnic group. As evident from the pie chart the biggest percentage positively influenced customers are the Caucasian ethnic group. However, considering that this is the biggest group represented in the UK this result is predictable. Furthermore, the purpose of this analysis is to calculated and represent to what extent the perception of the different ethnic groups influences their purchasing decisions. As evident from the table the different ethnic groups are influenced to a different level by the visual merchandising effort. The data for the second period of observation is confirming the results from the first observation.

Figure 13: Distribution of Positively Influenced Customers for Observation Period 2 (31th of May - 13th of June, 2015)

The same method of calculation is used for the second period of observation. Overall the same trend can be observed in the second period as well. However, is imperative to note that in the second period the Latin and Mediterranean group have the same score as the Arabic ethnic group where in the first period there is a difference of eight percent between the two groups. The trend between the rests of the ethnic groups is similar to the results of the first period of observation. A small fluctuation can be noticed in the percentages of the Blacks and Caucasians ethnic groups where more representatives of the Blacks ethnic group were influenced in the second period of observation. Overall with some fluctuations between the groups it is evident that different ethnic groups perceive the visual merchandising effort differently. However, comparison of the two periods shows that the results are relatively similar which according to the author does not provide the necessary level of validity and reliability of the results in order to announce them as conclusive. Hence, a further research is required in order to establish an existing pattern in the behaviour of the different ethnic groups. Following the same structure of observation but with a higher number of shops concentrated in a similar location and with longer observation period should provide sufficient amount of data which consequently can be used to establish the existing trend. Therefore the gathered data from this research, although insufficient can be used as base for further similar research.
The analysis of the secondary data provided a number of valuable results that further will be used in the following analysis of primary data. The trends and patterns identified so far will be further confirmed by the qualitative data that will be extracted from the interviews. Furthermore, in the process of categorising the primary data the researcher will take into consideration the patterns and trends identified in the above analysis.

Primary Data Findings
The primary data for this research is consisting of three interviews with members of the management team at Armani Exchange Flagship store in UK. The data from the interviews will be categorised taking into consideration the established trends and findings from the literature review and the analysis of the secondary data. The questions designed to gain a figure as answer will be visualised via in-line chart.
The author derived a mixture of concept and data driven categories which will be individually presented. For each category the author will attach short parts of the transcripts from each interview.

Table 5: Categorisation of the Primary Data (Interviews with the Members of the Management Team) Category | Units of data from the interviews | Importance of the visual merchandising | SVMAXRS : “extremely important” SFMAXRS : “very important” SMAXRS : “crucial for the high street retailers” | function of the visual merchandising | SVMAXRS : “maximizes the aesthetics of a product with the intent to increase the sales” SFMAXRS : “attractive and appealing window display, which will increase the footfall of the shop” SMAXRS : “the most attractive and appealing display is likely to attract the highest number of customers, which will generate highest number of sales” | Diversity of customers | SVMAXRS : “wider range of customers” SFMAXRS : “many tourists visit Armani Exchange” SMAXRS : “addressing the needs of a very different customers” | Influence on different ethnic groups | SVMAXRS : “Asian customers are highly influenced…, also certain customer with Black background…” SFMAXRS : “Black customers are most influenced by the Visual Merchandising” SMAXRS : “Arab and Indian customers love and tend to buy products with sparkling and glittering patterns. Black customers are very keen on bright colours and active wear. Male Asians love the large logo products. At the same time Asian ladies are attracted by the dresses displayed on the window but the same is true for Caucasian female customers as well” | Value from the visual merchandising effort | SVMAXRS:”I always found visual merchandising useful it really helps customers”SFMAXRS: “one of the most important tools for the success of the outlet”SMAXRS: “we are managing to generate a good amount of sales based on the story created by the visual merchandising team” | Perception | SVMAXRS: “varies from person to person. Some customers are very demanding, others seek for clothes that they can personalise and make their own”SFMAXRS: “certain customers wants exactly the same outfit as the one that the VM putted on the mannequins… a number of customers did not notice certain products until they are hanged in the front of the store”SMAXRS: “ Unfortunately is not possible to create a story equally appealing for all the customers” | Exposure | SVMAXRS: “Actually the window display is the most important part of the visual merchandising effort”SFMAXRS: “All retail shops using their window to attract customers”SMAXRS: “ In the fashion retail one of the most important things is to present your product” |

The derived categories confirm the finding from the secondary data analysis. Furthermore, question four from the interview questions (In your opinion how many sales are generated on the shop floor directly from visual merchandising?) was designed to seek a quantifiable answer. The author will combine the answers of all the participants with the calculated percentage of directly influenced by the visual merchandising effort customers available from the observation logs. The combined information will be illustrated in Line Chart with a trend line which provide an average percent of customers influenced by the visual merchandising effort.
Figure 14: Percentage of Directly Positively Influenced by the VM effort customers (Combined Primary and Secondary Sources of Data)
The table represent the different sources of information where the first three entities in the data source column are the codes for the interviewees. The figures in the next column are the answers provided by the participants in the interviews. Observation 1 and 2 in the data source column are the previously calculated percentages based on the secondary data collected during the observation periods. The Average section in the same column represents the average percentage from all of the above figures. Hence, the line chart includes all of the above figures plus a trend line which as evident from the chart is at 34% and represents the percent of positively influenced by the visual merchandising effort customers according to primary and secondary sources.
Conclusion
The former chapter outlined the results derived from the collected secondary and primary sources of data which the author consider appropriate for this research. The findings were presented in tables and charts in order to emphasise the importance of the results and provide a better understanding for the reader. Furthermore, a detailed explanation of the processes and methodology of calculating was provided for each type of data analysed. Consequently, in the following chapter the researcher will reflect in details on the above finding with an emphasis on the research question which eventually will lead to a confirmation of the established in the literature review hypothesis.

Chapter 5: Discussion

Thus far the author established the importance of the visual merchandising for the contemporary brick and mortal retail by analysing the existing literature in the area of retail marketing and calculating the positive effects of the visual merchandising effort by using the available from the secondary data sources sales figures. Furthermore, the researcher argues that although the visual merchandising is extremely important for today’s high street retail the literature in the area did not provide a detailed theoretical explanation of the relation between the visual merchandising and the consumer behaviour in a multicultural environment. Moreover, the analysed models of consumer behaviour did not provide a method to address a multicultural cluster of customers. Consequently, the data collected from the outlet of the researched organisation was analysed in attempt to test this hypothesis. The derived results are summarised below: * On average one third of the customers purchasing items in the researched shop was positively influenced by the visual merchandising effort; * The highest level of exposure to the visual merchandising effort are concentrated in the front of the shop and the shop windows; * The distribution of the positively influenced customers by ethnic group shows that although there is a little fluctuation between the two observation periods there is a clear evidence that the different ethnic groups are differently influenced by the visual merchandising effort; * The primary qualitative data collected confirmed to some extent the above results. Therefore, in this chapter the author will confirm his hypothesis by interpreting the results derived from the data collected.
The literature review established a significant gap in the contemporary theory behind the consumer behaviour models and their practicality in today’s high street retail. Furthermore, the author argues that the visual merchandising strategies used by the researched organisation can be a lot more effective if the gap identified is taken into consideration. The results from the sales figures and the footfall observation showed that the highest number of customer affected by the visual merchandising effort are the representatives of the Caucasian ethnic group, a clear evidence that the needs of the local British community are leading when designing visual merchandising strategies. However, a research published in The Guardian in 2010 shows that “the white British population shrinking from 87.1% to 67.1% and the white Irish group shrinking from 2.5% to 2.1%.” In contrast” Asian groups increase their share by three percentage points, black groups by two percentage points and Chinese and other ethnic groups by 2.6 percentage points.” (Tran, 2010). Furthermore, the researched outlet is situated in London “where the impact of ethnic inward migration is seen as particularly strong” (Wrigley & Lambiri, 2014). Moreover, the West End location of the shop is visited by “200million people per year from which around 65% are tourists.” (Sir Bernstein, 2013). Hence focusing the visual merchandising strategy on the currently predominant ethnic group does not address adequately the ways in which more than the two third of the visitors in the area perceive the overall shop display and presentation. Furthermore, based on the results from the observations conducted the shop area with the biggest exposure is consisting of shop entrance and windows displays. Moreover, according to one of the interviewees “the shop window is the most important part of the visual merchandising effort. The story that we create for the window is designed to attract the highest number of customers possible.” Hence, if the visual merchandising strategy is mainly focusing on the predominant ethnic group, and overlooked the perception of the other ethnic groups represented in the area, the outlet risk to send the wrong message with their window display, which will lead to lower footfall in general, combined with the fact that according to the collected sales figures data one third of the shop’s sales are directly influenced by the visual merchandising effort the author argues that the researched organisation is missing on a considerable amount of sales simply by driving customers away with inappropriate window display. Furthermore, the data analysed showed that for the two observation periods on average forty percent of the directly influenced by the visual merchandising effort customers are representatives of the Caucasian ethnic group, therefore the majority of directly influenced customers are not representatives of this group and their needs are somehow overlooked which is evident from the results (see Figure 12). There is a considerable gap between the Caucasian and the other ethnic groups. Gap that does not represent the diversity of the potential customers in the area ,further confirmation that the area with the highest level of exposure is designed without considering the different perception of the ethnically diversified cluster of potential customers visiting the area. Additional complication is posed by the absence of contemporary model of consumer behaviour which will provide a better flexibility when designing retail marketing strategies. The existing models are too linear in their interpretation of the ways in which each individual act when introduced to the different set of stimuli. Therefore, more individualistic approach is necessary when considering behavioural patterns in multicultural society. According to a research conducted for the American Marketing Association by Erin Liber from the 84.51 degrees marketing agency “there is no typical or average multicultural shopper. The purchase behaviour of this consumers is influenced by a number of facets including and even beyond their ethnic and demographic classification” (Liber, 2015). Further the same author suggested that the creation of meaningful relation with this type of multicultural customers will be the difference between the retailers in the future. Taking into consideration that the retail environment in USA and in UK is quite similar, the researcher of this paper argues that a new model of consumer behaviour is required in order to depict those new challenges and enables retailers to establish new ways of influencing multicultural customers via visual merchandising strategies created to trigger a new set of stimuli which will be more individually focused and ultimately more effective, which correspond with the shared opinion of the management team members interviewed during the collection of primary data for this research: “Honestly I believe that the visual merchandising is the way forward in retail” and “We are in the fashion business how we look is everything”. Furthermore, according to the KPMG Ipsos retail think tank one of the trends in retail for the next ten years is the “shift in Britain’s multicultural make up. The Retail think Tank believes that those retailers that successfully understand and target the shifting cultural makeup of Britain will outperform those using antiquated research and customer stereotypes.” (McCorquodale, 2013). Hence, the author of the current research argues that the findings of his research and the derived hypothesis confirmed by the results from the analysed data are of upmost significance considering that the researched organisation and the outlet in question are situated in London’ s West End well known as one of the most attractive shopping destinations in the world. Furthermore, the researcher suggest that the results of his research are a clear signal for the changing environment in which today’s fashion retailers are operating. Therefore, in order to succeed and gain competitive advantage a contemporary retailer as Armani Exchange need to invest in addressing those imminent changes as soon as possible.
However, it is imperative to note that due to the limitations of this research, information about the actual perception of the potential customers is not collected as the limited time and resources did not allow to the researcher to conduct a survey among the potential customer of the outlet. Hence, a further research which will take into consideration the customers’ perspective of the issue is necessary for further confirmation of the established trend. Furthermore, considering that the research is narrowed down only to one shop in one specific location the researcher acknowledge the fact that the results and the findings may be relevant only for this specific shop and/or location. Hence, a future research should be designed not only to address the potential customers’ perception but also to be conducted in a bigger area with a vast number of outlets for a longer period. Consequently the validity and reliability of such a research will be far higher than the presented in this research paper. However, the author is confident that the finding of this research are plausible enough and they provide a good foundation for further examination of the established trend and may be used as a guiding point for any further research examining the established hypothesis.
After the detailed discussion of the findings of this research the author will provide a summary of the processes and procedures as well as the results of this research against the stated in the introductory part objectives. Consequently the author will reflect on his work and provide further recommendation for the development of the established hypothesis.
Conclusion
The latter research was aiming to establish if there is a relation between the visual merchandising and the consumer behaviour in a highly competitive multicultural environment. The deductive approach chosen by the author included a development of a theoretical framework which was designed to establish the relation between the visual merchandising and consumer behaviour, as well as identify any gap in the existing literature. Consequently, the author choose to confirm his hypothesis, derived from the literature review, by using a mixed method sequential explanatory research design. This design is characterised with the collection of secondary and primary data. The secondary sources used by the researcher consisting of sales figures for two periods (17th of May – 30th of May 2015, and 31st of May – 13th of June 2015) and a participative observation in the shop chosen for this research. The author gained formal access to the sensitive sales figure information by communicating with the shop management team and provide assurance that the information will be used according to the ethical code at David Game College. Consequently, the primary data was arranged in the form of three semi structured interviews with a members of the management team, the aim of those interviews was to examine the view of the management team on the topic. Therefore, the researcher used a non-probability homogeneous sampling technique as this approach seemed the most suitable for the purposes of this research where the selection criteria needed to be specified and the resources where highly limited. Furthermore, the collected data was presented as follow: * Secondary data- quantitative numerical data presented in a number of tables and charts with a short explanation for each individual result. * Primary data- qualitative data in the forms of interviews, individually transcribed, summarised and categorised. Presented in the table in the data analysis chapter.
Consequently the author provided a detailed discussion of the results by reflecting on the findings in the light of the established hypothesis.
Following the above processes and procedures the author managed to unambiguously meet the research objectives and answer the research question by proving that the visual merchandising is directly responsible for around one third of the sales in the researched outlet, which made the visual merchandising effort one of the most important activities in fashion retail based on the researched shop and period. Consequently, the author partially based on assumptions concluded that the different ethnic groups were differently affected by the visual merchandising effort. Therefore, the consumer behaviour models should take into consideration the cultural differences of the different ethnic groups. Furthermore, the examination of the literature in the area established that the available consumer behaviour models follow similar liner approach which does not allow sufficient flexibility in order to include the cultural differences as a factor that plays a major role in the forming of consumer behaviour. Consequently, based on the above, the author consider the research as a successful. However, due to the limitations related with time and resources certain elements of this research require further investigation: * The consumer opinion need to be taken into consideration. Survey distributed among the customers will provide such information; * More detailed and longer observations are required, using the similar approach as the one used in this research; * Deeper analysis of the existing literature may provide a good foundation for enhancing some of the existing consumer behaviour models in order to include the cultural differences as a factor.
Furthermore, considering that this is the first academic research conducted by the author certain elements may be executed on a higher professional level. Moreover, the language barrier imposed by the fact that the author is not a native English speaker proved to be a serious challenge when forming the hypothesis and the discussion chapter. However, the author consider the research as a good foundation for further research in the area as the subject proved to be extremely interesting and well aligned with the author’s chosen areas of academic development.

References

1. Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M., Brennan, R., (2012) “Marketing an Introduction”, ed.2, Pearson education, Harlow, England 2. Bailey, S. & Baker, J., 2014. “Visual Merchandising for Fashion.” 1 ed. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. 3. Barry J. Davies Philippa Ward, 2005,"Exploring the connections between visual merchandising and retail branding", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 33 Iss 7 pp. 505 – 513 4. Berman, B. & Evans, J., 2007. “Retail Management: Strategic Approach.” 10 ed. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. 5. Blackwell, R., Miniard, P. and Engel, J. (2006) “Consumer behaviour”, Mason: Thompson 6. Crotty, M., (1998), “The Foundation of Social Research”, London, Sage Publications. 7. Diamond, E., 1993. “Fashion Retailing.” 1 ed. Albany, NY: Delmar Inc. 8. Donovan, R. & Rossiter, J. R., (1982). “Store Atmosphere: an environmental psychology approach.” Journal of Retailing, 58(1), pp. 34-5 9. Engel, J. F., Blackwell, R. D., and Miniard, P. W. (1986), “Consumer Behaviour”, 5th ed., Dryden 10. Faison, Edmund W. J., (1977), “The Neglected Variety Drive: A Useful Concept for Consumer Behaviour”, Journal of Consumer Research, 4, (December), pp. 172-175 11. Felsted, A. & Aglionby, J., “2014. Financial Times/ Retail.” [Online] Available at: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/2a72bdd6-6f29-11e4-b060-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3bAUg0700 [Accessed 25 April 2015]. 12. Gilbert, D., 1999. “Retail Marketing Management.” 1 ed. Harlow: Prentice Hall. 13. Gilbert, D., 2003. “Retail Marketing Management.” 2 ed. Harlow: Prentice Hall. 14. Harcar, Talha Ali Kara & Kucukemiroglu, Orsay, 2006, "Consumer's Perceived Value And Buying Behaviour Of Store Brands: An Empirical Investigation." The Business Review, 5(2), 55-62 15. Jobber, D., Ellis-Chadwick, F., (2013), “Principles and Practice of Marketing”, ed.7, McGraw Hill Education, London 16. Jones, DG, B, Shaw, E., H., McLean, P., A., (2009) “The SAGE handbook of marketing theory”, Sage Publications. 17. Ketoviki, M., Mantere, S., (2010) “Two Strategies for Inductive Reasoning in Organisational Research”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 315-33. 18. Kotler, P., (1973), “Atmospherics as a Marketing Tool”, Journal of Retailing, 49(winter), 48-64. 19. Kotler, P., (1994), “Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation, and Control”, ed. 1, Prentice Hall 20. Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G., Saunders, J., and Wong, V., (1999). “Principles of Marketing” ed. 2nd European, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall 21. Kotler, P. and Keller, K. (1997) “Marketing Management”, (9th edition), London: Pearson Education. 22. Kotler, P., (2000) “Marketing Management”, ed. 10th: Millennium Edition, Prentice Hall. 23. Kotler, P. and Keller, K. (2011) “Marketing Management”, (14th edition), London: Pearson Education. 24. Khurram Bhatti, L. & Latif, S., 2013. The Impact of Visual Merchandising on Consumer Impulse Buying Behaviour, Singapore: Asia-Pacific Business Research Conference. 25. Kurt Salmon Associates, 2000. Which Way to Emerald City?, s.l.: Perspective. 26. Lea‐Greenwood, G., (2010) “Fast Fashion in the Retail Store Environment”, International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management”, Vol. 38 Iss: 10, pp.760 - 772 27. Levitt, T., (1960), “Marketing Myopia”, Harvard Business Review, July- August, 45-56. 28. Levy, M. & Weitz, B., 2004. "Retailing Management." ed.3 New York: McGraw-Hill. 29. Liber, E., 2015. American Marketing Association: Marketing Insights - Multicultural Strategy: The Future is Now. [Online]
Available at: https://www.ama.org/publications/eNewsletters/MarketingInsightsNewsletter/Pages/multicultural-strategy-the-future-is-now.aspx
[Accessed 15 July 2015]. 30. MarketLine, 2013. “Apparel Industry in the UK: industry profile 2013”, London: Datamonitor. 31. McCorquodale, D., 2013. KPMG United Kingdom: How will demographic trends affect the retail sector?. [Online]
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[Accessed 10 July 2015]. 32. Milner, T. & Rosenstreich, D. (2013). “Insights into mature consumers of financial services.” Journal of Consumer Marketing, 30 (3), 248-257. 33. Naik, C. N. K. & Reddy, L. V., 1999. “Consumer behaviour.” ed. 1, New 34. Delhi: Discovery Publishing House 35. Nicosia, F., M., (1966), “Consumer Decision Process”, ed.1, Eaglewood Cliff, N.J.,-p Prentice Hall. 36. Sandhunsen, R. L. (2008). “Marketing” 7th ed., Hauppauge, New York: Barron’s 37. Educational Series 38. Saunders, M., Lewis, P., Thornhill, A., (2012) “Research Methods for Business Students” ed. 6th, Harlow England, Pearson. 39. Schiffman, L., Hansen H. and Kanuk L. (2007) “Consumer Behaviour: A European Outlook”, London: Pearson Education 40. Sir Bernstein, H., 2013. West End Comminsion Final Report 2013, London: West End Commision. 41. Solomon, M. (1995) “Consumer Behaviour” (3rd edition), New Jersey: Prentice Hall 42. Tuck, M. (1976). “How do we choose?”, London: Methuen & Co Ltd 43. Tran, M., 2010. The Guardian. [Online]
Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/jul/13/uk-population-growth-ethnic-minorities
[Accessed 15 7 2015]. 44. Williams, K. C., 1981. “Behavioural Aspects of Marketing.” 1st ed. London: Heinemann. 45. Wrigley, N. & Lambiri, D., 2014. High Street Performance and Evolution, Southampton: University of Southampton. 46. Yin, R., K., (2009), “Case Study Research: Design and Method”, ed. 4, London, Sage Publications

Appendix A
Bibliography
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Available at: https://www.ama.org/publications/eNewsletters/MarketingInsightsNewsletter/Pages/multicultural-strategy-the-future-is-now.aspx
[Accessed 15 July 2015]. 32. Liao, Shu-Ling; Shen, Yung-Cheng & Chu, Chia-Hsien, 2009, "The Effects of Sales Promotion Strategy, Product Appeal and Consumer Traits on Reminder Impulse Buying Behaviour." International Journal of Consumer Studies, Vol. 33 Issue 3. 33. MarketLine, 2013. “Apparel Industry in the UK: industry profile 2013”, London: Datamonitor. 34. Massara, Francesco, 2003, "Store Atmosphere: Still A Fledgling Art", Journal of Consumer Research, Vol 3. 35. McCorquodale, D., 2013. KPMG United Kingdom: How will demographic trends affect the retail sector?. [Online]
Available at: http://www.kpmg.com/uk/en/issuesandinsights/articlespublications/newsreleases/pages/how-will-demographic-trends-in-the-uk-affect-the-retail-sector.aspx
[Accessed 10 July 2015]. 36. Milner, T. & Rosenstreich, D. (2013). Insights into mature consumers of financial services. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 30 (3), 248-257. 37. Naik, C. N. K. & Reddy, L. V., 1999. “Consumer behaviour.” ed. 1, New 38. Delhi: Discovery Publishing House 39. Nicosia, F., M., (1966), “Consumer Decision Process”, ed.1, Eaglewood Cliff, N.J.,-p Prentice Hall. 40. Newman, Andrew J. and Patel, Darshika, 2004 "The Marketing Directions of Two Fashion Retailers", Europe Journal of Marketing, Vol 38. 41. Paler-Calmorin, L. & Calmorin, M., 2008. Research Methods and Thesis Writing. 2 ed. Manila: Rex Book Store, Inc 42. Pillai, R. et al., April 2011. Design, effectiveness and role of visual merchandising in creating customer appeal, Kingdom of Bahrain: Birla Institute of Technology,. 43. Roberts, James A & Pirog, Stephen, 2004, "Personal Goals and Their Role In Consumer Behavior: The Case of Compulsive Buying." Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 12(3), 61-73., 44. Sandhunsen, R. L. (2008). “Marketing” 7th ed., Hauppauge, New York: Barron’s 45. Educational Series 46. Saunders, M., Lewis, P., Thornhill, A., (2012) “Research Methods for Business Students” ed. 6th, Harlow England, Pearson. 47. Schiffman, L., Hansen H. and Kanuk L. (2007) “Consumer Behaviour: A European Outlook”, London: Pearson Education 48. Seouk, Y.-K. & Lee, Y. E., 2013. Understanding the Importance of Visual Merchandising on Store Image and Shopper Behaviours in Home Furnishings Retail Setting. European Journal of Business and Management , 5(4). 49. Shona KerfootBarry DaviesPhilippa Ward, 2003,"Visual merchandising and the creation of discernible retail brands", International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 31 Issue 3 pp. 143 – 152 50. Sir Bernstein, H., 2013. West End Comminsion Final Report 2013, London: West End Commision. 51. Solomon, M. (1995) “Consumer Behaviour” (3rd edition), New Jersey: Prentice Hall 52. Tuck, M. (1976). “How do we choose?”, London: Methuen & Co Ltd 53. Tran, M., 2010. The Guardian. [Online]
Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/jul/13/uk-population-growth-ethnic-minorities
[Accessed 15 7 2015]. 54. Williams, K. C., 1981. “Behavioural Aspects of Marketing.” 1st ed. London: Heinemann. 55. Wrigley, N. & Lambiri, D., 2014. High Street Performance and Evolution, Southampton: University of Southampton. 56. Yin, R., K., (2009), “Case Study Research: Design and Method”, ed. 4, London, Sage Publications 57. (2012),"Visual merchandising strategies", Strategic Direction, Vol. 28 Issue 10 pp. 12 - 14

Appendix B: Code of Conduct

Research Project Planner Including Research Proposal and Research Project
Duration: 20 weeks
Research Project Planner Including Research Proposal and Research Project
Duration: 20 weeks
Appendix C: Gantt chart for the Research Project
Appendix D: Observation Logs
Observation Log 1
The observation took place at Armani Exchange Regent Street on 17th of May 2015.
The Purpose of observation: * To identify the changes of the display in the shop floor. * To establish the number of customers visiting the shop per day * To calculate the number of customers purchased items influenced directly by the Visual Merchandising Effort * To establish percentage of customers with different ethnic background.
Changes of the display in the shop floor
The shop floor at Armani Exchange Regent Street is divided into three main categories. Windows and shop front- SF, stage and tills- ST, back of the shop and fitting rooms- BS. Table1 Garments Position illustrate the position of the different categories of products.
Table1: Garments Position Category | Product Group | Previous Position | New Position | Ladies | Bags, small leather goods, accessories | ST | ST | | Dresses | BS | SF | | Jackets | SF | ST | | Tops | BS | SF | | Trousers/jeans | SF | BS | | T-shirts | BS | BS | Mens | Active wear | BS | SF | | Jackets | ST | ST | | Jeans and trousers | SF | BS | | Outer wear | SF | BS | | Polos and T-shirts | BS | SF | | Small leather goods and accessories | ST | ST |

Number of customers visited the shop on 17th of May 2015: 1347 people.
Number of customers purchased items directly influenced by the Visual Merchandising effort: estimated 380 customers. (The estimation is retrieved from the cashiers software which attach a sales assistant code to every sale made in the shop, if a sale assistant did not help with the purchase of an item the sale is attached to the managers code- based on this information the researcher argues that every sale attached to the managers code is considered a direct sale influenced by the Visual Merchandising effort.)

Number of Customers divided by ethnic background: Ethnic Group | Number of Customers | Caucasian | 592 | Blacks | 312 | Arabic | 198 | Asians | 148 | Latin and Mediterranean | 97 | Total | 1347 |

Observation Log 2
The observation took place at Armani Exchange Regent Street on 31st May 2015
The Purpose of observation: * To identify the changes of the display in the shop floor. * To establish the number of customers visiting the shop per day * To calculate the number of customers purchased items influenced directly by the Visual Merchandising Effort * To establish percentage of customers with different ethnic background.
Changes of the display in the shop floor
The shop floor at Armani Exchange Regent Street is divided into three main categories. Windows and shop front- SF, stage and tills- ST, back of the shop and fitting rooms- BS. Table1 Garments Position illustrate the position of the different categories of products.
Table1: Garments Position Category | Product Group | Previous Position | New Position | Ladies | Bags, small leather goods, accessories | ST | SF | | Dresses | SF | SF | | Jackets | ST | SF | | Tops | SF | BS | | Trousers/jeans | BS | ST | | T-shirts | BS | ST | | | | | Mens | Active wear | SF | SF | | Jackets | ST | BS | | Jeans and trousers | BS | SF | | Outer wear | BS | ST | | Polos and T-shirts | SF | SF | | Small leather goods and accessories | ST | ST |

Number of customers visited the shop on 31ST of May 2015: 1673 people.
Number of customers purchased items directly influenced by the Visual Merchandising effort: estimated 533 customers. (The estimation is retrieved from the cashiers software which attach a sales assistant code to every sale made in the shop, if a sale assistant did not help with the purchase of an item the sale is attached to the managers code- based on this information the researcher argues that every sale attached to the managers code is considered a direct sale influenced by the Visual Merchandising effort.)
Number of Customers divided by ethnic background: Ethnic Group | Number of Customers | Caucasians | 636 | Blacks | 482 | Asians | 252 | Arabic | 156 | Latin and Mediterranean | 147 | Total | 1673 |

Appendix E: Transcript Interview 1
Interview 1 Transcript
The unwillingness of the interviewee to be recorded required this interview to be executed via Self- administered questionnaire send via e-mail with an open ended questions following the approved diamond structure of the interview containing the list of questions approved by the supervisor of the research. Furthermore, the researcher conducted an exploratory informal interview with the participant in order to familiarise the latter with the subject and the purpose of the research, as well as the ethical code of conduct required by David Game College. The questionnaire was send via e-mail on 17th of June 2015. On 20th of June the researcher received the answers via e-mail. The participant is coded as SVMAXRS(Senior Visual Merchandiser for Armani Exchange Regent Street)
Question 1: Is the Visual Merchandising an important part of today’s brick and mortar retail?
SVMAXRS: Yes, Visual Merchandising is extremely important.
Question 2: Why do you think is important?
SVMAXRS: I think that Visual Merchandising is a retail strategy that maximizes the aesthetics of a product with the intent to increase the sales. Visual Merchandising also plays a major role in the look, the feel and the culture of the brand.
Question 3: In your opinion what is the influence of the Visual Merchandise to the generation of sales in the shop floor? Does it assist sales assistants to close the sale?
SVMAXRS: The influences of visual merchandising include: that store appearance, signage, lighting, shapes, textures, presentation and the “wow” factor. Together, all of these elements enrich the customers’ experience, leading to a positive shopping experience and optimistically increased sales. And, of course, it helps the sales assistants by visually illustrating different ways to wear a particular product, allowing them to demonstrate to the customer exactly how a particular product looks on, display the different fits, shapes, textures, etc.
Question 4: In your opinion how many sales are generated on the shop floor directly from Visual Merchandising?
SVMAXRS: In my opinion Visual Merchandising generates a high percentage of the sales on the shop floor.
Question 5: Considering the diversity of the customers visiting A/X Regent Street do you think that the Visual Merchandising strategy used in the shop influence equally individuals from a different ethnic background?
SVMAXRS: I think the influence that the Visual Merchandising has on customers varies from person to person. Some customers are very demanding, others seek for clothes that they can personalize and make their own, and all these aspects have to be included in the Visual Merchandising strategy to influence a wider range of customers.
Question 6: Can you point out a particular ethnic group that is more influenced from the Visual Merchandising of the shop then other common ethnical groups?
SVMAXRS: As my particular role in the shop does not include selling I am unable to answer this question, but in general the Asian customers are highly influenced by the mannequins situated at the windows and the shop entrance. Also certain customers with Black background usually purchase the whole outfit presented on the mannequins.
Question 7: Do you think Visual Merchandising is used effectively in order to influence purchasing decisions of customers?
SVMAXRS: I think that the Visual Merchandising in A/X is used effectively.
Question 8: If yes why? If no what should change in your opinion?
SVMAXRS: As a Visual Merchandiser in A/X every week I do what is called window tracker. A system that allows me to see exactly how much has been sold from windows and mannequins in store, and which also highlights which garments are the best sellers and which are the slower sellers. A/X is a fast fashion brand and the Visual Merchandising goes with it, we are always improving the floor to make sure every product is in the right position, we are constantly checking for new deliveries and thanks to the window tracker we can change the position of some products that aren’t selling to try and increase the sales. For example if a knitwear is folded and we hang it, customers can see it better. Also we use the strategy of double exposing items.
Question 9: What is the future of the Visual Merchandising in a multicultural society?
SVMAXRS: I think it’s getting more and more important because in a multicultural society like ours the visual aspect is extremely important. Every other aspect comes after, we are very vain about our looks, we like to dress to impress. Usually the brand that we wear come before the quality of the product.
Question 10: Do you consider the Visual Merchandising as a valuable tool in the retail shop environment?
SVMAXRS: Yes. I started as a sales assistant in A/X in the ladies wear department, then become a senior sales assistant in menswear department and after 1 year I became senior visual merchandiser for A/x Regent Street. Throughout my work experience as a sales assistant in A/X I always found Visual Merchandising useful, it really helps customers to understand the fit of a dress, the difference between skinny and super skinny jeans and how they look on. Now when I am part of the visual team, I realise just how much work goes into the visual aspect and honestly I believe that the visual merchandising is the way forward in retail.
Follow up questions
Do you think that the window display influences positively the foot fall of the shop?
SVMAXRS: Actually the window display is the most important part of the Visual Merchandising effort. The story that we create for the window display is designed to attract the highest number of customer possible.
In question number 4 you stated that the Visual Merchandising generates a high percentage of sales, can you be more specific on that matter?
SVMAXRS: I can assume that roughly 30 to 40% of the sales are generated directly from the Visual Merchandising effort.

Appendix F: Transcript Interview 2 Interview 2 Transcript
The interview was conducted on 16th of June 2015. The conversation took place in a small quiet cafeteria situated near Fulham Broadway tube station (the place was chosen by the interviewee). A short exploratory informal interview was conducted prior to the actual conversation in order to familiarise the participant with the purpose of the research and with the ethical code of conduct required by David Game College. Furthermore, the participant agreed with the way in which the interview will be conducted and show a great deal of interest in the subject of the research. From the start of the interview until the end and even after that the participant suggested a number of ways in which he can help further. The participant is coded as SFMAXRS (Shop Floor Manager Armani Exchange Regent Street)
Question 1: Is the Visual Merchandising an important part of today’s brick and mortar retail?
SFMAXRS: Visual Merchandising is something really important especially in a retail store.
(Some minor sings of nervousness, probably due to the fact that the interviewee is a first timer)
Question 2: Why do you think is important?
SFMAXRS: All retail shops use their windows to attract customers. Because of that the Visual Merchandising is very important, as their main responsibility is to create an attractive and appealing window display, which will increase the footfall of the shop.
(Signs of gaining confidence)
Question 3: In your opinion what is the influence of the Visual Merchandise to the generation of sales in the shop floor? Does it assist sales assistants to close the sale?
SFMAXRS: The Visual Merchandisers (VM) helping a lot for our sales, because we have certain customers that want exactly the same outfit as the one that the VM putted on the mannequins. Also a number of customers did not notice certain products until they are hanged in the front of the store.
(Signs of confidence continued, start to express real interest in the subject)
Question 4: In your opinion how many sales are generated on the shop floor directly from Visual Merchandising?
SFMAXRS: In our weekly report our store generate 90K to 100K and the money taken from the window are usually in the area of 30% to 40%.
(Cited numbers with absolute confidence and without thinking about it, well prepared)
Question 5: Considering the diversity of the customers visiting A/X Regent Street do you think that the Visual Merchandising strategy used in the shop influence equally individuals from a different ethnic background?
SFMAXRS: Black people come into the store especially for our range of active wear that we usually have presented on the side window of the shop. Also Asian customers purchasing a lot of the dresses presented on the front window of the shop. In contrast the local/ British customers seeking our range of cargo pants and chino shorts which are usually not presented at the windows.
(Did not show any signs of hesitation, again well prepared for the interview) Question 6: Can you point out a particular ethnic group that is more influenced from the Visual Merchandising of the shop then other common ethnical groups?
SFMAXRS: Black customers are most influenced by the Visual Merchandising. In terms of money taken their favourite active wear make around 7k to 10k per week. Because of the location of the shop many tourists visit A/X they usually prefer to browse long before they buy something.
(Very calmly answering the questions, expressing himself with a lot of gestures)
Question 7: Do you think Visual Merchandising is used effectively in order to influence purchasing decisions of customers?
SFMAXRS: At the moment I am happy with the work of the VM. Obviously we need to constantly improve day in day out in order to make sure that our display stays attractive and strong.
(Continue to answer questions in the same manner)
Question 8: If yes why? If no what should change in your opinion?
SFMAXRS: Of course we need to make changes in order to improve our display and our sales. Unfortunately on my position I don’t know exactly what we should change. Obviously the VM and the Marketing department have plans for the future collections.
(A bit of stress due to the fact that the question is out of his area of expertise)
Question 9: What is the future of the Visual Merchandising in a multicultural society?
SFMAXRS: In my opinion the future of the Visual Merchandising is very important because every store is different and all of the retailers need different types of Visual Merchandising in order to express their identity and brand name. Because there is a fast fashion stores like ours and there is luxury fashion where they need a different strategy.
(Again signs of minor stress)
Question 10: Do you consider the Visual Merchandising as a valuable tool in the retail shop environment?
SFMAXRS: Absolutely yes. Because in our century if you don’t have a strong VM team to organise your display, your shop is not going to work. So for me in the retail environment Visual Merchandising is one of the most important tools for the success of the outlet.
(Signs of confidence, continue asking question if he answer as the interviewer expected, asking if this is enough, overall trying to help and showing interest.)
Appendix G: Interview Transcript 3
The interview was conducted on 18th of July 2015 in the management offices at Armani Exchange Regent Street. In the initial exploratory informal interview the participant was instructed about the purpose and the objectives of the research, as well as the code of conduct related with the ethical issues that may occur during the research process. The interviewee agreed with the way in which the interview will be executed. The interview was conducted with a strict time frame of 45minutes due to the busy schedule of the interviewee. The participant answered the question with confidence and without any hesitation. The interviewee is coded as SMAXRS (Store Manager at Armani Exchange Regent Street)
Question 1: Is the Visual Merchandising an important part of today’s brick and mortar retail?
SMAXRS: Yes it is.
Question 2: Why do you think is important?
SMAXRS: In fashion retail one of the most important things is to present your product in appealing and attractive way. The most attractive and appealing displays is likely to attract the highest number of customers which will generate highest number of sales. Based on that the Visual Merchandising is crucial for the high street retailers especially in such a competitive places as London and other major shopping destinations.
(The interviewee shows extremely calm attitude with no hesitation- high level of professionalism.)
Question 3: In your opinion what is the influence of the Visual Merchandise to the generation of sales in the shop floor? Does it assist sales assistants to close the sale?
SMAXRS: The Visual Merchandisers mission is to create a story line by putting the available collection together. From my experience I can tell you that a good story line make the job of the sale assistants very easy. Customers are more likely to buy your product if they associate themselves with the story that the VM team created. This is especially relevant for the luxury brands where customers expected to be told how to wear the product.
(Passionate and in times difficult to follow, great deal of confidence)
Question 4: In your opinion how many sales are generated on the shop floor directly from Visual Merchandising?
SMAXRS: Actually this depends from many things. The name of the brand, the location of the shop, the footfall and the type of customers. For our shop I would say that around 50 to 60 % of the sales are generated directly from the VM efforts as we are serving a high number of one off customers.
(Answering with a smile, feel very comfortable with the subject)
Question 5: Considering the diversity of the customers visiting A/X Regent Street do you think that the Visual Merchandising strategy used in the shop influence equally individuals from a different ethnic background?
SMAXRS: We are trying to address the needs of a very different customers by arranging our display with a number of combinations. Unfortunately is not possible to create a story equally appealing for all the customers.
(Answer with a bit of hesitation, make longer pauses between sentences)
Question 6: Can you point out a particular ethnic group that is more influenced from the Visual Merchandising of the shop then other common ethnical groups?
SMAXRS: This is a difficult question. Arab and Indian customers love and tend to buy products with sparkling and glittering patterns. Black customers are very keen on bright colours and active wear. Male Asians love the large logo products. At the same time Asian ladies are attracted by the dresses displayed on the window but the same is true for Caucasian female customers as well. Unfortunately we are unable to keep a record on those patterns.
(Again some longer pauses between sentences, while considering the question)
Question 7: Do you think Visual Merchandising is used effectively in order to influence purchasing decisions of customers?
SMAXRS: We are managing to generate a good amount of sales based on the story created by the VM team. But in our business nothing is static. Things change on a weekly basis and we need to keep up by constantly improving.
(Restore the confidence from the beginning of the interview)
Question 8: If yes why? If no what should change in your opinion?
SMAXRS: At the moment I have a great VM team, they constantly work on new ways to create better display. Also I am trying to allocate more money from the Head Office for new mannequins which will give us more flexibility when we designing the window and front displays.
(Sound proud and happy)
Question 9: What is the future of the Visual Merchandising in a multicultural society?
SMAXRS: If there is enough money a lot of things can be done. Video displays and photo shoots will create an amazing atmosphere which can compete with the effects that the online shopping have on our business.
(Trying to answer quickly, probably running out of time)
Question 10: Do you consider the Visual Merchandising as a valuable tool in the retail shop environment?
SMAXRS: Of course it is. We are in the fashion business where how we look is everything.
(Again trying to answer as quickly as possible)