The concept of assortment. Formation of the product range Has the widest range of various products

Product range – a group of products closely related to each other

· or due to the similarity of their functioning (sporting goods, food, cars),

· or because they are sold to the same customer groups (children's products),

· or they are sold through the same types of retail establishments (supermarkets, department stores),

· or they are sold within the same price range (discount store).

This definition lists all the principles for forming a product range. From this point of view, the Revlon company has a range of cosmetics, the General Motors company has a range of cars, the Samson meat processing plant has a range of sausages and meat products, the railway has a range of transportation services, both freight and passenger.

The product range has two main parameters– width and depth.

Width product assortment - the number of assortment groups offered on the market. This is how General Motors produces and markets trucks, cars and motorcycles. These are the three main product groups of this company.

Depth of product range - number of positions of each product group. The General Motors company has the following positions in the “passenger cars” group: the Chevrolet brand is aimed at the market of people with average incomes and is produced in mass quantities. The Pontiac brand is distinguished based on age segmentation; it is aimed at young people, people under 35 years of age. The Buick brand is aimed at the high-income segment. There are a number of other brands, but these three represent the core of the General Motors product range. Various combinations of the product range parameters given here - width and depth - give four options, each of which can be used in certain market conditions.

The main options for the product range, based on various combinations of width and depth.

1. The range is narrow and small . The company produces one or two product groups, and within each group there is a small number of items. A classic example of a narrow and small assortment is the Coca-Cola company until the early 70s, when it produced one assortment group, basically it still produces it, and within this assortment group there was only one drink, Coca-Cola.

2. The range is narrow and deep. Basically here too one or two product groups, but each of them contains a significant number of positions. The same Coca-Cola company now. Now it produces a large number of varieties of soft drinks. These drinks are distinguished both on the basis of segmentation by tastes and preferences, and on the basis of age segmentation, etc.

3. The assortment is wide and small. Here Many product groups are produced, but each of them contains a small number of positions.

4. From a marketing point of view, the best option for achieving your marketing goals is deep and wide range . An example here is the Proctor and Gamble company, which has several product groups: detergents, bar soap, deodorants, creams, hydrogels, toothpaste, baby diapers, and in each group there are many positions. Thus, about one and a half dozen types of toothpastes are produced. But it should be noted that it has both advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages of a wide range:

· allows you to diversify products, those. focus on different needs of people, offer satisfaction of different needs. In this way, within the limits of the served market, it is possible to sell more and more products and offer a more comprehensive satisfaction of product needs.

The formation of a product range is the process of selecting and establishing a product range that meets the demand of buyers and ensures high profitability of a trading enterprise /17, p. 145/.

The most important principle in the formation of the range of goods is to ensure its compliance with the nature of the demand of the population served by the customers of the enterprise. It should provide for the comprehensive satisfaction of customer demand within the selected market segment. In this regard, the range of goods offered to customers should have sufficient breadth and depth. At the same time, the breadth of the assortment is determined by the number of product groups, subgroups and items of goods included in the nomenclature, and the depth is determined by the number of varieties of goods for each item /17, p. 145/.

A wide range allows:

Diversify products.

Focus on different consumer requirements.

Encourage shopping in one place.

At the same time, a wide range requires the investment of resources and knowledge in various product categories.

Deep assortment can:

Satisfy the needs of different customer segments for one product;

Maximize the use of space in retail outlets; prevent the emergence of competitors;

Offer a range of prices and encourage dealer support.

However, a deep assortment also adds to the costs of maintaining inventory, product modifications, and order fulfillment. In addition, certain difficulties may arise in differentiating between two similar assortment positions. A comparable assortment is usually easier to manage than a disparate one. It allows the company to specialize in the field of management and production, create a strong image and ensure stable relationships in the distribution channels.

However, excessive concentration can make an enterprise vulnerable to threats from the external environment, fluctuations in sales, slowing down growth potential due to the fact that all the emphasis is on a limited range of products.

The product range literally means the selection of items, the totality of their names according to some criteria. From this point of view, the assortment can be simple or complex, narrow or wide. Such a classification provides for the allocation of groups of homogeneous products or goods on the basis of type, variety, brand, etc. /17, p. 146/.

The process of forming an assortment of goods is carried out in the following four stages:

A list of main groups and subgroups of goods sold in the store is determined;

The distribution of individual groups and subgroups of thomas is carried out in the context of consumer complexes and micro-complexes;

The number of types and varieties of goods within individual consumer complexes and micro-complexes is determined;

A specific assortment list of goods for this store is being developed, which is offered for sale to the customer contingents served /17, p.138/

The formation of the assortment is preceded by the development of an assortment concept by the enterprise. It is a targeted construction of an optimal assortment structure, a product offer, while taking into account the consumer requirements of certain groups and the need to ensure the most efficient use of raw materials, technological and other resources by the enterprise in order to produce low-cost products / 8, p. 210 / .

The assortment concept is expressed in the form of a system of indicators characterizing, if possible, the optimal development of the production assortment of a given type of goods. These include: a variety of types and varieties of goods, the frequency of updating the assortment, the level of price ratio for goods of this type, etc.

The purpose of the assortment concept is to orient the enterprise towards the production of goods that correspond to the structure and diversity of customer demand.

Target orientation and the art of planning are manifested in the embodiment of the real possibilities of the enterprise in a certain combination of products that satisfy the need of the buyer and allow making a profit.

A typical assortment planning and implementation cycle includes a preliminary assessment of the idea, followed by the development of specifications based on customer requirements, the creation of samples, testing the possibility of their mass production, market test / 8, p. 211 /.

Assortment policy is the definition of a set of product groups that is most preferable for successful operation in the market and ensures the economic efficiency of the enterprise as a whole. The objectives of the assortment policy include:

Satisfying consumer needs is one of the management principles that corresponds to the task of deep segmentation and differentiation of the market and ensures close communication with consumers;

Optimum use of technological knowledge and experience of the enterprise;

Optimization of the financial results of the enterprise - the formation of the assortment is based on the expected profitability and profit margin, which is more common in the practice of enterprises, but can be justified in a difficult financial situation, lack of alternatives, etc.;

Winning new customers by expanding the scope of the existing production program. This approach is quite conservative, as it is designed for short-term results and involves the sale of goods by finding new markets;

Compliance with the principle of synergy, which implies the expansion of areas of production and services of the enterprise, interconnected by a certain technology, a single qualification of personnel and other logical dependence /17, p.123/.

In a saturated market, manufacturers and retailers strive to meet a variety of needs. When demand exceeds supply, commercial efforts are required to create consumer preferences, which is achieved, among other means, by increasing the breadth of the assortment. Breadth acts as one of the criteria for the competitiveness of firms.

What is the attitude of the consumer to the breadth of the range? On the one hand, the wider the range, the more varied needs can be met. On the other hand, with an ultra-high breadth of assortment, it is difficult for the consumer to navigate in this variety, which makes it difficult to choose the right product. The assortment breadth coefficient (Ksh) is determined by the formula:

Ksh \u003d Shd / Shb x 100%, (1)

where, Shd - real latitude;

Shb - base latitude

At the same time, increasing the completeness of the assortment requires trade workers to know the commonality and differences in the consumer properties of goods of different types, varieties and names in order to inform consumers about them. It is the responsibility of the manufacturer and/or supplier to communicate such information to the seller.

It should be noted that an excessive increase in the completeness of the assortment can also make it difficult for the consumer to choose, so the completeness should be rational. Assortment stability is the ability of a set of products to satisfy the demand for the same products. A feature of such goods is the presence of a steady demand for them /30, p. 25/.

One of the ways to improve the assortment can be its renewal. However, renewal is not always associated with improving the quality of goods and the greatest satisfaction of needs. New products may have minor differences from products previously produced and withdrawn from sale, for example, changes in packaging, labeling, weight, price, brand. Moreover, sometimes cheaper raw materials and simplified technologies are used in the production of new goods, which is associated with a decrease in quality. Therefore, improvement and renewal cannot be considered the same directions for the formation of the assortment /12, p.36/.

Assortment harmonization - quantitative and qualitative changes in the state of a set of goods, reflecting the degree of proximity of the real assortment to the optimal or best foreign and domestic analogues, most fully corresponding to the goals of the organization.

In the Russian consumer market, this direction of assortment formation is relatively new and is expressed in the desire of a number of “elite” stores to form an assortment on the model of well-known foreign firms.

In addition, this direction is typical for large firms, corporations, joint-stock companies with subsidiaries in different regions. As an example, we can cite a harmonized assortment of such companies as Russian Bistro, GUM, etc. The choice of one direction or another requires knowledge of the factors influencing the formation of the assortment /12, p. 36/.

Thus, the success of the formation of an assortment of goods directly depends on the sale of goods. First of all, it is determined by their compliance with the demand of the population, the dynamism of which is constantly increasing under the influence of the growing demands of buyers, fashion, market conditions, etc., so the reaction to changes in demand must be very fast. Under such conditions, it is difficult to obtain reliable information about demand, and the probability of errors in its assessment is high.

1. Types of assortment

2. Product range

3. Formation of the assortment

4. Assortment planning

5. Assortment structure

6. Commodity range

The decision on the breadth of the product range

The decision to increase the product range

The decision to saturate the product range

Product Line Decisions

Range — This composition of homogeneous products by types, varieties and brands.

Range- This a list of types and varieties of products and goods distinguished by individual indicators (features).

Range — This the composition and ratio of various types of products, goods, services in industrial and commercial enterprises; a list of types and varieties of products and goods distinguished by individual indicators (features).

Types aassortmentA

A distinction is made between the range of services, the range of products and the trade range:

range of services - a set of services offered to consumers. According to the degree of detail, the range of services is divided into three main types: group, specific and intraspecific.

Product range - composition, ratio of certain types of trade items in products enterprises, industry, group of goods, taking into account their quality and grade.

In the analysis of market conditions, the characteristics of the assortment are: width, depth, stability and height of the assortment.

Assortment of goods - a group of goods related to each other either due to the similarity of their scope of operation (application), or within the same price range.

Assortment of goods - according to GOST R 51303-99 - a set of goods combined according to any one or set of characteristics.

It is customary to distinguish between group and expanded assortment (nomenclature). A group assortment is a list of various types of industrial and technical products and consumer goods; Expanded A. means the composition of products and goods of the same type, distinguished by individual characteristics - brands, profiles, article, model, style, height, size, color, pattern, packaging, recipe, packaging, etc.

In modern conditions of a market economy in the Russian Federation, the range of various goods has increased many times, a significant part of which is represented by products of insufficient quality and does not meet modern world requirements.

Errors when choosing product, ignorance of its properties, characteristics, storage conditions, transportation, incorrect assessment of its quality can result in large losses and losses for a businessman. Therefore, the future businessmen basic ideas about the merchandising of various groups of goods are necessary.

Market success is now the main criterion for evaluating the activities of domestic enterprises, and their market opportunities are predetermined by a properly developed and consistently implemented commodity policy. It is on the basis of studying the market and the prospects for its development that it receives initial information for solving issues related to the formation of the assortment, its management and improvement.

A strategic approach is needed to solve the problems of commodity policy at any economic level. This means that any decision in this area should be made not only from the point of view of current interests, but also taking into account how it "works" for the ultimate goals. Such an approach requires concentration of efforts on the main directions.

Product range

A set of products offered by the manufacturer on market, is called an assortment.

The nomenclature, or product range, is the totality trade items produced by the enterprise. It includes various types of goods. The type of product is divided into assortment groups (types) in accordance with functional features, quality, price. Each group consists of assortment items (varieties or brands), which form the lowest level of classification.

A wide range allows you to diversify products; cater to different requirements consumers and encourage shopping in one place. At the same time, it requires the investment of resources and knowledge in various product categories. A deep assortment can meet the needs of different customer segments for a single product; maximize the use of space in retail outlets; prevent the emergence of competitors; offer a range prices and encourage dealer support.

However, it also adds to the costs of maintaining inventory, product modifications, and order fulfillment. In addition, certain difficulties may arise in differentiating between two similar assortment positions. A comparable assortment is usually easier to manage than a disparate one. It allows the company to specialize in the field market analysis and production, create a strong image and ensure stable relationships in the distribution channels. However, excessive concentration can make the enterprise vulnerable to threats from the external environment, fluctuations in sales, slowing down growth potential due to the fact that all the emphasis is on a limited range of products.

Nomenclature literally means a list of names. Thus, the product range is a list of the names of the products manufactured by the enterprise. As for the commodity nomenclature, this is a list of groups of goods offered by a particular seller. It can also offer customers the products of one or many manufacturers, involving the product range of each of them in full or in part. The nomenclature as an economic category has an enlarged character. It can be, for example, men's, women's or children's shoes, bedroom or dining sets, televisions or tape recorders, caramel or chocolate. In essence, these are assortment groups, and the product range is a list of assortment groups of products or goods.

The product range literally means the selection of items, the totality of their names according to some criteria. From this point of view, the assortment can be simple or complex, narrow or wide. Such a classification provides for the allocation of groups of homogeneous products or goods on the basis of type, variety, brand, etc. Assortment groups are formed, within which objects have a certain similarity. And you can also distinguish between a range of products (UFO is produced by an enterprise) and a range of goods (what is offered consumers by this seller).

The group assortment of goods shows a list of enlarged product groups that make up the nomenclature of goods. For example, a grocery store can sell groceries and groceries, and a sporting goods store can sell summer and winter sports equipment.

The specific assortment of goods reflects the presence in the group of goods of a number of types. For example, dairy products may contain kefir, cream, cottage cheese, etc. Men's shoes include such concepts as boots, boots, shoes, sandals.

The intraspecific assortment of goods represents the varieties of products, the division of the species into parts. So, cottage cheese can be of different degrees of fat content, samovars - of different capacities, shoes - of different styles, fabrics - of different colors, etc. An intraspecific assortment of goods can have a different depth of development and detail. In this sense, we can talk about the degree of complexity of the assortment. For example, medicines used for a certain human disease can be presented as topical or internal use, in the form of tablets or liquids, have different packaging, packaging, etc.

In relation to industrial enterprises, a production range of products is established, in relation to trade enterprises - a trade assortment of goods. The first of them reflects the specialization of the enterprise and serves as the basis for the conclusion of supply contracts. In the second case, there are grounds to judge the scale of the ability of a trading enterprise to meet the needs of the population and distinguish between specialized and universal trading enterprises.

With good reason, the stated provisions on the nomenclature and range of products can be attributed to the performance of work and the provision of services, in respect of which groups, types, subtypes of products are also distinguished.

Product mix and assortment planning can and should be based on knowledge businessman needs market and his condition. Such knowledge is achieved as a result of the implementation of an activity called market analysis. Many definitions are used, devoted to the analysis of market conditions at different times and by different authors. Taken together, all of them, despite the variety of formulations, come down to one judgment - market research, demand analysis, sales ensuring the fullest satisfaction of social needs. Satisfaction, in turn, is achieved by the development and production of new products corresponding to the prevailing demand, the establishment of communications marketing products, the creation of services accompanying the use of the product.

The product range includes certain types of goods.

The type of product is divided into assortment groups in accordance with functional features, quality and price. For example, book publications can be divided into the following assortment groups: scientific literature, popular science, industrial and instructive, educational, program and methodological, fiction, children's, official documentary, reference, socio-political literature.

Each assortment group consists of assortment items, which are the simplest unit of the structure. For example, educational literature is divided into textbooks and teaching aids.

Product assortment is characterized by breadth (number of assortment groups), depth (number of positions in each assortment group) and comparability (correlation between offered assortment groups in terms of consumer commonality, end use, distribution channels and prices).

Formation of the assortment

The formation of the assortment is the problem of selecting specific goods, their individual series, determining the relationship between "old" and "new" goods, goods of single and serial production, "high-tech" and "ordinary" goods, embodied goods, licenses and know-how. When forming the assortment, there are problems of establishing the price politicians, requirements for product quality, definition of guarantees and service level, etc. It is also important to determine whether the manufacturer is going to play the role of a leader in the creation of fundamentally new types of products or is forced to follow other manufacturers.

The formation of the assortment is preceded by the development of an assortment concept by the enterprise. It is a directed construction of an optimal assortment structure, a product offer, while taking as a basis, on the one hand, the consumer requirements of certain groups (market segments), and on the other hand, the need to ensure the most efficient use of raw materials, technological, financial and other resources by an enterprise with in order to produce a commodity at low cost.

Assortment planning

Assortment policy - the definition of a set of product groups, the most preferred for successful work in the market and ensuring the economic efficiency of the enterprise as a whole.

Assortment tasks politicians may be different. This:

satisfaction of consumer needs is one of the main principles of market analysis, which corresponds to the task of deep segmentation and differentiation of the market and provides a close relationship with consumers;

optimal use of technological knowledge and experience of the enterprise;

optimization of the financial results of the enterprise - the formation of the assortment is based on the expected profitability and profit margin, which is more common in practice work enterprises, however, it can be justified in a difficult financial situation, lack of alternatives, etc.;

winning new customers by expanding the scope of the existing production program. This approach is quite conservative, as it is designed for short-term results and involves lengthening the life cycle of obsolete publications by finding new markets;

observance of the principles of flexibility due to the diversification of the areas of activity of the enterprise industries printing and inclusion of non-traditional industries;

observance of the principle of synergy, which implies the expansion of the areas of production and services of the enterprise, interconnected by a certain technology, a single qualification of personnel and other logical dependence.

A wide range of manufactured products strengthens the company's market position and expands sales.

The assortment policy determines the optimal ratio of a set of publications that are different in terms of life cycle stages, but at the same time are on the market. Optimization of the range of publications that are simultaneously on the market, but differ in the degree of novelty, makes it possible to guarantee the printing industry enterprise relatively stable general conditions for ensuring sales volumes, coverage costs and achievements arrived.

Assortment strategy can also be built in the following areas.

Range- a nomenclature list of types and varieties of goods, distinguished by marketing indicators, a list of types and varieties of goods in a manufacturing or trading enterprise. An assortment is a list of objects offered for sale by a trading enterprise.

In accordance with GOST R 51303-99 “Trade. Terms. Definitions “an assortment of goods is a set of goods combined according to one or a set of characteristics.

Classification of assortment. The range of goods is classified according to the following criteria:

1). Based on location, the product range is divided into groups:

• industrial range
• trade assortment

Industrial range- a nomenclature list of goods produced by a particular industry. Production assortment is a list of goods included in the enterprise’s production program.

Trade assortment- a set of goods sold in the trading network, including industrial goods from various local manufacturers and imported goods. The trade assortment presented on the shelves of a trade enterprise determines the type of trade enterprise (universal and special, trade enterprises with a combined and mixed assortment) and the form of trade service. In stores of the same type with different retail areas, the assortment will vary significantly in the number of types of goods and product groups.

2). Depending on the breadth of product coverage, i.e. number of groups, subgroups, types, varieties, brands, types, names, the assortment is divided into the following subgroups:

• Simple assortment– this is an assortment of goods represented by such types that are classified according to no more than three criteria
• Complex assortment– this is an assortment of goods represented by types that are classified according to more than three criteria (shoes, clothing).
• Enlarged assortment– this is an assortment of goods that are combined according to common characteristics into certain groups of goods. Most often, functional or social purpose is used as a common feature.
• Species assortment is a set of goods of various types and names that satisfy similar needs. It is an integral part of the enlarged assortment. For example, children's shoes are an integral part of an enlarged range of footwear products.
• Branded assortment– this is a set of goods of the same type, brand names or belonging to a group of brand names. Such products satisfy physiological needs and are largely aimed at satisfying social and psychological needs. For example, prestigious brands of clothing, shoes, perfumes, cars, wines, etc.
• Expanded assortment- This is an assortment of goods represented by varieties of goods. A variety is a collection of goods of a certain type, distinguished by a number of particular characteristics. Thus, signs of dividing types of clothing into varieties are style and complexity of processing.

3). Depending on the specialization and attention of the seller to certain product groups, the assortment is divided into:

• Main assortment – a nomenclature list of types and varieties of goods determined by the seller as core for the organization and focused on the target group of buyers chosen by the company, which are profit-generating for the company.
• Related products– this is a set of goods that perform auxiliary functions and are not core to a given organization. So, for a shoe store, the accompanying assortment is shoe care items, in a grocery store - matches, soap and other household goods.
• Mixed assortment is a set of goods of different groups, types, names, characterized by a wide variety of functional purposes. A mixed assortment is typical for stores that sell food and non-food products and target a variety of consumer preferences and target groups.

4). According to the degree of satisfaction of needs, the following types of assortment are distinguished:

• Rational assortment- this is a set of goods that most fully satisfies realistically justified needs that provide maximum quality of life at a certain level of development of science, technology, and technology.
• Optimal assortment is a set of goods that satisfies real needs with the maximum beneficial effect for consumers with minimal costs for their design, production development and delivery to consumers.

Key assortment indicators:

• breadth of assortment;
• assortment structure;
• assortment list;
• rationality of assortment;
• harmony of assortment.

Completeness of assortment- this is the correspondence of the actual availability of types of goods to existing demand, this is the ability of goods of a homogeneous group to satisfy similar needs.

Depth of assortment-– the number of varieties per product article, the number of products in one assortment group.

Assortment stability is an indicator characterizing fluctuations in its completeness and breadth over a certain period of time.

Novelty (updating) of the assortment- this is the ability of the assortment to satisfy changing needs through new products. The novelty of the assortment is characterized by two indicators: actual renewal and degree of renewal.

Range breadth– this is the number of species, varieties and names of homogeneous and heterogeneous groups.

Assortment structure– this is the ratio of groups, subgroups, types and varieties of goods in the store’s assortment. The assortment structure is characterized by breadth and depth. The structure of the assortment is of decisive importance when organizing its formation in the store.

Assortment list– this is the minimum acceptable number of types of consumer goods that determine the profile of a retail trade organization.

Rationality of assortment is the ability of a set of goods to most fully satisfy the realistic needs of different consumer segments.

Harmony of assortment– this is a property of a set of goods of different groups, characterizing the degree of their proximity to ensure rational distribution of goods, sales and (or) use.

Assortment management is an activity aimed at achieving the requirements of assortment rationality. The fundamental controls are:

• formation of assortment;
• establishing the level of requirements for indicators that determine the rationality of the assortment.

Formation of the assortment– this is the activity of compiling a set of goods that allows you to satisfy real or predicted needs, as well as achieve the goals defined by the management of the organization.

Assortment group- enlarged presentation of the assortment, grouping goods into separate product groups according to a number of characteristics: production method, purpose, design features, etc.

Cost-effective assortment- an assortment product list, which in its entirety ensures that business entities receive the planned amount of profit, i.e. a certain excess of income over costs of selling goods, tax deductions.

Assortment policy- determination of the assortment that is most preferable for successful work in the market and ensuring the economic efficiency of the enterprise as a whole.

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Assortment width - This is the total number of different product categories included in the assortment. For example, a grocery supermarket may have products in categories such as " milk», « meat", « cheese», « fish», « baby food», « dietary food», « salads», « household chemicals», « household products», « pet food», « magazines and postcards», « souvenirs and gifts". The wider the range, the more likely it is that the buyer’s needs will be satisfied, and the wider range of buyers we can attract.

On the one hand, the wider the range, the more varied needs can be met. A wide range allows you to set different trade markups (from minimum to maximum), while maintaining the overall profit of the store. The number of impulse purchases is increasing, and the number of different customer segments is increasing. On the other hand, with an extremely wide range of products, it is difficult for the consumer to navigate such a variety; this makes it difficult to choose the right product. Managing too wide an assortment is also not easy - this leads to huge logistics costs and, in most cases, to an excess of working capital frozen in inventory. With a very wide assortment, turnover is lower, and accounting policies are complicated by the need for frequent inventories.

An example from personal practice. I thought about assortment optimization many years ago, when I was managing a separate division of a large trading holding. While taking stock of inventory, I realized that too much warehouse space was involved, we were holding a lot of excess goods... But it was necessary to increase sales, and expanding the assortment seemed like the shortest way, because many people follow the path of expanding the assortment. But this does not always lead to a direct increase in income and increased competitiveness.

For example, there was a time when our assortment included collections of ceramic wall tiles in seven different colors and sizes 20 x 20, 35? 23, 25? 40, 20 ? 15, 20 ? 30, 30 ? 40, 15 ? 15 and 10? 10 centimeters (plus more mosaic). We wanted to attract more customers in this way. Imagine our surprise when it turned out that with such a variety of products, people are simply not able to make a choice and end up postponing the purchase or taking the most popular sizes and colors. We have reduced the range and left four colors and three popular sizes in each collection. And this range turned out to be more competitive and profitable. Then we did this not only with the ceramic tile group, but with all positions.

Too much choice acts as a lack of choice. Therefore, breadth cannot serve as the only indicator of a correctly selected assortment and the main competitive advantage.

Depth of assortment– the total number of product items within each product category in the assortment. The deeper the category is presented, the more accurately we can guess the needs of our buyer, the more choice we will provide him. If we are dealing with a specialized store, for example, “Computers,” then the buyer rightly believes that the assortment in such a store will not be very wide, but quite deep, that is, there will only be computers, but of a wide variety of brands, models and options. The deeper the assortment, the higher the specialization of the store.

As a rule, a deep assortment is easier to manage, but it attracts a fairly limited number of buyers. But these customers are willing to pay a higher price in anticipation of a special choice; they are more loyal to the store where their most subtle needs are satisfied.

How do you know whether a store should have a wide or deep assortment?

Let's take such a popular category as “cheese”. Imagine that you entered a store where the assortment seems wide to you - there are many products from both grocery and food groups. But among the cheeses you see only two types - “Russian” cheese and processed “Viola” cheese. Can such an assortment be called deep? No, most likely, such a store’s assortment as a whole will seem insufficient to you, despite its breadth. The depth is precisely determined by the presence within the category of such a proposal of types, varieties of goods, by which one can judge the balance of the assortment.

Example 1 If we look into a grocery store and see categories such as meat, milk, wine, cheese, etc., can we conclude that the store has a wide range of products? Most likely no. But if we see other categories of goods in the store - diet food, animal food, magazines, postcards, etc., then such an assortment will be perceived by us as wide.

Exploring the assortment further, we come to the “Cheese” department. And if we see one variety each of hard, soft and melted, can we perceive such an assortment as deep? No, most likely we will conclude that the store does not have a deep enough or poor range of cheeses. But if different types of cheese are presented, including blue cheese, lactose-free, sausage, low-fat, green, etc., then such an assortment will seem deep or complete (Fig. 3.9).

Rice. 3.9

Example 2 When examining the assortment of a cosmetics and perfumery store, we will conclude that the assortment is insufficient if we see only creams, shampoos and body care products. But if the assortment also includes gift sets, jewelry, professional care products, etc., then the assortment will seem wide to us. In this example, the “Hand Creams” category is presented in depth - there are many varieties of cream. If we limited ourselves to only three or four varieties (with aloe, moisturizing and with glycerin), then such a range of creams would not be deep (Fig. 3.10).

The ratio of these two parameters – the width and depth of the assortment – ​​determines the store format. Discounters and supermarkets typically have a policy of maintaining a wide but shallow assortment. For specialized stores, on the contrary, the assortment is not wide, but deep.

Rice. 3.10

Rice. 3.11. Store formats

Small format stores with a small area (stalls, shopping pavilions) do not have the opportunity to sell a wide range of products. And no one expects depth from them.

Hypermarkets, on the contrary, have significant space and can have a deep assortment in many (but not all) categories.

Knowing the format gives us an idea of ​​where and in what direction to develop our assortment - in width or depth. Should we introduce new product categories or deepen existing ones? Where to invest money?

Whatever development strategy we choose, one thing is important: the range must be balanced.

Balanced assortment– this is a combination of the optimal number of categories (width) for the buyer and types of goods within the category (depth). Let us emphasize again - for the buyer. In a large hypermarket, the buyer expects that the assortment will be as wide as possible, but his expectations related to the depth of the assortment are different. No one expects that among such an extensive offer of goods there will be all sorts of exotic types of fruits (papaya, mango, rambutan), less common types of meat (horse meat, rabbit), and atypical clothing sizes (40–42 and 54–56). For these products or sizes, the buyer will have to go to specialized stores - where prices are higher, the assortment is not so wide, but there is an opportunity to satisfy even the most rare requests.

However, if the assortment is not balanced, that is, does not meet the buyer’s expectations, then such an assortment is felt as incomplete. Therefore, we will draw a parallel between two concepts - completeness and balance.

If the completeness of the assortment does not correspond to the concept of a given store, then customer requests are not fully satisfied - the assortment is perceived either as “too narrow - there is nothing”, or as “impossible to choose - there is so much!”

The category management methodology allows, with a high degree of probability, balance assortment in such a way that it best meets customer expectations. We will talk in detail about balancing the assortment in the section “Balancing the assortment by depth.” There you can also see examples of a balanced assortment.

During one “trip” to the supermarket, the average “normal” consumer purchases goods from 10–12 categories. The average consumer is not inclined to spend more than 35 minutes on one visit... We subtract the time spent walking through the sales area (5-7 minutes), the time spent at the checkout (5-7 minutes), as well as the minutes spent looking at goods that are subsequently not will be purchased. There are no more than 15–18 minutes left, or one and a half minutes for each category. How many options will be considered during this time? 5–6 – no more. And that’s because 3–4 of them are recognizable brands, which take 6–7 seconds to identify. One or two “new items” (that is, new offers not previously considered by this consumer) will receive 20–30 seconds of consumer attention.