PRINCIPLES OF RETAIL MERCHANDISING

by Harold A. Baker '23. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 462pages. $4.00.

So many meanings are currently attached to the term merchandising that it is important to point out that Professor Baker, in this new work on the subject, considers this activity as "the sum of all the practices and procedures directly concerned with the buying and selling of goods." These practices and procedures are described as they exist at the present time in department stores and specialty stores, in other words, in large-scale retail stores only.

Following an examination of retail store organization with particular emphasis on the merchandising division, the author presents in chronological sequence a complete exposition of the merchandising function, from the interpretation of consumer demand through the sales promotion activities designed to move merchandise into the hands of consumers. Buying, receiving and marking, pricing, personal selling and publicity are emphasized as major tasks of the merchandising executive.

The final chapters of the book are devoted to a discussion of markup and markdowns, turnover and model stocks, inventory and stock control, the merchandise budget, and methods of analyzing departmental merchandising operations. This latter topic has not been treated heretofore in retailing texts and is a commendable innovation.

Although most of the activities covered have been described and analyzed in retailing literature generally, Professor Baker is the first to bring them together for discussion in a single volume. In the process, he has made a fine contribution to the field of education for retailing. This treatment of merchandising is complete and practical enough to serve the needs of the senior or junior executive faced with actual problems in the store, and at the same time is sufficiently analytical to satisfy the student interested in that approach to the subject.