Managing Multiplicity: The Detail in Retail

In Chapter 2 we argued that one of the primary differences between retail brands and producer brands is the sheer multiplicity of retail brand attributes, and the difficulty that this multiplicity creates for retail brand management. We compared the two dozen or so attributes of the Mars Bar brand with the millions of attributes of the Tesco brand — the customer’s experience of Tesco being a combination of all the products she buys there (range, price, quality, etc.), the shopping environment and the service level. We also observed the very high rate of change in attributes of a retail brand, given line and staff turnover.