Retailing and Marketing Strategy

RCSC 400
Closed
The University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona, United States
Associate Professor of Practice
3
Timeline
  • February 1, 2021
    Experience start
  • February 4, 2021
    Project Scope Meeting
  • March 2, 2021
    Client Q&A Session
  • May 4, 2021
    Student Presentations
  • May 13, 2021
    Experience end
Experience
2/2 project matches
Dates set by experience
Preferred companies
Anywhere
Any
Retail, Food & beverage, Entertainment, Hospitality, Manufacturing, Apparel & fashion, Consumer goods & services, Non-profit, philanthropic & civil society, Cosmetics & beauty

Experience scope

Categories
Communications Market research Marketing strategy Social sciences
Skills
strategic marketing market research retail management competitive analysis business strategy
Learner goals and capabilities

This is the capstone course in the Retailing and Consumer Sciences Program. Students in the course have academic and applied learning experiences along with retailing career aspirations. Students are trained as retail generalists with diverse specific interests in merchandising, marketing, product development, digital, sports marketing, entrepreneurship, and sustainable consumption. They have a rare combination of retail industry knowledge and a Gen-Z perspective that has allowed them to develop innovative and practical solutions to retailing challenges.

Learners

Learners
Undergraduate
Any level
70 learners
Project
40 hours per learner
Learners self-assign
Teams of 4
Expected outcomes and deliverables

The final project deliverables will typically include:

  1. 20-minute presentation of key findings and recommendations, and
  2. A detailed strategic plan including their research, analysis, insights, and recommendations.
Project timeline
  • February 1, 2021
    Experience start
  • February 4, 2021
    Project Scope Meeting
  • March 2, 2021
    Client Q&A Session
  • May 4, 2021
    Student Presentations
  • May 13, 2021
    Experience end

Project Examples

Requirements

Beginning in February, students in groups of 4-5 will work on researching and examining your competitive landscape, as well as conducting analyses of your organization to come up with a compelling and actionable business strategy.

The students will seek to:

  • Examine what your organization produces and why clients value it
  • Conduct a SWOT analysis to evaluate organizational capabilities and the organization's micro and macro environments
  • Assess opportunities to open new markets or better serve an existing market
  • Provide positioning strategies for target markets
  • Develop an implementation plan

Some examples topics they might cover include:

  • Omni-channel service innovation
  • New product development
  • New brand/product introduction
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Merchandise planning and development
  • E-Commerce/digital experience
  • Customer experience management
  • Environmental leadership
  • Sustainable consumption
  • Cause-related marketing
  • Experiential marketing
  • Marketing communications
  • Branding

Based on the above areas of analysis, students will include short and/or long term strategy recommendations in their report.

Additional company criteria

Companies must answer the following questions to submit a match request to this experience:
  • question

    Provide a dedicated contact person who is available to answer periodic emails or phone calls over the duration of the project to address students’ questions.

  • question

    Be available for a quick phone/virtual call with the instructor to initiate your relationship and confirm your scope is an appropriate fit for the course

  • question

    Scoring presentation and selecting top 3

  • question

    Provide an opportunity for students to present their work and receive feedback. This can be done live or from videos.