r to offer ôàurban-relevant products" that Manhattan's residents ôàcan relate to,ö (Deneen, 2005, p. 2). In sum, Deneen (2005) maintains that customized retailing and structural evolution have promoted increased sales and revenues as well as innovation for many companies. Once more it is the external environment driving evolution. As Deneen (2005, p. 4) argues, ôWhile mass marketing may be on the decline, mass customization is evolving - and as it evolves, so do the demands that each market places on retailers.ö
As a consultant, I would caution against abandoning the centralized approach in favor of only decentralized, localized marketing. I would do so because only a centralized approach can continually monitor ongoing changes in the external environment with respect to uncertainty and change. In this manner, a centralize marketing department could remain abreast of environmental drivers for change that may, ultimately, call for another approach over the mass customization strategy now employed by numerous mass market retailers. Failure to do so will leave the organization vulnerable as it will not be in a position to respond rapidly to a rapidly changing marketplace.
Deneen, K. (2005, May 15). Creating "My kind of store." Gallup Management Journal Online, 1-4.
How retailers are using innovative approaches
As retailers shift from mass marketing to targeting specific groups of consumers,
they're becoming increasingly innovative. Leveraging demographic segmentation
has become quite common, so retailers are taking it a step further and identifying
ever-more specific markets to better position their strategies.
The growing trend in retailing is to move away from a centralized organizational
structure that manages all marketing, assortment, and distribution channels to a
decentralized approach. Thanks to distribution channels like the
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