COURSE DETAIL
After defining the contexts of the retail sector, the course focuses on the strategic and operational choices related to the configuration and management of distribution channels, and the management of retail companies analyzed with a dynamic-evolutional perspective, and through the completion of a project on distribution innovation. The course is divided into three parts. (1) The key elements of a distribution channel (such as protagonists and flows) as well as its main economic functions are described. The retailers’ key management practices and their offer development process are discussed. (2) Focus on channel management, pointing out the main choices regarding: channel design, multichannel management, and trade marketing. (3) Analysis of the historical evolution of distribution channels and its stages by adopting an international perspective, and insights on emerging trends. These include current innovations in retailing, in particular e-tailing and retail branding. This is a graduate level course only available to graduate students.