Assessment of the Impact of the Functioning of the FIFO on the Occurrence of Organic Products with an Exceeded Use-By Date

Food waste is a global problem with 5% of the European Union's (EU's) retail sector responsible. The reasons cited for food waste at retail level among others: undesirable customer behaviour, inadequate packaging, irregular demand, overestimated deliveries, small store area and warehouse space, inappropriate replenishment policies in shops and increased product quality requirements. The requirement to keep shelves full in stores and inappropriate storage logistics lead to overstocking of products, the arrangement of which disregards the first in-first out (FIFO) principle. It contributes to the amplification of food take-offs and may lead to the occurrence of products with exceeded use-by dates, which is the most common cause of food wastage [Federacja Polskich Banków Żywności 2020]. The aim of the study was to evaluate the functioning of the FIFO system in specialist stores, discount stores and large-format stores that have organic food on offer. To evaluate the FIFO system, unannounced inspections were conducted in the stores. During the inspections, errors in the arrangement of products according to the FIFO system were detected. The items found to be out of order were both long and short-dated products, stored in refrigerated as well as on regular shelves, indicating that stores have a problem with storage logistics in all departments. Improving solutions and implementing appropriate measures in this area could reduce food wastage at the retail level.

Suboptimal food retail model in Czechia: social super discount stores

PurposeThe paper aims to identify retail models redistributing suboptimal food and their presence in Czechia. The author aims to give an overview of the status in comparison with other European Union countries and the form of such models in the Czech retail market concerning social super discount stores (SSDSs).Design/methodology/approachThe analysis is based on data obtained from an empirical study conducted by the study of secondary materials, author store-check observations and interviews with owners of SSDSs. The theoretical part consists of a literature review on social enterprises, food wasting and the definition of certain food distribution formats such as social supermarkets, food banks and SSDSs. The criteria for the selection of the research sample for observation were chosen based on the research conducted in Austria by researchers from the Vienna University of Economics and Business.FindingsThe research sample consists of 40 retail stores belonging to five retailers. The particular variables of the study are the number of stores, store size, range of categories and products, discount rates, location and the number of employees in the selected stores in Czechia.Originality/valueThis paper is a case study to identify and explore social retailing in Central Europe. This paper contributes to the emerging set of literature on social entrepreneurship, particularly in the field of retail for suboptimal food products.

COVID effect on retailing: a study on consumers’ retailer preferences during economic recession periods: evidence from Turkey as a predominantly Muslim society

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore consumers’ retailer preferences during economic growth and recession periods in a Muslim-intensive country, and to compare the efficiency of retailers of different formats. Design/methodology/approach The data of the retailers operating in different formats in the first two quarters of 2018–2020 are used in the study. The data are analyzed by using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The inputs of the DEA model are personnel expenses, rent costs and advertising expenses; and the outputs are sales and profits, which are the main objective of businesses. Because of the structure of the data, the non-oriented approach is used. The efficiency of retailers is determined in the study with super efficiency, which allows retailers to rank their productivity. Findings Findings of study present that consumers exhibited price-oriented behaviors during economic recession periods. DEA findings shows that discount stores are the most efficient retailers. However, study findings also reveal that retailers who support cost-reduction strategies with promotion activities are more efficient than others during economic recession periods. Practical implications Recommendations are made for the decision makers of the retailers in line with the findings of the study. Originality/value The study contributes to the literature by evaluating the consumer preferences and the efficiency of retailers in COVID-19 outbreak period, which is one of the most special periods in world history.

Sustainability, Store Equity, and Satisfaction: The Moderating Effect of Gender in Retailing

Currently, sustainability emerges as a key element on which the development of competitive advantages for businesses is based. In the dynamic and turbulent environment in which retail companies operate, sustainable practices are posited as an opportunity for their progress and survival. Through this article, it is intended to advance the nature and dimensions of this construct and examine its influence on store equity and consumer satisfaction. Furthermore, this work analyses the moderating effect of gender on these variables and the mediating nature of brand equity in the development of consumer satisfaction. All this is developed through a quantitative study carried out on a sample of 510 consumers of different food retail commercial formats (hypermarkets, supermarkets, and discount stores) in Spain. The technique used for data analysis is partial least squares (PLS) regression. The results show the importance of sustainability and brand equity in the development of consumer satisfaction in the retail sector, with the intensity of its effects being a gender issue. On the other hand, brand equity is positioned as a key element thanks to its mediating effect between sustainability and satisfaction. All of this points to the need to move towards more sustainable business models.

Financial performance and market growth of the companies in Hungary and Romania: A study of the food retail companies

Currently, there is a growing concentration in terms of supermarkets and hypermarkets, discount stores, and wholesalers. The advancement of retail chains has accelerated and they now have significant market share. In the EU countries, food retail turnover is characterized by concentration, with more than 90% of turnover coming from retail chains. Therefore, in the present study, the choice was made to analyse the average indicators of the sector and to compare them with the indicators of the largest sales companies in addition to the financial data of the top 100 companies with the highest turnover both in Hungary and Romania. The article provides an insight into the economic, property, income and liquidity situation of Hungarian and Romanian companies, which are dominant in food retailing. It also describes the liabilities structure and asset composition of the companies surveyed in the two countries. It can be stated that the short-term liquidity of Romanian enterprises in the case of the liquidity ratio and the quick liquidity ratio lags behind the values experienced by Hungarian enterprises. The value of cash-level liquidity is similar to the values in Hungary, it is characterized by a low but increasing trend. Comparing the indicators of the examined Hungarian enterprise and the sector, it can be observed that in 2015, when the analysed companies showed a loss of profit, negative values can also be recorded in the case of the average profitability indicators of the sector. The article also covers future analysis possibilities and perspectives.

Changes in Consumers’ Food Purchase and Transport Behaviors over a Decade (2010 to 2019) Following Health and Convenience Food Trends

Although consumers’ food purchase/transport have been reported as causes of food safety risks, there is a lack of empirical data that are feasible to identify persistent and emerging risky behaviors of consumers. This longitudinal trend study consists of individual consumer surveys in 2010 (n = 609) and 2019 (n = 605) to analyze changes in risky behaviors linked to food purchase/transport over a decade. Overall, the results identified purchase/transport time and purchase order as the emerging and unchanged risk factors, respectively. Consumers’ preferences into channels for purchase (large discount stores rather than small/traditional markets) and transport (using cars or delivery) implied the convenience as the noticeable trend. Whereas, unexpected increases in purchase/transport time highlighted the underestimated risks in long-term exposure of foods under inadequate temperature. Food should not be exposed to danger zones > 1–2 h, but consumers might be unaware of the risk especially for preferred channels (e.g., 77 and 36 min. are required for purchase and transport from large discount stores, respectively). In the case of unchanged risky behavior, more than half of consumers in both surveys did not follow proper purchasing orders. Our findings highlight the necessity for novel countermeasures and the improvement of current consumer guidelines against emerging and unchanged risky behaviors, respectively.