....................is a large establishment offering a wide variety of products, classified into well-defined departments, aimed at satisfying practically every customer’s need under one roof.

Departmental stores

The correct answer is option 1- Departmental stores.

A departmental store is a large establishment offering a wide variety of products, classified into well-defined departments, aimed at satisfying practically every customer’s need under one roof. It has a number of departments, each one confining its activities to one kind of product. For example, there may be separate departments for toiletries, medicines, furniture, groceries, electronics, clothing and dress material within a store. Thus, they satisfy diverse market segments with a wide variety of goods and services. It is not uncommon for a department store in the United States of America to carry ‘needle to an aeroplane’ or ‘all shopping under one roof.’ Everything from ‘a pin to an elephant’ is the spirit behind a typical department store. In India real departmental stores have not yet come in a big way in the retailing business. However, some stores on this line in India include ‘Akberally’ in Mumbai and ‘Spencers’ in Chennai.

OTHER OPTIONS-

• Chain stores or multiple shops are networks of retail shops that are owned and operated by manufacturers or intermediaries. Under this type of arrangement, a number of shops with similar appearance are established in localities, spread over different parts of the country. These different shops normally deal in standardised and branded consumer products, which have rapid sales turnover. These shops are run by the same organisation and have identical merchandising strategies, with identical products and displays.

•  Mail order houses are the retail outlets that sell their merchandise through mail. There is generally no direct personal contact between the buyers and the sellers in this type of trading. For obtaining orders, potential customers are approached through advertisements in newspapers or magazines, circulars, catalogues, samples and bills, and price lists sent to them by post. All the relevant information about the products such as the price, features, delivery terms, terms of payment, etc., are described in the advertisement. On receiving the orders, the items are carefully scrutinised with respect to the specifications asked for by the buyers and are complied with through the post office