Need help with my writing homework on Nordstrom: How to Succeed by Selling Just One Shoe. Write a 1000 word paper answering; Generally, a department store offers products including clothing, jewelry, books, stationery, food, toys, home appliances, sporting equipments, paint, and gardening. As Coles (1978, p. 179) points out, one of the major characteristics of a department store is that this large scale retail organization will have several departments under the same roof. and each department/unit of a department store deals with a specific category of trade or product. Usually, department stores need huge amount of capital to commence their business and they are located in big cities and towns. Centralized management system is a general characteristic of a department store. This type of retail organizations keep their interior decoration and window display attractive and spend more on sales promotion. They provide a range of quality customer services including inspection of goods, convenient packages, home delivery and after sale services. Department stores sell products only on cash basis and generally they do not offer credit facilities to their customers to avoid the risk of bad debts. Finally, high operational cost is a common feature of department stores. Level of Service on the Continuum The Nordstrom tries to deliver best possible shopping experiences to customer regardless of store purchase, online purchase, or a mail order catalog. The Nordstrom management makes sure that its customers are treated with ‘love’ and respect. In the view of the industry observer Lior Arussy, “greed through love” is the business strategy of the Nordstrom. and the given case scenario clearly indicates that the organization has “perfected the art of focusing on the right customers and giving them undivided attention” (Nordstrom’s Success: Case Study). This strength would assist the company to satisfy needs and requirements of individual customers. A Nordstrom salesperson often continues the relationship with a client for many years. Nordstrom salespeople exchange their business cards with customers so as to provide them with better shopping experiences in future. According to McGowan (2006), Bozzuto’s Inc floral store is an example of a retail outlet that offers self service to full service on the continuum. The store mainly focuses on custom designs, weddings, and funerals. Although it has many full service departments, some of its stores have only just launched their business. The retailer starts its each unit as a self service and gradually develops the venture as a full service provider. According to Bozzuto’s floral category manager Jason Brancifort (as cited in McGowan, 2006), the firm’s biggest task is to prove that its every store can sell floral. Retailing Mix Product, price, place, promotion, people, and process are the six elements of retailing mix. As discussed earlier, the Nordstrom development store offers a wide category of product lines including clothing, accessories, jewelry, fragrances, cosmetics and foods. Hence, the organization’s product lines are potential enough to meet customer needs. It seems that the Nordstrom does not provide much price offerings to its customers and the company always tries to sell its products at full price. The firm gives specific focus on choosing a new business place. The case study indicates that the company’s president Eric Nordstrom ensures potentiality of a new business place himself before signing off on it.