1.13 Information Needed 25
1.14 Target Populations 25
1.15 Questionnaires Development 25
1.16 Sampling Procedure 27
1.17 Sample Characteristics 28
Chapter 5:Findings Analysis and Discussion 31
Chapter 5:Findings Analysis and Discussion 31
1.18 Facility Attributes Analysis 31
1.19 Goods Attributes Analysis 34
1.20 Personnel Attributes Analysis 39
1.21 Policy Attributes Analysis 42
1.22 Two-factor Model vs. Servqual 46
Chapter 6:Conclusion 48
Chapter 6:Conclusion 48
1.23 Present Customer Perception 48
1.24 Improvement Strategy 49
1.25 Two-factor Model 51
Appendix A: Questionnaire A 53
Appendix A: Questionnaire A 53
Appendix B: Questionnaire B 56
Appendix B: Questionnaire B 56
Appendix C: Interview Schedule 59
Appendix C: Interview Schedule 59
Appendix D: Data Analysis 60
Appendix D: Data Analysis 60
Appendix E: Quality Attributes of a Supermarket 74
Appendix E: Quality Attributes of a Supermarket 74
References 76
References 76
iv
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1: Research framework 2
Figure 2.1: Proportion of merchandises sold through supermarket 5
Figure 2.2: Saigon Co-op organization chart 7
Figure 2.3: Old procurement procedure 9
Figure 2.4: New procurement procedure 9
Figure 2.5: Co-op Mart Nguyen Dinh Chieu Organization chart 9
Figure 2.6: Co-op Mart Nguyen Dinh Chieu sales volume (2000) 10
Figure 3.1: The Kano diagram 16
Figure 3.2: Three basic shapes of characteristic curve 20
Figure 3.3: Structure of characteristic curve 21
Figure 3.4: Two-factor model’s coefficients 22
Figure 4.1: Respondents’ age of sample A 28
Figure 4.2: Respondents’ frequency of shopping in supermarket of sample A 28
Figure 4.3: Respondents’ average spending for each shopping of sample A 28
Figure 4.4: Respondents’ age of sample B 29
Figure 4.5: Respondents’ frequency of shopping in supermarket of sample B 29
Figure 4.6: Respondents’ average spending for each shopping of sample B 29
Figure 5.1: Convenience of parking 32
Figure 5.2: Air condition 33
Figure 5.3: Store size 33
Figure 5.4: Quality of merchandise 35
Figure 5.5: Variety of product lines, variety of brand names and varieties for each
product line 36
Figure 5.6: Convenience of products arrangement for finding and attractiveness of
products display 37
Figure 5.7: Introduction of new products 37
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Figure 5.8: Unique products which customers cannot find somewhere else 38
Figure 5.9: Agility and hospitality of locker personnel 40
Figure 5.10: Hospitality, expertise in product information, and helpfulness in finding of
salesperson 41
Figure 5.11: Hospitality, accuracy, and agility of cashier 41
Figure 5.12: Price level compared with other supermarkets 43
Figure 5.13: Returning unqualified products policy 43
Figure 5.14: Attractiveness of promotion campaigns 44
Figure 5.15: Flexibility of paying method 45
Figure 5.16: Convenience of open hours 46
Figure 5.17: Convenience of open hours and quality of merchandise 47
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1: Co-op Mart stores 8
Table 2.2: List of Co-op Mart’s direct competitors 11
Table 3.1: Kano questionnaire combination table 17
Table 4.1: List of studied attributes 26
Table 4.2: Attributes classification 27
Table 5.1: Facility attributes 31
Table 5.2: Goods attributes 34
Table 5.3: Personnel attributes 39
Table 5.4: Policy attributes 42
Table 6.1: Present customer perception 48
Table 6.2: Improvement priorities of the first group 51
Table 6.3: Improvement priorities of the second group 51
Table C.1: Schedule of survey A 59
Table C.2: Schedule of survey B 59
Table D.1: Variables coding 60
Table D.2: Shopping preference contributed by very good performance 61
Table D.3: Shopping preference contributed by very bad performance 62
Table D.4: Current attributes' performance 63
Table D.5: Shopping preference contributed by current attributes' performance 64
Table D.6: Difference between current attributes' performance and very good
performance 65
Table D.7: Difference between current attributes' performance and very bad
performance 66
Table D.8: Difference between shopping preference contributed by very good
performance and shopping preference contributed by current performance 67
Table D.9: Difference between shopping preference contributed by current
performance and shopping preference contributed by very bad performance 68
vii
Table D.10: Attributes' characteristics 69
Table D.11: List of attributes in the order of preference gap 71
Table D.12: List of attributes in the order of improvement efficiency 72
Table D.13: Pair test for difference in improvement efficiency 73
viii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 RATIONALE OF THE RESEARCH
After more than 20 years of planned economy, Vietnam entered to the market economy with
a lot of new kinds of business imported to the country. Among them, the concept of
supermarket seems to be the one which has most impact on the lifestyle of Vietnamese.
While the knowledge of supermarket quality receives many attentions from researchers in
other countries, the specific knowledge on Vietnam’s situation is scarce. Saigon Co-op Mart
is chosen for the research because it has the largest coverage in Ho Chi Minh City, the most
dynamic city in Vietnam.
Saigon Co-op is a co-operative which used to operate in many businesses from
manufacturing to trading, exporting and retailing. In the recent years, it has a strategic move
from a diversified portfolio investment to focusing on retailing especially the supermarket
chain. Many business units were divested for freeing resources to develop the supermarket
chain. From the beginning, Co-op Mart gains a significant market share thank to be one of
the first movers. However, it could not enjoy this advantage forever. Recently, the
competition on this kind of business increases rapidly in term of quantity as well as quality.
Many supermarkets have been opened with modern facilities and larger area in the last year.
In the near future, the competition will be more intensive as the result of the penetration of
foreign supermarket chain and the co-operation of other chains. For sustaining the market
leader position, Saigon Co-op must improve its competitiveness and the basic for this
competitiveness is quality. Quality leads to customer satisfaction and loyalty; satisfied and
loyal customers are a source of increasing future purchasing then the firm long-term
profitability and market share (Anderson, Fornell, and Lehmann, 1994).
On the other hand, for capturing the market quickly, Saigon Co-op Mart spreads its stores all
over the city with very high speed. As the result, the operation and quality level of the stores
are not unified. It creates a problem with customer perception of the brand. Moreover, it
makes the co-operation among stores having problems and the operation of the whole chain
is not effective. To overcome these problems, the management of Co-op Mart set up Co-op
Mart Nguyen Dinh Chieu as the model for their next generation stores. After that, they
standardize other stores based on this model.
The result of this research will give the company management a better understanding of the
relationship between store’s performance and shopping preference of customers and also the
perception of customer about Co-op Mart Nguyen Dinh Chieu. Consequently, they can have
more precise and systematic decisions to improve the quality of Co-op Mart Nguyen Dinh
Chieu. The result is not only the improvement of Co-op Mart Nguyen Dinh Chieu but also
the improvement of the whole chain when they apply this model to other stores.
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
The goal of this research is to provide the management of Saigon Co-op a better insight of
Co-op Mart Nguyen Dinh Chieu quality in the perception of customer in order to improve its
quality.
1
1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
For more detail to drive the research activities, this goal could be broken down into a series
of objectives:
Developing a new model to examine the quality of a service and set up priorities for
quality improvement based on the influences of performance improvement on
shopping preference of customers.
Identifying the attributes of a supermarket that affect perceived quality of customer
and finding out how these attributes’ performance influence the shopping preference
level of customers in an incremental manner.
Measuring customer’s perception about attributes performance of Co-op Mart Nguyen
Dinh Chieu and how much these attributes contribute to shopping preference of
customers.
Providing recommendations to improve Co-op Mart Nguyen Dinh Chieu’s quality in
an efficient way: improving the right attributes in the right priorities based on the
incremental contribution of these attributes performance to shopping preference of
customers.
1.4 RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
Figure 1.1: Research framework
Studied attributes
Attributes
characteristics
Attributes'
performance
Analysis
Quality attributes
Management
interview
Previous research
Focus group of
customer
Survey BSurvey A
Shopping preference
Management
interview
Observation
Recommendation
2
Quality attributes of a supermarket are discovered through previous research and focus group
of customers. Then an interview with the company management to decide which attributes
will be studied. After that, two surveys will be conducted to collect primary data. The result
of these two surveys will be used to characterize the attributes. On the other hand, the second
survey will be used to measure Co-op Mart Nguyen Dinh Chieu’s attributes performance and
how much this performance level contributes to shopping preference of customers. Based on
these findings, some recommendations will be made to help company management improve
their store’s quality.
Quality attributes are characterized, based on their impacts to shopping preference of
customers. The concept underlies this method is twofold. Firstly, when an attribute is
improved or declined, it does not affect shopping preference of customers by the same
amount. Secondly, this difference is not the same for every attribute but each attribute has its
own property. Some will have more impact on increase side and others will have more
impact on decrease side.
1.5 SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH
The research excludes all other kinds of complementary businesses in the area of
supermarket and focuses on supermarket business (self-service area) only.
The research focuses on three delivery processes of Co-op Mart which are believed to be
main processes of a supermarket. They are preparation for shopping, self-shopping, and
billing processes.
The research does not take into consideration the opinions of customers who visit
supermarket less than 4 times in the year since they are assumed not to be familiar with this
kind of shopping. In addition, customers who are under 15 are also excluded.
1.6 ORGANIZATION OF THE RESEARCH
Chapter 1(Introduction) provides an introduction including the rationale of the research,
problem identification, objectives, research framework, scope of the research, and
organization of the research report.
Chapter 2 (Co-op Mart introduction) presents the literatures of supermarket background and
supermarket in Viet Nam and introduces the development, organization, and operation of
Saigon Co-op and the Co-op Mart chain, especially Co-op Mart Nguyen Dinh Chieu store.
Chapter 3 (Development of Two-factor model) provides the literatures review of multi-
attribute concept and quality measurement, especially the Servqual and Kano models. This
chapter also presents the development of Two-factor model, which is to be used in this
research to examine service quality of Co-op Mart Nguyen Dinh Chieu and set up priorities
for quality improvement.
Chapter 4 (Research methodology) presents the information needed, target populations,
questionnaire development, sampling procedure, and sample characteristics of the research.
Chapter 5 (Findings analysis and discussion) contains the discussion and analysis of findings
from customer surveys as well as management interview and observation. Some
recommendations are also discussed in this chapter.
Chapter 6 (Conclusion) draws out the conclusions for current perceived quality of Saigon
Co-op Mart Nguyen Dinh Chieu, quality improvement strategy, and Two-factor model.
3
CHAPTER 2: CO-OP MART INTRODUCTION
1.7 BACKGROUND OF SUPERMARKET
1.7.1 History and concept of supermarket
The supermarket was born in the US and was one of the most interesting innovations which
has changed the retailing environment. Exact place and time it was born has been debated for
many years. According to Peak H.S. (1977), most authors cite December 8, 1932 as the birth
date of the supermarket when a new store called the Big Bear was opened in New Jersey.
This store, along with other early supermarkets, was a child of the Great Depression.
Economic conditions were such that the price was all-important, and every penny counted.
The lower price in supermarkets is the result of low-margin operations that depend on very
high stock turnover rates to sustain profits. Operation out of clean, modern facilities, the
supermarket is basically a self-service operation supported by such services as parking,
check cashing, fast check out, and bagging. Cash and carry is the preferred method of doing
business (Lewison, 1994).
The supermarket was generally accepted as the food retailer until the years 1970s. By the
end of 70s, the changing lifestyle of the customers focused on convenience had led some
operators to a “one-stop-shopping-for-household-goods” supermarket. The emphasis on one-
stop shopping and the adding of new departments and sections has continued up till now
(Peak, 1977). Today, a supermarket’s upgraded and upscale operations include such non-
food lines as prescription medicines, electronic appliances, auto accessories, books,
magazines, clothing, flowers, and house ware. Moreover, many supermarkets have added
numerous services including dry cleaning, postal, banking, tailoring, medical, dental,
insurance, and legal services.
No one definition of a supermarket exists because of the wide range of business formula
used in this industry. There are three criteria used to define a supermarket: the minimum size
requirement, the characteristics and extent of self-service, and the stock requirements. In the
US, a supermarket was firstly defined by the Supermarket Institute as a self-service
departmentalized food store having a minimum sales volume of $250,000 per year. In 1954,
the sales volume was revised to $500,000 (Charvar, 1961 and McCleland, 1963). Prior to
1981, supermarket included food stores with annual sales of at least $1 million. Recently, the
minimum annual sales requirement is $2 million (Lewison, 1994). In the UK, a supermarket
is defined as a self-service food store with centralized checkouts and a sales area of over
2,000 square feet (Khalifa Othman, 1990).
In the US, supermarkets, using 80% of retail food industry’s personnel, account for about
90% of all retail food sales (Peak, 1977). In the UK and Canada, supermarkets and large
superstores account for about 85% of grocery trade. Similarly in other European countries,
supermarkets dominate the food retailing system (Khalifa Othman, 1990).
1.7.2 Supermarket in Viet Nam
In general, Vietnamese perceives that the store offering self-service, having fixed price
labels and electronic checkout as a “supermarket” (Thu Huong, 1997, p.33). In her research,
Thu Huong (1997) reached the conclusion that most of the people (94.9%) consider a store
as a “supermarket” because of its self-service characteristic, which is pretty new for
Vietnamese shoppers. Many customers cite self-service as a positive side of the store,
4
because shoppers can enjoy free choice and comparison among brands, and can avoid the
high pressure selling which is normal practice in other traditional stores. Fixed pricing is also
thought as a sign of a “supermarket” by nearly 85% of customers. More than half of the
customers point out that a “supermarket” should have electronic checkout. In addition, nice
and convenience product displays are also considered as one attribute of a “supermarket” by
40% of customers.
In contrast with supermarket concept used in developed countries which is characterized by a
large volume, multi-line store that serves mass market at competitive prices, the
supermarkets in Viet Nam are more expensive than traditional outlets, and tend to cater the
middle and upper class customers. The supermarkets are still fairly basic in terms of design,
range and service, but they are a far cry from the small and congested roadside stalls.
Different with traditional markets, supermarkets have well designed interior and shopping
comforts such as air conditioning, cold storage, and electronic checkouts. They offer self-
service, high quality goods at fixed prices. The merchandise mix is mainly household
amenities and personal care products, ready-to-eat foods, confectionary and cooking
materials, as well as footwear, clothing and some durable products (Thu Huong, 1997, p.41).
According to Tu Giang (1999), most of Vietnamese have not been similar with shopping in
supermarket. There are 78% of customers in Ho Chi Minh City and 66% of customers in Ha
Noi who thought that the price in supermarket is higher 5%-10% than that in other outlets.
Shopping frequency in supermarket is very limited. In developed countries, 80% of
customers go to supermarket every week. This number in Viet Nam is 12% in Ho Chi Minh
City and 8% in Ha Noi. As a result, proportion of sales volume which is sole through
supermarket is very low, just about 5% of total retail volume in Viet Nam.
Figure 2.1: Proportion of merchandises sold through supermarket
1
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Hongkong Singapore Korea Malaysia Philippines Viet Nam
%
However, year 2001 begins a new era for supermarket in Viet Nam. The shopping area of
supermarket is larger, the product lines and brands are more varied, services are better, and
especially, the price will be cheaper due to fierce competition and efficient operation.
Demand for supermarket is more and more increasing. The number of customers who go to
one supermarket for shopping increases from hundreds per day to 5 thousands per day in
1
Source: AC Nielsen (1999).
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