E-Mail Usage & Limits

of Posting Grades:

* Assignment and exam grades will be posted on the Blackboard.

* Students who wish not to have their grades posted must inform the instructor in

writing before handing in the first assignment.

2.7 E-mail Usage & Limits: For prompt response, e-mail is preferred to voice mail.

Emails must be sent from a "ryerson.ca" address. The subject line must contain

the topic and the course number (RMG452). Students are required to sign their

emails in full (Name, Surname, and student number). Voice mail messages

must also state the topic, the course number, and student's full name. Students

are asked to articulate. Email and voice mail messages that do not conform will

not be acknowledged nor answered. Students are strongly encouraged to use

email rather than voice mail messages for an almost immediate response.

3.0 CALENDAR COURSE DESCRIPTION

Students will study the theories and practices related to visual merchandising and space

planning. An examination of leading edge visual merchandising practices will be

explored with respect to in-store design and layout. Space planning software will be

used to plan in-store displays, window and fixture design and configuration.

4.0 COURSE OVERVIEW

Visual merchandising is taught as a complete program or as a standalone course in

many schools. Students in fashion, design, retailing and business are exposed

differently to visual merchandising theories and practices. In some programs, the

emphasis is put on aesthetics and visual communications. In business faculties, visual

merchandising is part of the "servicescape" (Bitner, 1992) and the multiple cue retail

environment (Baker, 2002) that triggers shopping behaviours. It is also associated with

store productivity and ROI. Aesthetics, shopper behaviour and managing for profit go

hand in hand. Today, visual merchandising goes beyond making merchandise

attractive for the customer. It is part of the retail environment that mediates shoppers'

emotions, perceptions and behaviour. Its effects are seen on store patronage, traffic,

sales transactions, average sales, up-sells, cross-sells and shopper loyalty.

5.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES

* This course will provide students with a hands-on understanding of the visual

merchandising theory and techniques and how it relates to the retail

environment.

* Students will acquire knowledge and skills through

o lectures;

o textbook;

o theoretical papers from academic publications;

o articles from trade publications;

o spreadsheets analytics and model building;

o merchandising software (JDA/Intactix Efficient Item Assortment and

Space Planning).

6.0 EVALUATION

Grading:

The grade for this course is composed of the mark received for each of the following

components:

Method Percent/Weight

Individual lab exercises (2) 20%

Midterm exam 20%

Case Study (team) 15%

Final exam 30%

Participation 15%

TOTAL 100%

Individual exercises will help students develop hands-on analytical and model building skills.

A signed affidavit (see Assignment Template) that certifies the assignment has been

completed individually and in accordance with the rules on academic honesty must

accompany each assignment. The latter rules are spelled out in the Student Code of

Academic Conduct.

These assignments will be graded as participation exercises and in preparation for exams:

- Therefore, they must be handed personally to the instructor on time at the beginning of

the class on the due date (see class syllabus).

- No late remittance will be accepted for whatever reason. Students who cannot be in

class must hand in their assignment in the instructor's mailbox at Ted Rogers School of

Retail Management or by email attachment as a proof of completion prior to the

beginning of the class on due date. If the exercise is handed electronically on time, it

must necessary be followed by the hard paper version for perusal. If an assignment

is dropped in the instructor's mailbox or sent by electronic attachment, it will

automatically be assumed that the student is absent from class.

- Students are expected to attend every class and arrive on time. The workload for this

course is based on three hours of work for each hour of class.

In addition to the lab exercises, students' participation will also be graded based on a

variety of means, including (but not limit to) pop quizzes, attendance records, in-class

activities,