Copentown is a small town. The town's main street has a mixture of retailers including independent general stores, multiple stores, franchise food outlets and speciality stores. Some of the food outlets offer home delivery. Fig. 1.1 shows the footfall (the number of shoppers) in Copentown during the last five years. [Figure 1.1]

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2019). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [2] Correct answer 150 000 (2)
2. [1] Method 350 000 – 200 000 (1)
3. [1] At least ten or more stores
4. [1] Generally owned by a public limited company
5. [1] Specialist or variety chain store
6. [1] Self-service
7. [1] Have the same logo / staff uniforms
8. [1] Have the same goods / same prices
9. [1] One manager for each store
10. [1] Controlled by head office / prices fixed by head office
11. [1] Centralised buying
12. [1] Losses by one store can be compensated for by another store
13. [1] Stock can be transferred between stores
14. [1] Standard store layout / same shopfronts
15. [1] Located in town centres
16. [1] The franchisee has bought an established product/service
17. [1] which may already enjoy widespread brand name recognition / less advertising needed
18. [1] It gives the franchisee the benefit of a ready-made market
19. [1] which would normally take years to establish
20. [1] A franchise increases the chance of business success/profits
21. [1] because of association with proven products / methods / quality of food is trusted
22. [1] Less risky
23. [1] no need to establish brand
24. [1] The franchisee is offered support/expertise
25. [1] e.g. location/design/finance/grand opening
26. [1] Some initial costs may be paid by the franchisor
27. [1] e.g. advertising
28. [1] Training may be provided by franchisor
29. [1] less investment needed by franchisee
30. [1] Easier to obtain finance
31. [1] as there is less risk to lender/bank
32. [1] Supplies may be cheaper
33. [1] if provided by the franchisor who buys in bulk for all franchises
34. [1] Other benefits from economies of scale
35. [1] as part of a large organisation
36. [1] No prior experience needed
37. [1] as franchisor gives managerial support
38. [1] Certain standard of food/hygiene
39. [1] as detailed in the franchise agreement
40. [1] Will have exclusive rights in an area
41. [1] as the franchisor will not sell another franchise in the same area
42. [2] Reusing plastic coffee cups from food outlets is known as recycling. A person that delivers fast food to people's homes is known as a courier.
43. [X] End of month weekend sale: Likely to generate an increase in sales
44. [X] More people will be attracted to visit at the end of each month/payday
45. [X] Might lead to customers buying non-sale goods as well
46. [X] Profit margins will be cut
47. [X] People may just decide to focus their spending at the end of the month leaving retailers with less sales during the rest of the month
48. [X] Costly advertising will be needed to promote the sale
49. [X] New website: More people have access to the internet to see advertisements / or not
50. [X] Likely to increase sales, not just for the sale period
51. [X] Can access a much wider market than just Copentown
52. [X] Other retailers are doing it
53. [X] Cost / skill of designing/maintaining a website
54. [X] If people are looking at adverts on the internet they may buy similar goods from an online retailer and/or cheaper/delivered
55. [X] Evaluation: If all the local Copentown retailers are working together so all shops have an end of month sale that may increase the footfall but just for one weekend per month when the retailers will be offering big discounts so not charging as much then, and may sell less for the rest of the month. So a more general approach to boost the whole town would be better in the long term, to attract more people to visit more regularly, rather than become known as a cut-price/cheap location.