CHAPTER ONE
1.1    INTRODUCTION
    Retailing activities involved in the sales of goods or services to ultimate consumer for personal or personal use. Anyone selling to ultimate consumer is performing the function of a retailer regardless of what he/she calls himself / herself.
    Retailing is not a new concept in Nigeria. It is common business among the people in Nigeria from time immemorial. Retailing activities are common in open market and surroundings, e.g. Ipata Market (Ilorin) and Alaba Market (Lagos) and Dugbe Market (Ibadan).
    Charles (1987) defines retailing as all activities undertaken by intermediaries whose primarily function is to sell good and service to ultimate consumers. 
    Kotler (1980) define retailing as all the activities involved in selling goods and services directly to final consumer of their personal and non-personal use.
    The two definitions explain more saying that take place in our market and will designed stores.
    Retailing also covers service rendered by lawyers, drivers, doctors and lecturers. Anyone who market to the ultimate consumer by what ever name, is in the business of retailing e.g. vendors, food seller, Barbers, cigarette seller and hawkers cobber.
    Hospital is retailers to patient as college are retailers to education.
We also have types of retailing organisation and they maybe categorize based on the following factors.
1.1    OWNERSHIP E.G. INDEPENDENT AND COOPERATIVE
A.    Independent majority of shops of any kind are owned by individual in Nigeria e.g. JMK Supermarket. They buy in large quantity either from wholesale or, producers and sell in unit to final consumers. Some specialize while some sell variety of items. In Nigeria today the individual shapes are increasing in the food canteen and raw food.
    This type of retail covers all sorts of goods and services ranging from barbing saloon, hair style saloon shoe and bag etc.
B.    Co-operating society: A co-operative society is defined as a co-operative retailing organisation trading on cooperative principle afflicted to the national cooperative through co-operative union.
ii)    Range of Merchandise: Same retail organisation offer a wide range of goods e.g. variety stores, super market and departmental stores which JMK supermarket.
iii)    Size: The average size of the organisation numbers and branches it have made them differs form other firms.
iv)    Pricing Policy: Same firms may deliberately focus on low price, low margin and high turnover operation e.g. discount store.
v)    Location: Due to the continued increase in cost of location in town etive and traffic conjunctions, many firms prefer the out skirts of the town, while same still prefer to stay on in the centre of towns. 
1.2    STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS OF THE STUDY
    The success o retail outlets depends greatly on the stability of its location. Location is referred to here as the actual place in which the store or supermarket is sited.
    The rent of cost of building represents a major cost to the retail. Even if the other tenants of retailing are observed and retail out fit is poorly sited, this may cause failure, for instance, a store located at sited which will be more of inconvenience than comfort to consumer, is going to lack patronage. A good location enables the retailer to make use of all the merchandizing plans as draw up, provision of sample parking, space and sufficient merchandise supply with competitive prices and alternative display enhance the success of the store.  
    Display is also of paramount importance to get exposure for all the items of merchandise because most consumers tend to just move on perimeter of the store and if all the goods are not well exposed he might not business.
    Research has also shown that majority of the purchases made by consumers are done on impulse  and so all items should be properly displayed so that customers will be allowed proper view of all displays as unseen goods are usually unsold. Another area of problem is, if retailer is the service rendered by stores and supermarket service as a source of income, a builder, or reputation of the firms and a long term attraction and maintenance of customer relation.
1.3    AIMS AND OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
    The aims and objective of this project work include the following.
    It is the aims of this project work to find out how the retailers carryout their activities and the function they render to both whole sales and consumers.
    It also the aims of this term research to identify the nature and various types of merchandising carried out by different retailer, so also the aim of this project is to examine the different types of retailers and how each type perform the marketing function. Furthermore, this research is aimed at finding out how effective retailers are in the distribution of essential commodity in Nigeria.