COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES IN THE CRAFT PRODUCT RETAILING INDUSTRY

A potentially profitable product category for retailers in tourist reg ions is handcrafted items. Porter's theory of competitive strategies s erved al the guiding framework for this study, which examined competit ive strategies used by retailers who market crafts to tourists. Craft retailers (n=373) in three Midwestern states responded to a mailed que stionnaire about their businesses and their selected tactics for compe ting in the crafts retail market. Retailers relied on strategies that minimized operational costs while considering quality, uniqueness, and innovation as important in their marketing efforts. Store type and nu mber of years in business affected which strategies were used.