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Background: Convenience stores in Guatemala provide essential consumer goods in communities, but many dispense antibiotics illegally. Federal legislation, passed in August of 2019, requires prescriptions for antibiotic purchase at pharmacies but it is unclear if this legislation is enforced or if it has any impact on unlawful sales of antibiotics. Methods: To determine if antibiotic availability changed in convenience stores, we carried out a repeated measures study collecting antibiotic availability data before and after implementation of the dispensing regulation. Results: There was no statistical difference in the proportion of convenience stores that sold antibiotics before and after antibiotic regulations [66.6% (295/443) and 66.7% (323/484), respectively, P>0.96], nor in the number of stores selling amoxicillin [55.5% (246/443) and 52.3% (253/484), respectively, P>0.96], but fewer stores (20%) sold tetracycline capsules after regulation was passed (P<0.05). For stores visited both before and after passage of legislation (n=157), 15% stopped selling antibiotics while 25% started selling antibiotics. Antibiotics from convenience stores were reportedly sold for use in people and animals. Conclusions: Antibiotics remain widely available in convenience stores consistent with no significant change in the informal sector after implementation of prescription requirements for pharmacies. Importantly, effects from regulatory change could have been masked by potential changes in antibiotic use during the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to analyze whether PT. Matahari Department Store Tbk, PT. Hero Supermarket Tbk, PT. MAP Active Adiperkasa Tbk, and PT. Erajaya Swasembada Tbk experienced financial distress during the period of 2019-2021. The objective was to identify if any of these companies faced financial difficulties and, if so, determine the main variables that caused their financial problems. A sample of four companies from the Supermarket & Convenience Store, Clothing & Textile Retail, and Electronic Retail sub-industries was chosen using purposive sampling. The data analysis used the Altman Z-score (multiple discriminant analysis) method. The results revealed that two companies, PT. Hero Supermarket Tbk in 2019 and 2020, with Z-scores of 2.9510 and 2.5147, respectively, and PT. Matahari Department Store Tbk in 2020-2021, with Z-scores of 2.1954 and 2.6608, fell within the gray area. The gray area indicates that these companies were at risk of financial distress. Among these two companies, PT. Hero Supermarket Tbk faced financial distress in 2021, as indicated by a Z-score of 0.9288. On the other hand, the analysis indicated that two companies, PT. MAP Active Adiperkasa Tbk and PT. Erajaya Swasembada Tbk, remained in a healthy and safe financial condition throughout the three-year period, as their Z-scores were greater than 2.88. In conclusion, the study highlights the importance of financial health analysis for companies operating in the Supermarket & Convenience Store, Clothing & Textile Retail, and Electronic Retail industries. The Altman Z-score proved to be a valuable tool in identifying financial distress risks and assisting decision-makers and stakeholders in making informed and proactive strategies to mitigate potential financial difficulties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Agroalimentaria is the property of Alejandro Antonio Gutierrez Socorro and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article explores the use of the K-Means clustering algorithm to analyze sales data at XYZ Grocery stores. The research aims to improve inventory management strategies by understanding sales patterns. The study implements the K-Means algorithm to create groups of products based on their sales performance. While specific results and contributions are not provided, the findings are expected to offer insights into sales trends at the store. Further research could explore the practical applications of these findings in store management and inventory control. The article also discusses the design and testing of a system for managing product data, which proves to be reliable and efficient. The system effectively manages and stores product data, responds well to normal and incorrect data inputs, and provides valuable strategic information for decision-making. The article includes references to other studies on data clustering and related topics. [Extracted from the article]

A governmental cashless point consumer refund program was implemented from October 1, 2019 to June 31, 2020 as part of a policy to promote cashless payments. This policy gave consumers a 2% or 5% (depending on the store) cashback in the form of points when they made purchases at small and medium-sized businesses, franchise chains, and convenience stores. In this paper, we examine whether this policy actually had an effect on promoting cashless usage among consumers. We used the SCM (synthetic control method) and DID (difference-in-differences) as our analysis methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cigarette packaging is designed to increase consumer appeal and remains a primary promotional tool in many countries, including the U.S. This study documented changes in the prevalence of pack characteristics among the top-selling cigarette products in the U.S. in 2018 and 2021. The 50 cigarette packs with the highest national unit sales in U.S. convenience stores in 2018 and 2021 were identified using Nielsen's Scantrack data and subsequently purchased. Packs were coded for features such as dominant color(s), descriptive text, and promotional language. Descriptive analyses conducted in 2022 weighted by total annual unit sales compared the prevalence of pack characteristics between years. Three brands—Marlboro, Newport, and Camel—constituted over 80% of pack sales among the top-selling products. Packs with red as a dominant color grew less popular between years (33.3% vs 29.5%), whereas those with green became more prevalent (25.2% vs 28.9%), consistent with a rise in the proportion of menthol sales. The prevalence of descriptors such as flavor and fresh decreased from 46.0% to 39.4% and 9.7% to 5.2%, respectively. Meanwhile, the prevalence of promotional language (e.g., rewards programs) increased from 60.9% to 69.0%. The use of visual and named colors remains common, which can implicitly communicate sensory or health-related attributes. Moreover, promotions may help recruit and retain consumers in the context of more restrictive tobacco control policies and price increases. Given the strong influence that cigarette packaging exerts on consumers, packaging-focused policies, such as plain packaging laws, may reduce appeal and accelerate declines in cigarette use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Opportunity identification, opportunity development, and evaluation studies are the main contents in the entrepreneurship literature, but there lacks in‐depth research on the decision‐making process of franchise entrepreneurship. Through case interviews and literature review, this paper presents the cases of four franchise entrepreneurs of convenience store chains in Taiwan as examples to develop a new model of a franchise entrepreneurship decision‐making process. In addition to the new model of this decision‐making process, the following key observations are made based on the case comparison analysis. (1) Franchise entrepreneurs with prior knowledge of relevant industries were all affected by prior knowledge in both industrial decision and organizational type (self‐employment/franchise/merger) decision. Franchise entrepreneurs without prior knowledge of related industries were influenced by social network in both industrial decision and organizational (self‐employment/franchise/merger) decision. (2) Franchise entrepreneurs with prior knowledge of related industries were influenced by prior knowledge and potential financial reward in brand decision. Franchise entrepreneurs without prior knowledge of related industries were influenced by social network and potential financial reward in brand decision. (3) Franchise entrepreneurs with prior knowledge of related industries were influenced by prior knowledge, potential financial reward, and financial resources of the franchise headquarters in the franchise type (franchising/commissioning) decision. Franchise entrepreneurs without prior knowledge of the relevant industry were influenced by the social network, potential financial reward, and financial resources of the franchise headquarters in the franchise type (franchise/authorized chain) decision. (4) Franchise entrepreneurs were influenced by potential financial reward and franchise headquarters management knowledge in the location decision of the start‐up process, regardless of having prior knowledge of the industry or not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]