IIM Ahmedabad MBA-FABM (Food and Agri-Business Management) selection · India · Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersHow food reaches consumers through retail: the market, the value chain, merchandising, store operations, finance and formats.
In the exams: Not an explicit unit in the catalogued exams; programme course
How our questions for IIM Ahmedabad MBA-FABM selection spread across the units of Food Retail & Agri-food Retail Management. Difficulty: 24 easy, 36 medium, 17 hard.
| Merchandise management | 18 | |
| Retail operations | 12 | |
| Retail finance | 12 | |
| Retail selling | 11 | |
| Retail formats | 9 | |
| Food retail in emerging and developed markets | 8 | |
| The retail value chain | 6 | |
| The international food market | 1 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
A food manufacturer pays a supermarket chain a lump sum to have a new product placed on its shelves. This payment is called a:
D. slotting or listing fee
A slotting (listing) fee is paid for shelf access for a new product. A volume rebate depends on quantities bought, a cooperative advertising allowance funds joint advertising, and a markdown allowance compensates the retailer for price reductions on slow stock.
A grocery chain moves from letting each supplier deliver to each store to supplying stores through a regional distribution centre. Which benefit is the chain most likely to gain?
C. Fewer store deliveries, better cold-chain control and more buying power over the chain's suppliers
Distribution centres consolidate supply into fewer mixed loads, improve control of temperature and quality, and strengthen the chain's position with suppliers. The centre does hold some stock, and negotiation with suppliers continues.
Which description best fits a hard (limited-assortment) discount food store?
B. A narrow range, mostly store brands, minimal service, goods shown in shipping cartons
Hard discounters cut cost with a narrow assortment, mostly own brands, low service and case-ready display. The distractors describe a hypermarket, a convenience store and a warehouse club.
Which factor most determines whether a quick-commerce dark store can become profitable?
C. Order density: enough orders per day within a small radius to spread fixed and delivery costs
Quick commerce depends on dense demand, short trips and high throughput per store. Wider assortment and larger radius raise cost and slow delivery; fresh items are core to the frequent-purchase basket.
A retailer's own-brand product imitates the leading national brand in pack colour and positioning and is priced somewhat below it. In the standard classification of private labels this is:
C. a standard or copycat private label
Copycat or standard lines imitate the leader at a lower price. Generics use plain packs at the lowest price; premium lines compete on quality and distinctiveness, often priced at or above brands; a fighter brand is a manufacturer's own low-price brand, not a retailer's label.
Which store layout, with long parallel aisles, is standard in supermarkets because it is efficient for planned shopping and replenishment?
B. Grid layout
The grid suits supermarkets. The racetrack or loop leads shoppers around a main path and is common in hypermarkets and department stores; free-form and boutique layouts suit browsing in speciality stores.
A produce manager stores ripe bananas and apples next to leafy greens and cut flowers in the same small chiller. What is the main risk?
B. Ethylene from the ripening fruit speeds yellowing, wilting and ageing of the greens and flowers
Ripening fruit such as apples and bananas produce ethylene; ethylene-sensitive items (leafy greens, many flowers) yellow, wilt or age faster in it. Such items should be separated. Leafy greens are not major ethylene producers.
Further reading: Kader (ed.), Postharvest Technology of Horticultural Crops
A store orders fresh coriander bunches each morning. Each bunch costs 40, sells for 60, and any unsold bunch is sold at day's end to a caterer for 10. Using the newsvendor model, what is the critical ratio (optimal probability of not running out)?
A. 0.40
Understock cost Cu = 60-40 = 20; overstock cost Co = 40-10 = 30. Critical ratio = Cu/(Cu+Co) = 20/50 = 0.40. Ignoring salvage (Co = 40) gives 0.33; 0.60 inverts the ratio; 0.50 is the markup on cost, not a service level.
A retailer analyses 8,000 baskets and finds 480 that contain both pasta and pasta sauce. What is the support of the item pair?
C. 6.0 percent
Support = baskets with both items / all baskets = 480/8,000 = 0.060 = 6.0%. 16.7 inverts the ratio (8,000/480), 60.0 divides by 800 instead of 8,000, and 0.06 leaves the decimal unconverted.
An Indian retail chain wants to buy vegetables directly from a farmer producer organisation (FPO) with 800 smallholder members. Which design is most likely to give stable supply and fair returns?
D. A collection centre with agreed grading, a price formula, quick payment and fair rejection rules
Aggregation, grading at source, a transparent price mechanism, prompt payment and fair rejection rules build trust and reliable supply. Spot buying gives no planning; unrestricted rejection shifts all risk to farmers and invites side-selling; buying from five large members defeats the FPO's purpose and the chain's volume needs.
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