University of Economics, Prague Faculty of Business Administration
Master's thesis evaluation by the opponent
Title of the Master's thesis:
Author of the Master's thesis:
Objectives of the Master's thesis:
Criteria (max. 10 points per category) Points awarded
1. The objectives of the thesis are evident and accomplished 7
2. Demands on the acquisition of additional knowledge or skills 7
3. Adequacy and the way of the methods used 8
4. Depth and relevance of the analysis in relation to objectives 7
5. Making use of literature/other resources, citing 9
6. The thesis is a well-organised logical whole 8
7. Linguistic and terminological level 8
8. Formal layout and requirements, extent 7
9. Originality, i.e. it is produced by the student 7
10. Practical/theoretical relevance/applicability 7
Total score in points (max 100) 75
Final grading Very good (2)
Overall evaluation and questions to be answered in the course of the defense:
Name of the Master's thesis opponent:
Occupation of the Master's thesis opponent:
Aleš Kubíček, PhD.
Prague University of Economics and Business
I honestly declare that I am not in any allied relationship with the author of this Master's thesis.
Analysis of new retail business formats & Development Strategy Analysis of Yonghui Superstores new retail business
Xin Yao Lu
To define Yonghui Superstores outstanding advantages to adapt the new retail upsurge and propose recommendation to continuous development.
E V A L U A T I O N O F T H E M A S T E R ' S T H E S I S
The theoretical part of the thesis is diligent. Still, the ordering could be improved by starting with the theory (in this case, the Wheel of retailing theory), then moving to prior findings on traditional and online retail. The author deals with a specific problem in the Chinese retail industry. In the business introduction, I would welcome the explanation of the ownership structure of the group and stores (i.e. franchising model, direct operation?) I like the proposed business model innovation based on the example of Eataly, although one look at average store sizes in Table 4 renders its value. Despite the industry, a two-year duration of the pandemic and its expected long-term post-effects, the author firstly mentions the Covid pandemic at the very end of the thesis (apart from a short mention on page 34), and this factor feels undermined. Even with the rapid recovery in China, the pandemic will have a disruptive effect on the industry as a whole. The author used a number of peer- reviewed resources for the literature review. While the work is solid, I expect a bit more from the master thesis. Some in-text citations are not according to the APA style. Four levels of heading numbering and very brief subchapters make the text less coherent; tables are poorly formatted.
Questions: 1) Due to the relatively early development stage of the Chinese retail industry, are there any lessons to learn about industry evolution from other countries? 2) What disruptive effect could the Covid pandemic have on the industry as a whole?
3) On what basis the author formulated the recommendations? Was Table 9 involved?
June 2, 2021
Signature of the Master's thesis opponent
