The way in which products and services are delivered to consumers, through branches and retail outlets, or more generally through a network of distribution channels, remains fundamentally important for maintaining a competitive advantage for a very wide range of businesses. This is true within domestic markets, but especially so for increasingly global corporations, as shareholder pressure for continued growth drives businesses into ever more widespread geographical markets.
Arguing that more complex markets demand more sophisticated spatial analysis, this book discusses the application of location planning techniques to generate competitive advantage in a variety of business sectors in a changing retail environment. The series of techniques are analysed, from relatively straightforward branch scorecards to sophisticated applications of geographical information systems (GIS), spatial modelling and mathematical optimisation. Also explored are the changing dynamics of the impact of more restrictive planning environments in many countries on how retailers find new locations for growth and respond to changing consumer needs and wants.
The book is essential reading for students and scholars alike working in geography, economics, business management, planning, finance and industry studies.
About the Author: Mark Birkin is Professor of Spatial Analysis and Policy and Director of the Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC) at the University of Leeds. His major interests are in simulating social and demographic change within cities and regions, and in understanding the impact of these changes on the need for services like housing, roads and hospitals, using techniques of microsimulation, agent-based modelling and GIS. He has also been involved with many retail-based projects with a number of major blue-chip clients.
Graham Clarke is Professor of Business Geography at the University of Leeds. He has worked extensively in various areas of GIS and applied spatial modelling, focusing on many applications within urban/ social geography. Graham specialises in retail geography and model development in relation to retail store location planning. His major research interests relate to retail location planning in relation to the multi- channel growth strategies of retail organisations.
Martin Clarke is Professor of Geographic Modelling in the School of Geography, University of Leeds, and Deputy Director of the Consumer Data Research Centre. Martin's main interests are based around service analysis and planning. From 1990 to 2004 he was Chief Executive of GMAP Ltd, one of the most successful university spin- out companies in the UK that specialised in network planning and location analysis for some of the world's largest retail corporations.
