ABSTRACT

It has often - perhaps too often - been said that the three secrets of success in retailing are location, location and location [Ghosh, 1990; Davies and Harris, 1990; Pearson, 1991]. Important though the other elements of the retail marketing mix undoubtedly are, the most sophisticated store designs, meticulous merchandise planning procedures, imaginative advertising campaigns, astute pricing policies and competent sales personnel all come to naught if a retailer's locational strategy is flawed. What is more, whereas errors in pricing, promotions, merchandise planning and so on can be comparatively easily adjusted, mistaken locational decisions are not readily rectified - indeed for some they can prove fatal - and only then at considerable expense, disruption and damage to a retailer's carefully nurtured reputation [Ghosh and McLafferty, 1987].