ABSTRACT
This chapter considers ways in which entire retail networks can be overhauled or 'reinvented' in the context of rapidly changing service environments. It reviews factors that have given rise to 'retail turbulence' in recent years. The chapter concerns a number of case studies in which a combination of spatial analysis techniques have been used to support network reinvention. It discusses some supplementary and alternative methods, including branch scorecards, network segmentation, representation planning and investment appraisal. The importance of price variations has generally been underplayed within retail modelling practice. The classic weakness of regression modelling for store location analysis is that it is a multidimensional analysis based on store-level characteristics. The key observation is a straightforward one, but nevertheless bears emphasis – the spatial and demographic impact of network revisions has a direct effect on the bottom-line of the business. Model evaluations of a retail network or its constituent sites are intimately linked to the financial appraisal of network reinvention projects.
