Tsafarakis, S, Saridakis, C, Matsatsinis, N et al. (1 more author) (2016) Private labels and retail assortment planning: a differential evolution approach. Annals of Operations Research, 247 (2). pp. 677-692. ISSN 0254-5330
Abstract
Despite the longstanding recognition of the importance of product assortment planning (PAP), existing literature has failed to provide satisfactory solutions to a great deal of problems that reside in this area of research. The issue of optimal assortment planning in the retail sector becomes even more important in periods of economic crisis, as retailers must adapt their product portfolios to new evolving patterns of consumer buying behaviour and reduced levels of consumer’s purchasing power. Private labels (PLs) typically experience significant growth in times of recession, due to their low prices, and the reduced disposable income of households. In this direction, the present paper introduces differential evolution to assist retailers in adapting their product portfolios in periods of economic recession and facilitate strategic PAP decisions, related to (a) optimal variety of PL product categories, (b) optimal service level of PL merchandise within a product category, and hence, (c) optimal balance between PLs and National Brands in a retailer’s product portfolio. The interrelated issue of assortment adaptation across different store formats is also considered. Economic recessions contribute to the prolonged upward evolution in PL share, and hence, our mechanism facilitates decisions that are nowadays more important than ever before. The proposed mechanism is illustrated through an implementation to an empirical dataset derived from a random sample of 1928 consumers who participated in a large-scale computer assisted telephone survey during the current economic crisis period.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Annals of Operations Research. The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-015-1978-2 |
Keywords: | Product assortment planning; Differential evolution; Private label; Economic crisis |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Business (Leeds) > Marketing Division (LUBS) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 22 Oct 2015 14:43 |
Last Modified: | 11 Apr 2017 17:18 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-015-1978-2 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Verlag |
Identification Number: | 10.1007/s10479-015-1978-2 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:91083 |