SLAM: Store location assessment model--Theory and practice

Many models have been developed, notably in the USA, to predict the performance potential of new retail stores. Very few of these approaches lend themselves to every day use by retail companies. In the UK only four major retail groups were known to incorporate a mathematical model in their new store location assessments. SLAM was developed to satisfy several key criteria: it was to have a regorous, academic basis, be of direct relevance to multiple retailers, easy to use and inexpensive to develop, user friendly, while producing meaningful, accurate results. This paper examines the model's development, the modelling process, its implications and exhibits examples of the model's output. Far from being an academic exercise--which was the project's origin--SLAM is now in regular use with several of the UK's major multiple retailers, in a variety of fields: consumer electricals, dry cleaning, fast food, clothing, petroleum retailing. In each case the pertinent variables alter--as do their weightings--but the modelling process and principles remain constant.