A Mathematical Model for Simultaneously Determining the Optimal Brand-Collection and Display-Area Allocation

This paper addresses a fundamental short-run resource-allocation problem confronting retail distribution: simultaneously finding the specific brands, from many, that should be displayed, and the amount of retail product-display area that should be assigned to these brands, in order to maximize the retail institution's profit. The paper decomposes total market demand according to the various levels of brand preference that could conceivably exist in final markets, and then, employs an algorithm, similar to the one used to solve the fixed-charge problem, to find the optimal brand mix and display-area allocation.