Correspondence: Steve Wood, School of Management, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1483 686344; Fax: +44 (0)1483 686346; E-mail: sm.wood@surrey.ac.uk

¹is a lecturer at the School of Management, University of Surrey and an Advanced Institute of Management (AIM) Scholar. Before re-entering academia in 2005, he worked as a location analyst for Tesco Plc.

²is Director of Optimum Locations, an independent retail location analysis consultancy. He previously led the Location Planning function at Sainsbury's for nearly 15 years. He is a founder member of the Demographics User Group and a member of the Marketing Society and Market Research Society.

Received 5 December 2007; Revised 5 December 2007; Published online 10  2008.

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate how practical store location decision-making balances formal modelling with the less well-studied informal qualitative inputs. By using case studies from one major UK food retailer, we find that informal knowledge has to be considered seriously alongside quantitative models despite the inclusion of such knowledge often proving challenging. In particular, the site visit has a key role in contextualising factors that are difficult to represent in formal 'modelled' data, and in calibrating the inputs to models that are becoming increasingly advanced. We conclude that conceptualising the role of knowledge management in retail store decision-making has been under-theorised but can offer a key to advancing our understanding of this process still further.