| In this dissertation, a novel model for the retail store design problem is proposed. The new approach consists of placing departments in a racetrack configuration within the store subject to area and shape constraints. The objective function considers the area allocated to each department, contiguity of the departments to the aisle network, adjacency requirements among departments and revenues. The revenue generated by a department is a function of the area of the department and exposure of the department to the aisle network. The aisle network is comprised of two components: the racetrack, which serves as the main travel path for the customers, and the egress aisles. First, the proposed model is simplified using two assumptions: zero aisle area and known department area requirements. To solve the simplified model, three different solution approaches are developed. These are a mixed integer nonlinear programming formulation, a constructive heuristic and tabu search. The performances of the solution approaches are investigated using example problems. Based on the insights gained from the simplified model and the solution approaches developed, solution approaches and a general optimization framework for the model with variable department areas and an aisle network with non-zero area is provided. |
