For this exercise I chose to
take on the perspective of a supermarket. My company would need to be located
in an area of the city that is easily accessible to not only families and
single individuals, but I would also want to be accessible to employees of many
other downtown businesses and establishment. I would choose an area that is
probably closer to the outskirts of the city, but is within walking distance to
my store from residences and also within walking distances of downtown
businesses. For example, there is a Safeway store located at the intersection
of Osborn and 7th Street here in Phoenix. This store has many
residential homes to the West and South and tall office buildings to the East
and North.
During lunch hours, you can see
the mixture of homemakers doing weekly shopping and many business people
picking up a quick lunch. This logical choice for location of my supermarket
fits in the “Central Place Theory” as discussed in the assigned readings. My business is located in a dense population
based on the large number of high rises and other businesses located a short
distance away; and large residential communities located a “stone’s throw away”
from shopping.
I would also be located near a
major expressway so that goods can easily reach my store in quick time. This
closeness to the expressways will increase my inventory quicker and should
reduce any transportation costs associated with my deliveries. Another factor that would play into placing
my business closer to the outskirts of the city as land would be cheaper to
obtain. As you look to purchase property, 9 times out of 10, land becomes much
more expensive the closer you get to the center of town.
By buying land on the
outskirts, I should be able to save hundreds of thousands of dollars. The money
saved on land could be better used towards inventory or even advertising my
business. The more advertisement money spent should increase my customer base.
Trying to keep the local residents to buy closer to home will benefit me in the
long run.
Overall, by choosing to build
towards the outskirts of town, but staying close enough to service local
businesses and establishment, as well as local residential communities, will
save me initial investment money and allow me to pull in some pretty extensive profits
from those same business owners, employees, and homeowners.
