An Investigation of Automated Planograms Using a Simulated Annealing Based Hyper-heuristics

The retailing sector in the UK is an extremely competitive arena. We only need to consider some high profile companies to show that this is the case. A particular example is provided by a recent decline of Marks and Spencer, who were the leading high street retailer (in recent years they are stating to show an improvement in their profitability). A further example is given by C&A’s decision to close all of its high street outlets. Yet another example is the decline of J Sainsbury from its position as the leading food retailer in the UK in the 1990’s (in 1996, Tesco opened up a 2% lead over their rivals and continue to maintain an advantage). The recent merger of Asda and Wal-Mart is expected to bring increased pressure on other retailers due to the buying power of Wal-Mart. Finally, there is a battle over Safeways, which is currently up for sale.