business location

• • factors influencing business location-
  • proximity to market
  • proximity to labour
  • proximity to materials
  • proximity to competitors
• • proximity to market -
  • near to where customers live, work, travel makes it easier and more convenient for customers
  • proximity is crucial for services that customers have to be there for, e.g gym or hotel
• proximity to labour -

  • how near the business is to employees
  • those who are willing to work at minimum wage or the specially skilled staff
• • proximity to materials-
  • near to suppliers
  • those who use bulky materials will save money if they are near supplier because of transport
• • proximity to competitors-
  • sometimes avoiding competition in the location because then customers have no choice but to get your stuff
  • some should be closer to competition like restaurants in shopping centres where people go out for the evening
• • nature of business activity-
  • 
depends on the business and context, e.g car factory needs to be close to materials and those with that skilled labour
• • proximity to customers - types of businesses-
  • when consuming a product or service
  • barber, nail bar, pub
• • proximity to materials - types of businesses -
  • 
where supplies are bulky and lost of quantity needed
• proximity to labour - types of businesses-

  • skilled labour is needed and it may be concentrated in only a few areas
• • proximity to competitors - types of businesses-
  • retailers in shopping centres = close to competition
  • dry cleaners and corner shops = far from competition
• • impact of the internet on location - E-COMMERCE -
  • head office - can be anywhere
  • product display - on one website, so heavy investment in quality photos
  • stock range - can keep everything in stock
  • customer services location - can be anywhere which keeps costs down
  • delivery to customer - may be hard in crowded sites
• • impact of the internet on location - fixed premises-
  • head office location - anywhere
  • product display - in store so lots of costs on property and staff
  • stock range - space constraints so not a lot
  • customer services location - in store so lots of property and staff cots in multiple locations
  • delivery to customer - not a problemmm
• • making a location decision -
  • 
more expensive location might mean better access to customers business owner should consider if high revenues will outweigh high costs
• Proximity-means (nearness to)