Location decisions
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| location/ləʊˈkeɪʃn/ | The place chosen for a business or activity, considered in relation to factors such as customers, costs and transport. |
| transport links/ˈtrænspɔːt lɪŋks/ | transport links |
| incentives/ɪnˈsentɪvz/ | Rewards, penalties or other factors that encourage people to act in a particular way. |
| footfall/ˈfʊtfɔːl/ | footfall |
| raw materials/rɔː məˈtɪərɪəlz/ | Basic substances used as inputs in making products. |
| relocate/rɪləʊˈkeɪt/ | relocate |
Where to set up
- Two identical shops can succeed or fail purely on where they are.
- Choosing a location 选址 is one of the biggest decisions a business makes.
Location factor lab
Classify why a business chooses one site over another.
For a high-street shop, the most important location factor is usually:
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Shops need footfall — closeness to customers.
Which are location factors? (Select all that apply.)
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Transport, costs and incentives matter; the last does not.
A retailer wants a location with high customer ______ (number of people passing).
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Footfall is the flow of potential customers past a shop.
Factors affecting location
- Closeness to customers (vital for shops and services).
- Closeness to materials (for heavy or perishable inputs).
- Costs of land and labour, transport links 交通连接, and government incentives 激励.
A distribution centre: where a business locates affects its costs and service
A heavy manufacturer is most likely to locate near:
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Factories often locate near materials and transport to cut costs.
Different businesses, different needs
- A shop needs to be near its customers (high footfall 客流量).
- A factory may locate near raw materials 原材料, transport or cheap land.
Worked example. A coffee shop chooses a busy high street (near customers); a steel plant locates near a port and iron ore (near materials and transport). The best location depends on the business.
Relocating abroad can cut costs but adds risks of distance and control.
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Offshoring trades savings for added complexity.
Location and the wider world
- Some businesses relocate 迁址 abroad to cut costs or reach new markets.
- This brings savings but also risks of distance, culture and control.
There is no single best location. It depends entirely on the type of business. Always link the location factors to the specific firm — a retailer and a factory want very different things.
You've got it
- location factors: closeness to customers/materials, costs, transport, incentives
- a shop locates near customers; a factory near materials/transport
- some firms relocate abroad for lower costs, accepting distance/control risks