Abstract:

Retail formats refer to the forms and patterns of managing commercial enterprises that differ in their market orientations and locations. The outcomes of the location choices of different forms of business enterprises determine their specific commercial structures. In recent years, spatial distribution and location decisions relating to emerging formats such as chain supermarkets have emerged as a new research area in China. This study aims to reveal differences in the spatial distribution characteristics of different retail formats and the factors influencing their location choices in Changchun, China. Based on 2013 survey data for large-scale commercial sites in the central district of Changchun, the study focuses on six types of retail formats: specialty stores, exclusive shops, department stores, supermarkets, warehouses, and markets. Point pattern analysis and ordinal logistic regression analysis were performed to explore the locational features and determinants of large-scale commercial sites in Changchun. The findings of this study suggest that the spatial distribution of large-scale commercial sites in Changchun entails coexistence of concentration in the core area and diffusion in the peripheral area. This agglomeration feature was clearly apparent in the city center and business centers. Moreover, the spatial distribution of commercial activities and spatial agglomeration features varied considerably according to regional scalar differences. The primary determinants of the spatial distribution of commercial sites were: type of commercial activity, land price, transport accessibility, and agglomeration. Population density and business environment factors did influence the location choice of retail outlets to some extent, but this influence was not significant. Each of these determinants was found to have its own effects on the spatial distribution of different kinds of commercial sites. Thus, specialty and department stores were usually aggregated in small regions, demonstrating lower performance levels that were dependent on population density, transport accessibility, and the business environment. Exclusive shops and markets, affected by land prices and transportation accessibility, showed higher levels of agglomeration at a larger regional scale, especially markets. The weak dependence of supermarkets on these determinants and their characteristically discrete distribution indicate that their spatial layouts were the result of competition and the city’s market environment. Warehouses were only aggregated in small-scale areas at the border of the city because of land prices, industrial characteristics, and transport accessibility.

Key words: commercial site, retail format, locational feature, locational determinant, Changchun