Retailing today is one of the largest, most buoyant and most competitive market sectors. The large, medium and small retailers, providers of systems are the major players in this market. The exploitation of information technology and the use of quantitative corporate models are emerging as key factors in determining the strength and effectiveness of marketing plans and support logistics. Many major retailers have developed considerable in-house expertise in this area and many hard- ware manufacturers and systems houses have created special divisions to provide turn-key installations, products...