MAGAZINE SALES PROMOTION: A DYNAMIC RESPONSE ANALYSIS

This paper studies the impact and effectiveness of a type of non-price promotion often used in the European periodical magazines industry to stimulate sales, in which a value pack is sold containing the magazine issue plus another product. Magazines are sold simultaneously with and without promotion at different prices, and promotions are serialized by fractioning the additional product across different issues of the magazine. We find that promoted magazines contemporarily cannibalize non-promoted sales; but this loss is compensated by a medium term increase of non-promoted sales. These results show that this sales promotion strategy is an effective way to diminish the decline rate of periodical sales.

OPTIMAL DURATION OF MAGAZINE PROMOTIONS

The planning of promotions and other marketing events frequently requires manufacturers to make decisions about the optimal duration of these activities. Yet manufacturers often lack the support tools for decision making. We assume that customer decisions at the aggregated level follow a state-dependent Markov process. On the basis of the expected economic return associated with dynamic response to stimuli, we determine the ideal length of marketing events using dynamic programming optimization and apply the model to a complex promotion event. Results suggest that this methodology could help managers in the publishing industry to plan the optimal duration of promotion events.

DO BUSINESS DENSITY AND VARIETY DETERMINE RETAIL PERFORMANCE?

Outlet location plays a crucial role in retail strategy. In this paper we study the relationship between spatial density (concentration) of retailers in the trade area and their economic performance. This analysis will help managers figure out the economic potential of starting a retail business in a given area, reducing business start-up risks. We find that retail businesses located in high and low retail density zones enjoy higher performance levels, consistent with competitive advantage arising from agglomeration economies and local market power respectively. We also find that retail businesses located in intermediate density areas use a differentiation strategy based on business variety (diversification across stores). Outlets located in areas with the highest variety enjoy performance levels similar to those achieved in the agglomeration and low density areas. The results suggest that retail companies should jointly consider variety and density to determine location.

Modelos animales en el estudio del síndrome metabólico

The term metabolic syndrome refers to a series of risk factors that lead to a metabolic imbalance. There are various causes in the development of metabolic syndrome, among the most prevalent are excessive calorie intake and low physical activity. The resulting imbalance between energy intake and expenditure leads to weigh gain in the form of adipose tissue, which is tightly linked to multiple metabolic anomalies. Metabolic syndrome and its consequences are a public health concern worldwide. Although epidemiologic studies provide ample information regarding the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome, ethical and methodological concerns make research on animal models necessary. The choice of a particular model requires the careful analysis of the variables or phenomenon to be studied, as multiple animal models of metabolic syndrome are currently available.  This review covers general elements of metabolic syndrome. In addition, we discuss basic aspects of the most common murine models, taking into account models induced by high-sugar diets, high-fat diets and genetic models. Particularly for high-fat diet models, other aspects are considered, such as the percentage of kcal from fat, the type of fatty acids included in the diet, as well as multigenerational effects.El término síndrome metabólico se refiere a una serie de factores de riesgo que resultan de un desbalance metabólico. Se han señalado varias causas para su desarrollo, entre las que destacan la ingesta excesiva de calorías y el sedentarismo. Este desbalance entre la ingesta y el gasto energético resulta en un incremento de peso en la forma de tejido adiposo, estrechamente asociado con múltiples desórdenes metabólicos. El síndrome metabólico, así como sus consecuencias, representan un serio problema de salud pública a nivel mundial. De ahí, surge la importancia del establecimiento de estrategias exitosas para su diagnóstico y tratamiento. Si bien los estudios epidemiológicos arrojan bastante información, por razones éticas y metodológicas, es necesario abordar los aspectos experimentales con modelos animales. A la fecha, existen múltiples modelos de manera que la elección de uno en específico requiere de la cuidadosa consideración de las variables o fenómenos a estudiar. En esta revisión se abordan aspectos generales del síndrome metabólico. Asimismo, se discuten las características generales de los modelos murinos más empleados en su estudio, como son los basados en dietas altas en carbohidratos y en grasas, además de los genéticos. En particular, para los modelos de dietas altas en grasa, se consideran otros aspectos como el porcentaje de kcal provenientes de la grasa, el tipo de ácidos grasos empleados, los regímenes de alimentación, así como los efectos multigeneracionales

The demand for and the supply of distribution services: A basis for the analysis of customer satisfaction in retailing

Retailing, Customer satisfaction, Distribution services, Supermarkets, M3, L8, M31, L81,