The invention provides methods of, and systems for, optimizing the
allocation of inventory to, and pricing of, goods sold by multiple retail
sites, e.g., in a store, chain or other retail enterprise. Such a method
includes generating a plurality of possible or "candidate" allocations of
a given inventory among the multiple retail sites. That inventory can be,
for example, a supply of the same or like goods at a distribution center
that serves the retail sites. Each candidate allocation comprises an
assignment of a respective share of that inventory to each of the sites.
For each of the candidate allocations, an optimal price of the goods at
each of the retail sites is estimated. The optimal price is one that will
return an optimal gross margin to the respective site, given its
assignment of the respective share of the inventory for the particular
candidate allocation. For each of the candidate allocations, a sum is
determined of the optimal gross margins across all the retail sites. From
substantially all possible allocations, the candidate allocation that
results in a largest total optimal gross margin is efficiently chosen.