Following the 1^st summer school organized in Stockholm in 2023 (see here for more information), we are delighted to organize a second edition in 2025. We are very grateful for the financial support of EURO so that the attendance fees can be kept very low.

The summer school will offer a 3-day PhD level course on Retail Operations and Analytics. We intend to offer best-in-class training for PhD students interested in Retail. This year, we will focus on three one-day lessons on important retail contemporary challenges.

On day 1, Prof. Dorothée Honhon, University of Texas at Dallas, will offer a masterclass on sustainability. Indeed, sustainability is a pressing concern for the retail industry, which is wasteful in many aspects.

On day 2, Prof. Mihalis Markakis, IESE Business School, will offer a masterclass on pricing. Classic models and optimization techniques will be discussed, with an exploration of new mechanisms.

On day 3, we will run a hackathon with the support of the UK retailer Sainsbury’s. We will explore how their layout decisions impact their sales and devise improved store designs. This is a relatively unexplored aspect of retail planning that should grow in future years. This hands-on activity should provide students with ideas about future research papers.

More details on readings and preparation materials will be provided by end of August.

Students are also expected to participate in the EWG annual meeting which will be held in the days following the summer school. Over the course of the three days, there is also time for relaxed time slots to discuss PhD research plans with peers and expert guests from the field.

Upon successful completion of the course, students are expected to:

• Possess an advanced knowledge base on operations research and other analytics methodologies in the context of retail operations
• Be able to critically evaluate and assess different methodological approaches in relation to their own PhD research
• Be able to communicate and discuss complex operational problems in retail operations with their peers and experts in the field
• Be able to design solution approaches for industrial case studies and present these to relevant stakeholders

For whom: Doctoral students of Operations Management or similar field (industrial engineering, operations research, business economics etc.)

What: 3 full days of course work, together with 4 weeks of previous preparation and 1 week of posterior work on a short paper about the hackathon findings.

When: Monday September 29 – Wednesday October 1, 2025

Where: Hotel Alga, in the center of Costa Brava at Calella de Palafrugell, 2h North of Barcelona, map here.

Directions: From Barcelona airport or center, there are bus services every two hours into Palafrugell (and then taxi). From Girona, there are bus services every hour. The easiest however is to rent a car, which will also allow you to visit the nice villages and landscapes of Costa Brava.

How much: Enrollment fee is €190, which includes single-room accommodation, all meals, and social activities. Travel costs should be covered by the participants, either themselves or through external funding.

Apply by May 31, 2025 to ewg@iese.edu [ESE TBC]

Application should include:

1. Application letter including:

• Name, affiliation and email address
• Phd Program you are enrolled in, current supervisors’ names
• Background in Retail and in Operations management
• Motivation to attend the Phd summer school

2. Short Curriculum Vitae
3. Recommendation letter from the PhD supervisor

Notifications of acceptance is expected June 30, 2025.

The 2025 annual conference will take place on October 2-3, 2025, at IESE Business School in Barcelona.

IESE is a dynamic community of scholars and practitioners, that has for years been a leader in the rankings of the world’s best business schools. These rankings acknowledge the quality of our faculty and students and of the education we provide.

You will find us in Barcelona, New York, Madrid, Munich and São Paulo. We are uniquely global in scope, in reach and in mindset.

Wednesday Oct 1

Walking tour: 19-21h – meet in Pl. Catalunya directly

Welcome dinner: 21h

Thursday

sessions 9-10:30, 11-12:30 then lunch, then posters 13:30-14:30, sessions 14:30-16 and 16:30-18. Finish with a practitioner panel 18:30-19:30. Dinner in town

Friday

session 9-10:30, current topics 11-12:30 then lunch, and closing 14-15.

[optional] retail safari in town and tapas 17-23h.

We have limited slots for 20-minute presentations in the program. We will also organize a poster session to show everyone’s research work. The organizing committee will build the program from all the submitted abstract.

If you want to present your research, please send title and a one-page abstract about your project.

Submission deadine is June 30, 2025.

Barcelona has plenty of hotels for all budgets. We recommend the following ones near IESE campus:

·Sansi Pedralbes → 5-minute walk from IESE
Av. Pearson 1-3, 08034 Barcelona

·Torre Girona Residence Halls → 10-minute walk from IESE
Passeig dels Til·lers, 19 , 08034 Barcelona

·AC Victoria Suites → 15-minute walk from IESE
C/ Beltrán i Ròzpide, 7-9 (before Av. Pedralbes, 16), 08034 Barcelona

·Abba Garden Hotel → 20-minute walk from IESE
C/ Santa Rosa, 33 , 08950 Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona

·Upper Diagonal → 15-minute walk from IESE
Passeig de Manuel Girona, 7, 08034 Barcelona

· Arenas Atiram → 11-minute car from IESE
C/ Capitán Arenas, 20, 08035 Barcelona

Registration fee is 299€ includes:

• Coffee breaks,
• Lunch on Thursday and Friday,
• Dinner on Wednesday and Thursday.