This study uses the data from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts in 2010-2017 to examine the joint choices of geographic location and product positioning (or brand) by multi-unit operators. Assuming the geographic location is dominant, multi-unit owners will structure their portfolios of establishments to be geographically differentiated while choosing less differentiated brands. Alternatively, if the product positioning is dominant, multi-unit owners will locate their establishments near one another in a geographic space while choosing highly differentiated brands. Our empirical findings are consistent with the theoretical prediction from the two-dimension Hotelling model, which implies a max-min (min-max) equilibrium.
