Given the importance of price decisions in retail distribution, this work proposes an optimal price decision model. where, in the short term, optimal price effects on demand and distributor margins maximise the overall profitability of the product category. Three key aspects allow this proposal to be described: (1) is based on an aggregate perspective; (2) incorporates market share models with logical consistency – in order to make demand more robust – and (3) includes the role of the competitive structure by explicitly modelling asymmetric price effects between competing products. It also assesses the consequences of an asymmetric competitive structure on optimal price decisions and quantifies the cost of avoiding this in decision-making through empirical application.