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Author: Leigh Sparks
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My TweetsPage Updates
2.11.2018 Details of my two new books added – Logistics and Retail Management and Food Retailing and Sustainable Development
12.07.2018 Our final Trading Places column for Town & Country Planning is now available on the Trading Places section of this blog
Top Posts & Pages
- Yours for £1 (not really)
- Retail Branding: it's not (just) private label
- Pontypool vs Penarth: Rugby and The High Street and Town of 1951
- Co-operative Tokens, Sports Direct and The Bristol Pound
- Taxing Times: Tesco and Poland
- Embracing Failure in the Shadow of Success
- The Lost Broch of Stirling
- Twenty One Years of UK Grocery Market Share
- "Destination High Street - Restoring Vibrancy to Scotland's Towns"
- Trends in Retailing and Leisure in Scotland's Towns and Cities
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Author Archives: Leigh Sparks
Yours for £1 (not really)
It was an eye-catching gimmick, and it did the job, getting media coverage (and me onto the radio (again)). In early February, at a London auction The Postings shopping centre in Kirkcaldy was put up for sale with a reserve … Continue reading
Posted in Buildings, Community, Community Development, Creative Places, Dumfries, High Streets, Kirkcaldy, Landlords, Localisation, Places, Property, Regeneration, Retail Change, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Shopping Centres, Town Centre Living, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized
Tagged Assets, Community Action, Dumfries, High Streets, Kirkcaldy, Landlords, Property, Retail, Shopping Centres, towns
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#Woolies10
I was out at the country on the tenth ‘anniversary’ of the closure of the last Woolworths store in the UK – 6th January to be exact. I had already contributed to an element of the ‘celebration’/‘remembrance’, so didn’t feel … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Churn, Closure, Consumers, Corporate History, Ghost Signs, Heritage, High Streets, Historic Shops, History, Pound Shops, Poundland, Retail Failure, Shopfronts, Store Closures, Streetscapes, Towns, Uncategorized, Urban History, Woolworths
Tagged Churn, closures, Employees, failure, Heritage, High Streets, History, Pound shops, Retail Change, Retail Nostalgia, South Africa, stores, Streetscape, Woolworths
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Retail Disruptors – the spectacular rise and impact of the hard discounters
The rise of the hard discounters is a well-observed phenomenon of continuing research endeavour and commentary. In the UK, as is well known, Aldi and Lidl have captured considerable market share over the last decade. ‘Retail Disruptors’ by Jan-Benedict Steenkamp … Continue reading
Posted in Academics, Aldi, Competition, Consumer Choice, Discounters, Food Retailing, Jack's, Lidl, Market Shares, Pricing, Retail Change, Retailers, Strategy, Uncategorized
Tagged Aldi, Book, Competition, Consumer Choice, Discounters, Disruptors, Food retailing, Jack's, Lidl, Market share, Pricing, Strategy
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Food, health and data: developing transformative food retailing
In early November 2018, a book on Case Studies in Food Retailing and Distribution was published, edited by John Byrom and Dominic Medway. Amongst the very wide ranging and interesting chapters, was an effort by myself and two colleagues from … Continue reading
Posted in Academics, Behavioural Economics, Books, Data, Diet and Health, Digital, Ethics, Food, Food Retailing, Health, Loyalty, Loyalty Schemes, Retailers, Social Change, Uncategorized, Well being
Tagged Academics, Companies, Consumers, Data, Diet and Health, Ethics, Finland, Health, Loyalty, Retailing, Scotland, Society, Transformative, Wellbeing
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Brexit and the ‘F**K Business’ Approach
Boris Johnson’s view of the importance of business to the economy and to the care and concern he gave the business view on Brexit was well covered at the time. Dominic Raab’s more recent revelation that Dover was actually quite … Continue reading
Posted in Brexit, Consumers, Disasters, distribution, European Union, Frictionless, Just in Time, Logistics, Politicians, Resilience, Retailers, Supply Chains, Uncategorized
Tagged Brexit, Disruption, European Union, Food, Frictionless, Just in Time, logistics, medicine, Politicians, Quick Response, Retailers, Supply chains, Tansport, Warehouses
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HMV – predictable or what?
125 stores, 2200 direct employees, an unknown number of individuals and businesses also linked to, and supplying, the company; the administration and likely demise of HMV would be problematic at any time but between Christmas and New Year it has … Continue reading
Posted in administration, Amazon, Boxing Day, Closure, Competition, Consumer Change, Customer Service, Government, High Streets, HMV, Internet shopping, Local Retailers, Online Retailing, Rates, Record stores, Retail Change, Retail Failure, Tax, Technology, Timpsons, Town Centres, Uncategorized
Tagged administration, Amazon, Boxing Day, Business rates, Christmas, Christmas trading, Digital, HILCO, HMV, Internet, Music, Profits, Record shops, Sales, Streaming, Tax, technology, Timpson
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Some thoughts on the ASOS profit warning
The ASOS news this week was to many something of a surprise, but in reality it really shouldn’t be. A profit warning on Monday wiped almost 40% off its share price and impacted other retailers as well. Many of these … Continue reading
Posted in Asos, Black Friday, Brexit, Christmas, Competition, Consumer Change, Customer Service, Internet, Internet shopping, Online Retailing, Profits, Rates, Retail Change, Retailing, Tax, Uncategorized
Tagged Asos, Black Friday, Brexit, Business rates, Christmas, Consumers, High Street, Internet, Margin, Profits, Retail Crisis, Shares, Tax, Warnings
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