Category Archives: Books

Fading Glory: the Ghost Signs of London

Posted on January 20, 2020 by

Anyone following me on twitter will know of my enduring fascination with ghostsigns.  It has also appeared on this blog a few times.  These traces of the past are, in my view, something worth capturing and preserving (or at least … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Design, Ghost Signs, Heritage, London, Places, Retail Change, Retail History, Towns, Uncategorized, Urban History | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Quant (ifying) the Past

Posted on December 12, 2019 by

A weekend away in London, and a chance to take in some exhibitions and meet up with up friends.  The outcome; a great weekend but some contrasting cultural experiences.  Amongst the things we saw were the Tutankhamun exhibition at the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1960s, Bazaar, Books, Clothes, Exhibitions, Fashion, History, Mary Quant, Pop-Up Shops, Uncategorized, Wholesaling | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

London’s Welsh Dairies: The Welsh Milk Trade

Posted on September 16, 2019 by

As a child I remember people mentioning the ‘milk train’ between London and South Wales, but was never sure if it was first up or last down or both. Before I married, my fiancée and I went to stay in … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Buildings, Consumer Change, Consumers, Customer Service, distribution, Food, Food Retailing, Heritage, High Streets, Historic Shops, History, Independents, London, MIlk, Retail Change, Retail History, Sanders Bros, Shopfronts, Signage, Uncategorized, Urban History, Wales | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Food, health and data: developing transformative food retailing

Posted on January 14, 2019 by

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Navigating The New Retail Landscape

Posted on August 8, 2016 by

Readers of this blog will be aware of the occasional use of guest bloggers and of book reviews.  A couple of weeks ago my colleague Steve Burt showed me a new retail book he had bought, authored by two contemporaries … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, Books, Consumer Change, Consumers, Customer engagement, International Retailing, Internet, Multichannel, Retail Change, Retail leadership, Retailers, Strategy, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

An overview of (UK) retailing

Posted on July 21, 2016 by

One of the common questions that I get asked, generally and by journalists and students, is ‘what is going on in retailing?’  There are many ways to answer this, and in the various presentations I do, some of the themes … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, Books, Consumer Change, Education, Food Retailing, Internet shopping, Retailers, Retailing | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Wonder of Woolies – continued

Posted on January 20, 2016 by

Just before Christmas I found myself in Brixton – as one does – and in wandering the streets passed by the H&M. As you might see from my photograph below, it is housed in a fine building. My immediate reaction … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books, Buildings, High Streets, Historic Shops, Property, Public Realm, Retail History, Shopfronts, Streetscapes, Urban History, Woolworths | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments