Author: Leigh Sparks
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February 2023 – New piece for The Conversation on online retailing (see commentaries tab)
January 2023 – Roll over of some areas for new year, plus The Conversation piece on Christmas trading updates published (see commentaries tab) and main posts
December 2022 – End of year tidying up and re-arrangement, including link to EDAS podcast on places and towns (see presentations tab)
April 2022 -new journal article published (Journal Articles page) on Twenty-One Years of Going Shopping and Marketing History
Top Posts & Pages
- Twenty One Years of UK Grocery Market Share
- UK Grocery Market Share 1997-2019
- London's Welsh Dairies: The Welsh Milk Trade
- Discount Food Stores in the UK: Kwik Save and Shoprite
- Grocery Market Shares in Great Britain (GB) 1997-2022
- Personal Announcement: FRSE
- Tesco Trails
- Woolies Five years On
- The Wonder of Woolies - continued
- Stirling - Still All at C
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Category Archives: Downtown
Ghosts in the Rockies
In one of the many ironies of destroying my knee in May, we were left with a race against time to see if I was fit enough to go on a booked holiday in late August and early September. Would … Continue reading
Posted in Advertising, Architecture, Buildings, Canada, Corporate branding, Downtown, Ghost Signs, Heritage, High Streets, Historic Shops, Places, Retail History, Signage, Small Towns, Streetscapes, Urban History, USA
Tagged Canada, Coca-Cola, Ghost Towns, Ghostsigns, Heritage, High Streets, Historic Shops, Museums, Retail History, Retail Marketing, Signs, USA
2 Comments
‘Oor Summit’ and its Big Ears
Towards the end of the first day of the World Towns Leadership Summit in Edinburgh last week, Neil McInroy tried to describe and capture the sense of engagement and endeavour that the delegates were displaying and he used the phrase … Continue reading
Posted in ATCM, Bids Scotland, Community, Community Development, Connectivity, Data, Downtown, IDA, Leadership, Local Retailers, Places, Public Realm, Reinvention, Retail Change, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Social Justice, Sustainability, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Understanding Scottish Places, University of Stirling, Urban, World Towns Agreement, World Towns Framework, WTLS16
Tagged Community, Places, Public-Private-Social Partnership, Scotland's Towns Partnership, towns, Urban, World Towns Agreement, World Towns Framework, World Towns Leadership Summit
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World Towns Leadership Summit 2016
The next two days will see almost 200 delegates from across the world and the UK assemble in Edinburgh for the inaugural World Towns Leadership Summit. Stemming from an initial idea from the International Downtown Association, picked up by the … Continue reading
Posted in ATCM, BIDS, Bids Scotland, Downtown, Government, IDA, Leadership, Places, Policy, Public Realm, Relationships, Scotland, Scottish Government, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Urban, World Towns Agreement, WTLS16
Tagged Edinburgh, Places, Scotland, Scotland's Towns Partnership, towns, Urban, World Towns Agreement, World Towns Leadership Summit
1 Comment
Simplifying Town Centre Planning
There are many reasons why out-of-town development/greenfield development is the preferred option for many activities and development. Beyond retail we see cinemas, offices, hotels, sports facilities, schools – the list goes on – moving out of town centres. Some of … Continue reading
Posted in Downtown, Governance, High Streets, Places, Planning, Proactive Planning, Public Realm, Regeneration, Retail Planning, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Simplified Planning Zones, Streetscapes, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centres, Towns, Understanding Scottish Places
Tagged High Streets, Planning, Proactive Planning, Scotland, Simplified Planning, Town Centre Action plan, Town Centres, Town Demonstration Projects
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A (Retail) Sense of Place
Reflecting on the almost four and a half years of doing this blog, there appear to be two dominant themes. Not surprisingly for a Professor of Retail Studies, there has been a fair amount about retailing and the changing fortunes … Continue reading
Posted in Consumer Change, Consumer Choice, Downtown, Government, High Streets, Internet shopping, Places, Public Realm, Reinvention, Retail Planning, Retail Policy, Small Towns, Stirling, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Understanding Scottish Places
Tagged Places, Reinvention, Retailing, Sustainability, Town Centres, towns
1 Comment
Only in America?
Despite having lived in the USA for extended periods of time I am still unclear about my favourite parts. The western swathe from New Mexico to Wyoming is unique, but the south-eastern states often draw me back. So following a … Continue reading
Posted in Department Stores, Downtown, Heritage, Local Retailers, Localisation, Regeneration, Regulation, USA
Tagged Asheville, Downtown, Localism. Creativity, Re-use, Regeneration, USA
1 Comment