Category Archives: Employees

Should Large Retail Stores be Open or Closed on New Year’s Day (Ne’erday) in Scotland ?

Posted on August 2, 2021 by Leigh Sparks

Invitation to Respond to Consultation (closing date 24th August 2021) A Scottish Government consultation seeking the views of business, retailers and shop workers on New Year’s Day trading has been published. Running for 10 weeks until 24 August, the consultation … Continue reading →

Posted in Christmas, Competition, Consumers, Employees, Employment, Internet shopping, New Years Day, Online Retailing, Opening Hours, Petitions, Regulation, Retailers, Retailing, Scotland, Scottish Government, Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Retailing, Sunday Trading, USDAW | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

COVID-19 and Christmas

Posted on December 15, 2020 by Leigh Sparks

About six or so weeks ago I completed a piece for the Economics Observatory (@EconObservatory) on the impact of Coronavirus on the UK’s retail sector. You can find my short intro to it on this blog and the full piece … Continue reading →

Posted in Availability, Boxing Day, Brexit, Christmas, Consumers, Covid19, distribution, Employees, European Union, Food Banks, Frictionless, Government, Home Delivery, IKEA, Independents, Internet shopping, Just in Time, Local Retailers, Office for National Statistics, Online Retailing, Opening Hours, Panic buying, Regulation, Retail Economy, Retailers, Stirling, Stock, Supply Chains, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Confidence, Cash and Friction: Shopping in Scotland

Posted on June 29, 2020 by Leigh Sparks

So, shops (well those not cooped up in an indoor shopping centre) in Scotland are now open. The long road back to re-opening the economy has taken another step forward, and one result is a gigantic queue outside a city … Continue reading →

Posted in Cash, Click and Collect, Consumer Change, Consumers, Convenience, Covid19, Employees, Friction, High Streets, Home Delivery, Internet shopping, Lockdown, Online Retailing, Opening Hours, Queuing, Retail Change, Scotland, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Retailing, Shopping, Shopping Centres, Social Distancing, Town Centres, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Shopping in a Post-Lockdown World

Posted on June 5, 2020 by Leigh Sparks

Well, we’ve just had the sunniest spring on record, as well as the driest.  As we apparently ease out of lockdown we can but hope that such conditions continue, because when you look at some of the operational actions retailers … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, Covid19, Employees, Employment, Internet shopping, Lockdown, Online Retailing, Places, Retailers, Scottish Government, Shopping, Shopping Centres, Social Distancing, Town Centres, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Feeding the (Potentially Rather Ill) Nation?

Posted on March 11, 2020 by Leigh Sparks

I am not an expert on viruses or their spread and have no knowledge of how/when/if Covid19 will develop in the UK. But I have done some work on retail supply chains and however it develops they are potentially about … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, Covid19, Employees, Employment practices, Food Retailing, Frictionless, Government, Independents, Internet shopping, Local Retailers, Online Retailing, Panic buying, Retail leadership, Retailing, Supply Chains, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Retail Armageddon or Reinvention?

Posted on March 6, 2020 by Leigh Sparks

On the 3rd March, the University of Stirling, the Stirling Management School and the Institute for Retail Studies were very pleased to host the Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, Helen Dickinson, OBE.  In front of an audience of … Continue reading →

Posted in Accounting, BRC, Brexit, Consumer Change, Employees, Government, Institute for Retail Studies, Internet shopping, Legislation, Local Retailers, Online Retailing, Rates, Regeneration, Regulation, Reinvention, Retail brands, Retail Change, Retail Policy, Scottish Government, Scottish Grocers Federation, Scottish Retailing, Small Shops, Technology, Uncategorized, University of Stirling | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Debenhams and Tesco

Posted on April 16, 2019 by Leigh Sparks

It is necessary to start this blog post by reflecting that underneath the news stories and headlines are real personal stories in which individuals are losing their jobs.  Too often it is easy to focus on the store closure and … Continue reading →

Posted in administration, Consumer Choice, Consumers, CVA, Debenhams, Department Stores, Employees, Rates, Rents, Retail Change, Retail Failure, Sports Direct, Store Closures, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Damaged Goods

Posted on July 9, 2018 by Leigh Sparks

As Private Eye put it, serialised exclusively across all newspapers, this book says that Philip Green is not a nice person.  “Quelle surprise” as they may say in Croydon.  But on the other hand, Oliver Shah is the Sunday Times … Continue reading →

Posted in BHS, Employees, Finance, Government, Leadership, Legislation, Pensions, Philip Green, Politicians, Regulation, Retail Failure, Retail leadership, Shareholders, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Future of Work in Retailing? Just Walk Out

Posted on January 26, 2018 by Leigh Sparks

There has been quite a lot of attention in the last few days on the Amazon Go unit in Seattle being opened to the public.  Much has focused on whether this is the end of retail work and how fast … Continue reading →

Posted in Amazon Go, Asda, Automation, BRC, Consumers, Contactless, Convenience stores, Employees, Employment, Food Retailing, Hypermarkets, management, Retail Change, Retailers, Sainsbury, Self-Scanning, Tesco, Urban, WH Smith | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Fight Time? The Boxing Day Petition

Posted on December 5, 2016 by Leigh Sparks

The issue of opening hours for shops is something that has been an ever-present during my time as an academic.  The product-based absurdities of the late 1970s and early 1980s were eventually swept away as opening hours were modernised and … Continue reading →

Posted in Alcohol, Black Friday, Boxing Day, Campaigns, Christmas, Consumer Lifestyle, Cyber Monday, Employees, Employment, Employment practices, Government, Internet shopping, Legislation, Online Retailing, Opening Hours, Petitions, Regulation, Small Shops, Supermarket | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments