Category Archives: Employment

The Cost of Employment in Local Convenience Stores

Almost a decade ago, we began working with the Scottish Grocers Federation on understanding the costs of doing business in the convenience sector. One aspect of this work has been the relationship between the headline figure for the National Living … Continue reading

Posted in Convenience stores, Cost of Living, Employment, Independents, Local Retailers, National Living Wage, Scottish Grocers Federation, Uncategorized, University of Stirling, Wages | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The (Retail) Reality of our Current Predicament

Whatever political leanings one has, the last ten days or so have hopefully provided a nadir in political (mis-)management of the economy and society.  The crashing of the pound, the almost demise of the pension market, a screeching u-turn on … Continue reading

Posted in Consumers, Cost of Living, Costs, Economics Observatory, Employment, Government, Inflation, Pricing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Retail Strategy for Scotland

On the 24th March, the Scottish Government unveiled its long-awaited Retail Strategy for Scotland. The Strategy can be found here and the Ministerial statement from Tom Arthur MSP can be found here. Getting the Right Change: A Retail Strategy for … Continue reading

Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, Bids Scotland, Community, Consumer Change, Employment, Government, Internet shopping, Just Transition, Local Retailers, New Future for Scotland's Towns, NPF4, Places, Public Policy, Retail Policy, Retail Strategy, Retailers, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Improvement Districts, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Scottish Grocers Federation, Scottish Retailing, Shopping, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centres | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Stirling – Still All at C

I had no intention of adding to my last post about the perverse decision of Stirling Council to go against official recommendation and permit a new ASDA superstore on a greenfield site further out from Stirling than any other retail … Continue reading

Posted in Asda, Car Dependency, Climate Emergency, Closure, East Kilbride, Employment, Food Retailing, High Streets, Local Authorities, Marks and Spencer, Out of Town, Place Principle, Places, Planning, Politicians, Retail Planning, Social Inequality, Spatial Planning, Stirling, Stirling Council, Sustainability, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Brexit isn’t Delivering

Neil Saunders provides a valuable service by culling newspapers on a daily basis for retail stories and putting them up on his twitter feed. This saves time for me and also provides a good snapshot of retail sentiment (He does … Continue reading

Posted in Availability, Brexit, Christmas, Consumers, Covid19, distribution, Employment, European Union, Frictionless, Government, Logistics, Next, Panic buying, Referendum, Retailers, Supply Chains, Wages, Warehouses | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

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

Goodbye 2020 – Hello 2021 and beyond

The Covid19 addled 2020 is behind us in calendar terms, though we are continuing to live through the lockdowns, and all their implications, at the start of what in normal times might be a brand new shiny year.  In a … Continue reading

Posted in Consumers, Covid19, Employment, Essential Retailing, Food Retailing, Government, Independents, Local Retailers, Localisation, Lockdown, Online Retailing, Panic buying, Retail Change, Retailers, Retailing, Social Change, Social Inequality, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Shopping in a Post-Lockdown World

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

Retailing, Shopping and Covid-19

Over the last couple of months I have produced on this blog a range of pieces around retailing, shopping and the coronavirus pandemic.  There will no doubt be more to be said as the situation develops. One of these pieces … Continue reading

Posted in Community, Consumer Change, Consumers, Covid19, Employment, Employment practices, Government, High Streets, Independents, Institute for Retail Studies, Internet shopping, Lockdown, Multichannel, Online Retailing, Panic buying, Places, Public Policy, Reinvention, Retail Change, Retail Policy, Retail Sales, Retailers, Retailing, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Scottish Retailing, Shopping, Social Inequality, Tax, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, University of Stirling | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

What Should We Value about Retailing and Towns and What Should We Do About Them?

Apologies, this took a little longer and got a bit lengthier than I originally intended.   “If they look beyond heroic individualism and accept that individuals exist in a network of social bonds and obligations, we might just see a … Continue reading

Posted in Community, Consumer Change, Consumers, Employment, Food, Food Banks, Food Retailing, Government, Grocery, Health, Healthy Living, High Streets, Independents, Leadership, Local Retailers, Non-food retailing, Places, Proactive Planning, Rates, Reinvention, Retail Change, Retail Planning, Retailing, Scottish Government, Shopping, Spaces, Streets, Streetscapes, Supply Chains, Tax, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Urban | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments