Category Archives: European Union

Brexit isn’t Delivering

Posted on October 14, 2021 by Leigh Sparks

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

Money, Money, Money: Paying by Cash, Contactless Card or Digital?

Posted on March 8, 2021 by Leigh Sparks

In the UK Government Budget of the 3rd March it was announced that the upper limit for contactless card payments was to be lifted from £45 to £100. This reflects the rapid rise of contactless card payment (which began before … Continue reading →

Posted in Amazon, Amazon Go, ATMs, Cash, Cashpoints, Consumer Change, Consumers, Contactless, Covid19, Credit and Debit Cards, European Union, Local Currency, Pandemic, Post Offices, Retailers, Self-Scanning, Uncategorized | 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Christmas may be Cancelled

Posted on July 15, 2019 by Leigh Sparks

If there is no upside to Brexit then a No Deal Brexit plumbs the depth of stupidity. And yet, two men who claim to be intelligent are currently racing to utter the most damaging nonsense and not bothering to hide … Continue reading →

Posted in Brexit, Christmas, Disasters, distribution, European Union, Finance, Frictionless, Government, Logistics, Politicians, Producers, Resilience, Stock, Suppliers, Supply Chains, Uncategorized, Warehouses | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Brexit and the ‘F**K Business’ Approach

Posted on January 7, 2019 by Leigh Sparks

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Taxing Times: Tesco and Poland

Posted on April 21, 2017 by Leigh Sparks

The financial results for Tesco last week brought forward a lot of comment and some interesting thoughts, not least the looming pension deficit and the exceptional items booked into the accounts.  Oh, and the underlying performance, which was quite good. … Continue reading →

Posted in European Union, International Retailing, Large Store Levy, Poland, Profits, Public Health lev, Regulation, Retail Levy, Retail Policy, Tax, Tesco | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“The Ridiculous is no longer Unimaginable”

Posted on March 29, 2017 by Leigh Sparks

The other day I received an email saying that the 2016-2017 Annual Review of the Retail Think Tank was available.  It can be accessed and downloaded from here. The Retail Think Tank is just over 10 years old, being conceived … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Friday, Brands, Competition, Consumer Change, European Union, International Retailing, Retail Change, Retail Health Index, Retail leadership, Retail Think Tank, Retailers, Store Closures | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Taste the Landscape with Scotrail

Posted on March 19, 2017 by Leigh Sparks

I’ve always enjoyed travelling by train.  Maybe this stems from my grandfather being a blacksmith by trade and when I was young seeing him working on steam engines in Tondu sheds.  Or perhaps it comes from being packed off on … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Alcohol, Brexit, Diet and Health, European Union, Food, Food Tourism, Producers, Retail brands, Scotland Food and Drink, Scotrail, Suppliers | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Uncertainty: Brexit and Retailing

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Leigh Sparks

This is quite a long post, so apologies. About 10 days before the EU Referendum I wrote an invited article for the Scotsman on the issues for retailing. It was intended as one of a series on different sectors. They … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, Brexit, Buying, Consumers, Costs, European Union, Government, International Retailing, Internet, Online Retailing, Referendum, Regulation, Retailers, Supply Chains | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments