Category Archives: Historic Shops

Dublin’s Fair City

Posted on July 13, 2017 by

Every two years the conference of the European Association for Education and Research in Commercial Distribution (EAERCD) comes around.  Now in its 19th incarnation, this academic conference attracts retail scholars from across the globe to present and discuss their latest … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Architecture, Art Deco, Buildings, Burtons, Convenience stores, Corporate History, Dublin, EAERCD, Ghost Signs, Heritage, Historic Shops, History, Markets, Retail History, Shopfronts, Spar, Tobacco, Urban History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ghost Signs and Retailing

Posted on April 3, 2017 by

As readers of this blog will know, I have always had an interest in the history of retailing and companies and businesses of the past. A good example has been the ongoing work with Neil Tyler around Sanders Bros, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, Advertising, Architecture, Art, Brands, Buildings, Consumer Change, Corporate History, Ghost Signs, Heritage, Historic Shops, History, Retail History, Sanders Bros, Shopfronts, Signage, Stirling, Urban History | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Gardens and Gin

Posted on July 4, 2016 by

I sometimes wonder what visitors make of Scotland. When I first moved up we did a lot of the tourist things, as people and family visited, but as life goes on it is all too easy to look to further … Continue reading →

Posted in Alcohol, Architecture, Buildings, Community, Distillery, Edinburgh, Festivals, Gardens, Gin, Historic Shops, Royal Mile, Scotland Food and Drink, Spaces, Urban History | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Retail change and why we fell in love with supermarkets?

Posted on February 5, 2016 by

My long-term colleague, Anne Findlay has just sent me a newspaper clipping that she recently found in her parent’s house. A quick bit of research (or Googling as we now call it) dated it to February 7th 1962. Anne knew … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Charity Shops, Consumer Change, Consumer Lifestyle, Cooperative Group, Coopers, Food Retailing, Glasgow, Historic Shops, Planning, Retail Change, Retail History, Retailers, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Spaces, Store Closures, Streetscapes, Supermarket, Urban History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Albert Gubay 1928-2016

Posted on January 28, 2016 by

Early in January, Albert Gubay died, aged 87. His is not a name that will necessarily be familiar to many people, but he was a true original in the field of retailing and more generally. Not many people amass a … Continue reading →

Posted in Albert Gubay, Discounters, Food Retailing, Historic Shops, History, Innovation, International Retailing, Kwik Save, Pricing, Retail History, Shoprite, Tesco, Three Guys, Uncategorized | 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 , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Sense of Place

Posted on April 21, 2015 by

A few months ago I was approached to write a short piece for “Context – the magazine of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation” as part of a collected set of items on The Changing Face of Retail. A couple … Continue reading →

Posted in Design, High Streets, Historic Shops, History, Places, Signage, Spaces, Streetscapes, Town Centres | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments