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Author: Leigh Sparks
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2.11.2018 Details of my two new books added – Logistics and Retail Management and Food Retailing and Sustainable Development
12.07.2018 Our final Trading Places column for Town & Country Planning is now available on the Trading Places section of this blog
Top Posts & Pages
- The Next Ten Years of Grocery Retailing?
- Yours for £1 (not really)
- Co-operative Tokens, Sports Direct and The Bristol Pound
- A Lidl Surprise?
- "Destination High Street - Restoring Vibrancy to Scotland's Towns"
- Some thoughts on the ASOS profit warning
- So you think you know Scottish Towns?
- Do Times Change? Cardiff Market
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Category Archives: Localisation
Yours for £1 (not really)
It was an eye-catching gimmick, and it did the job, getting media coverage (and me onto the radio (again)). In early February, at a London auction The Postings shopping centre in Kirkcaldy was put up for sale with a reserve … Continue reading
Posted in Buildings, Community, Community Development, Creative Places, Dumfries, High Streets, Kirkcaldy, Landlords, Localisation, Places, Property, Regeneration, Retail Change, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Shopping Centres, Town Centre Living, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized
Tagged Assets, Community Action, Dumfries, High Streets, Kirkcaldy, Landlords, Property, Retail, Shopping Centres, towns
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Dead or Alive?
A few weeks ago I was reading an interview in the Guardian and the interviewee, the writer Barbara Kingsolver, said about the Great Barrier Reef: “You’re hearing about everything that dies, you’re not hearing about everything that’s still alive. If … Continue reading
Posted in Community, Consumers, Local Retailers, Localisation, Regeneration, Reinvention, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Small Shops, Small Towns, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized
Tagged High Streets, Localisation, Media, Places, Regeneration, retail failure, Store Closures, Store Openings, towns
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Shops opening and expanding, queues outside: the High Street picture that’s not making the national news
I recently had an exchange with Iain Nicholson around media coverage of the high street. it followed my recent diatribe about data. I have known Iain for a few years and admired the work he has been doing in towns … Continue reading
Posted in Car Parking, Consumers, Creative Places, Government, High Streets, Independents, Local Retailers, Localisation, Oxfordshire, Places, Planning, Policy, Producers, Record stores, Retail Diversity, Retail Economy, Retailers, Small Shops, Small Towns, Spaces, town centre first, Town Centres, Towns, Vacancies
Tagged #indie, #morethanretail, Authors, Car Parking, Comics, Diversity, independents, Oxford Etsy, Oxfordshire, Planning, Positive Places, Rates, Records, Shops, town centre first, Town Centres, Town Teams, Vacancies
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Time Out in Lisbon: Part Two
Following on from my personal wander around Lisbon and the Mercado da Ribeira (Part One), and on the day after my keynote presentation on retail, consumption and urban governance (the overheads are here), the conference had its own ambulation around … Continue reading
Posted in Academics, Architecture, Brands, Buildings, Consumer Lifestyle, High Streets, Historic Shops, History, Lisbon, Localisation, Places, Public Realm, Regeneration, Reinvention, Resilience, Retail Change, Retail History, Retailing, Shopfronts, Streets, Streetscapes, Tourism, Town Centres, Urban History
Tagged Boulevards, Flagships, Historical shops, Lisbon, Places, Retailing, Streets, Streetscapes, Town Centres
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Co-operative Tokens, Sports Direct and The Bristol Pound
A little while ago I put up the photograph above on Twitter of three Co-operative Society tokens I had found; in this case from the Pontycymmer Industrial and Co-operative Society for a large loaf and one pint and a half … Continue reading
Posted in Bristol Pound, Community Co-operatives, Cooperative Tokens, Cooperatives, Food Retailing, History, Local Currency, Local Multiplier, Localisation, Places, Retail Change, Sports Direct
Tagged Bristol Pound, Co-operatives, Consumer Cooperatives, Dividend, History, Local Currencies, Pontycymmer, Prices, Sports Direct, Tokens
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Any Given Sunday?
Well, the first Conservative UK budget for 18 years has been and gone, and no doubt retailers are beginning to assess what it all means for them. That might be tough given the lack of some details, some rabbits that … Continue reading
Posted in Association of Convenience Stores, Consumers, Government, Independents, Legislation, Localisation, Part-time working, Planning, Profits, Rates, Regulation, Retail Policy, Retailers, Scottish Government, Sunday Trading, Wages
Tagged Budget, Consumer Spending, Localisation, Minimum Wages, Policy, Rates, Scotland, Sunday Trading
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How to Save Our Town Centres
Early on in 2013 Julian Dobson (director of Urban Pollinators Ltd) visited Stirling and we had an interesting discussion about the state of British retailing, high streets and town centres. He had asked to come up and chat as part … Continue reading
