Author: Leigh Sparks
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January 2023 – Roll over of some areas for new year, plus The Conversation piece on Christmas trading updates published (see commentaries tab) and main posts
December 2022 – End of year tidying up and re-arrangement, including link to EDAS podcast on places and towns (see presentations tab)
April 2022 -new journal article published (Journal Articles page) on Twenty-One Years of Going Shopping and Marketing History
Top Posts & Pages
- E-commerce: economic growth and empowerment of women and girls
- Grocery Market Shares in Great Britain (GB) 1997-2022
- A Japanese Eataly? In Singapore?
- Retail change and why we fell in love with supermarkets?
- Retail Branding: it's not (just) private label
- Who Owns Scotland's Towns, High Streets and Shopping Centres?
- Co-operative Tokens, Sports Direct and The Bristol Pound
- Twenty One Years of UK Grocery Market Share
- Herkku Food Market Delicatessen – Helsinki
- UK Grocery Market Share 1997-2019
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Category Archives: Places
2022: the stirlingretail.com year in retrospect
This time of the year I normally produce my last post and look back at the activity on the blog during the calendar year. My reviews for 2020 and 2021 covered the two years with the most visitors the site … Continue reading
Posted in 1977, Bristol Pound, Cooperative Tokens, Department Stores, Food Retailing, Grocery, Local Authorities, Market Shares, MIlk, New Future for Scotland's Towns, NPF4, Places, Planning, Retail Change, Retail History, Retail Strategy, Scottish Government, Scottish Retailing, Stirling, Stirling Council, Tesco, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Review, Urban History, Who Owns Scotland?
Tagged A New Future for Scotland's Towns, Department Stores, Grocery Market Shares, NPF4, Places, Planning, Retail Change, Retail History, Retail Strategy, Retailing, Scotland, Scottish Government, Stirling, Tesco, Town Centres, Welsh Dairies
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“Christmas and the Cost-of-Living Crisis: How will retailers cope?”
The past two year’s holiday seasons were tough for the UK’s retail sector, with lockdowns and resulting changes in consumer behaviour. I covered the previous Christmas periods in two pieces for the Economics Observatory (2020 and 2021) and followed this … Continue reading
Posted in Aldi, Brexit, Christmas, Consumers, Cost of Living, Costs, Discounters, Economics Observatory, Energy Costs, ESRC, Food, Food Retailing, Inflation, Lidl, Market Shares, Places, Retailers, Retailing, Shopping, Towns
Tagged Brexit, Christmas, Consumers, Cost of Living, Discounters, Economics Observatory, Energy Costs, Food, Inflation, interest rates, Market Shares, Retailers, Retailing
1 Comment
Scotland’s Towns Conference 2022
Three long years after the last such event, we were finally able to host Scotland’s Towns Conference in person. On Wednesday 16th November a sell-out crowd of over 220 people made their way to the impressive Centrestage in Kilmarnock (Scotland’s … Continue reading
Posted in Community, Community Assets, community wealth building, Creative Places, Digital, High Streets, Land Use Planning, Local Authorities, New Future for Scotland's Towns, NPF4, Places, Retail Change, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Streets, Streetscapes, town centre first, Town Centre Living, Town Centres, Towns
Tagged A New Future for Scotland's Towns, Climate Emergency, Community, community wealth building, Creative Towns, Digital Towns, Enterprising Communities, High Street Heroes, High Streets, National Planning Framework 4, NPF4, Places, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Towns Conference, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Streetscapes, Town Centre Living, Town Centres
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Retailing, Towns and Healthy Ageing
Today (27th October), the International Longevity Centre UK (ILC-UK) and the University of Stirling are hosting an (online and physical) event on “How can retailers keep us healthy?” with an emphasis on Spending with Dementia – making the high streets … Continue reading
Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, Consumer Change, Consumers, Cost of Living, Covid19, Diaries, Health, Healthy Ageing, Healthy Living, High Streets, New Future for Scotland's Towns, Places, Retail Change, Retail Policy, Retailers, Retailing, Shopping, Town Centres, Towns
Tagged Climate Emergency, Cost-of-Living, Covid, Dementia, Healthy Ageing, High Streets, Personal Data, Places, Policy, Retail, Shopping, Town Centres, towns, Transport
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Avenues to the Past: Stirling’s Historic Streets
This post is about an exhibition that has already closed. Sorry about that, but I did not get to see it until its penultimate day. It had only a three-week life, so I hope you forgive me. Avenues to the … Continue reading
Posted in Arcades, Architecture, Buildings, City Centres, Exhibitions, High Streets, Historic Shops, Places, Retailers, Stirling, Streets, Streetscapes, Town Centres, Towns, Urban History
Tagged Arcades, Architecture, Buildings, Exhibition, High Streets, History, Made in Stirling, Stirling, Streetscapes, Town Centres
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Clapped Out
The last two weeks of June saw a mammoth effort in the University of Stirling to catch up on graduation events for our 2020 and 2021 cohorts as well as our 2022 graduands. Ten ceremonies over the two weeks saw … Continue reading
Posted in Academics, Architecture, Buildings, Campus Central, Design, Places, Reinvention, RICS, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Design Awards, University of Stirling
Tagged Campus Central, Graduation, Page\Park, RICS, Robertson, Scottish Design Awards, University of Stirling
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Departing Stores and Place Vandalism
“Loss of local identity is a powerful factor that can influence the social and economic wellbeing of a town. By preserving the fabric of distinctive historic buildings, particularly those as prominent as former department stores, residents can recover a sense … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Buildings, City Centres, Department Stores, Design, Edinburgh, Heritage, High Streets, Historic Shops, Marks and Spencer, Oxford Street, Places, Town Centres, Urban History
Tagged Architecture, Buildings, C20 Society, City Centres, Demolition, Department Stores, Design, Edinburgh, Heritage, High Streets, Hull, Jenners, Marks and Spencer, Oxford Street, Place Vandalism, Places, Retailing, Three Ships, Town Centres, Urban History
3 Comments
The Retail Strategy for Scotland – Launch Day Questions to the Minister
As noted in my previous post, on the 24th March the Scottish Government published its Retail Strategy for Scotland and the Minister Tom Arthur MSP launched it in Parliament that afternoon. The Strategy can be downloaded here and the Ministerial … Continue reading
Posted in BIDS, Bids Scotland, Consumer Change, High Streets, Independents, Local Authorities, Local Retailers, New Future for Scotland's Towns, Places, Public Policy, Retail Change, Retail leadership, Retail Policy, Retail Productivity, Retail Strategy, Retailers, Scotland, Scotland's Improvement Districts, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Government, Scottish Retailing, Small Shops, Strategy, Town Centres, Towns
Tagged BIDs, Business rates, Independent Retailing, Non-domestic rates, Places, Productivity, Retail Strategy, Retailing, Scotland, Scottish Government, Scottish Parliament, Small Retailers, towns
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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 20 Minute Neighbourhoods, Climate Emergency, Communities, community wealth building, Employment, Fair Work, Just Transition, Place, Retail, Retail Industry Leadership Group, Retail Strategy, Scotland, Scottish Government, Skills, Town Centres, Wellbeing Economy
7 Comments
Place and Wellbeing
I was both pleased and interested to be invited to chair the meeting of the Place and Wellbeing Alliance on the 23rd March. Two years to the day when many people who could started to work from home, and here … Continue reading
Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, Car Use Reduction, Climate Emergency, Community, Data, Health, Neighbourhood, New Future for Scotland's Towns, Our Place, Place Principle, Place Standard, Places, Planning, Public Health, Scottish Government, Shaping Places for Wellbeing, Social Inequality, Social Renewal, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centres, Towns, Understanding Scottish Places, Well being
Tagged 20 Minute Neighbourhoods, A New Future for Scotland's Towns, Car Use Reduction, Inclusive Design, NPF4, Our Place website, Place, Place and Wellbeing Alliance, Place Standard Tool, Planning, Public Health Scotland, Shaping Places for Wellbeing, Wellbeing
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