Author: Leigh Sparks
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April 2020 -new journal article published (Journal Articles page) on Twenty-One Years of Going Shopping and Marketing History
January 2022 – removal of some redundant pages, reordering of some material, the addition of some new pages (under Commentaries), and some changes to some of the text throughout
Top Posts & Pages
- Scotland's Shops and Shopfronts: history and future?
- Checkout the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
- Ten years on stirlingretail.com
- Screen Time? Cinemas and Town Centres
- Twenty One Years of UK Grocery Market Share
- National Retail Planning Forum Papers 1998-2014
- The Co-operative Group Results 2021
- Hull and Beyond
- Retail Branding: it's not (just) private label
- London's Welsh Dairies: The Welsh Milk Trade
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Category Archives: Politicians
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 Asda, B&M, Car-dependency, Climate Emergency, Food Culture, Food retailing, Out of town retailing, Planning, Stirling, Stirling Council, Sustainability, Town Centres
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Stirling – all at C
It is probably time for my regular reminder that this blog expresses my personal and professional opinion. It does not necessarily reflect the official views of any organisation that employs me or with which I am associated. On Wednesday 19th … Continue reading
Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, Asda, BIDS, City Centres, Food Retailing, Governance, Government, Land Use Planning, Local Authorities, New Future for Scotland's Towns, NPF4, Place Principle, Places, Planning, Politicians, Retail Planning, Retail Policy, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Sustainable Development, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, town centre first, Town Centre Review, Town Centres
Tagged 20 Minute Neighbourhoods, A New Future for Scotland's Towns, Business Improvement Districts, Climate Emergency, NPF4, Out of town retailing, Place Principle, Planning, Retail Impact Assessments, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Sequential Test, Stirling, Sustainability, Sustainable Development, town centre first
4 Comments
Should every encouragement have an equal and opposite discouragement?
This is the third in a loosely linked series of posts arising in part from the publication of the draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) and the New Future for Scotland’s Town Centres The first post was my discussion of … Continue reading
Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, Car Parking, Climate Emergency, community wealth building, Consumer Change, Government, High Streets, Housing, Internet shopping, New Future for Scotland's Towns, NPF4, Place Based Investment Programme, Places, Planning, Policy, Politicians, Public Policy, Rates, Regulation, Retail Change, Retail Impact Assessments, Retail Planning, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Tax, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, town centre first, Town Centre Living, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns
Tagged 20 Minute Neighbourhoods, A New Future for Scotland's Towns, Behaviour Change, Car Parking, Climate Emergency, Development, Fraser review, internet retailing, Land Use Planning, Non-domestic rates, NPF4, Out of Town, Out of town impacts, Place Based Investment Programme, Place Principle, Regualtion, Scotland, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Spatial Planning, Taxation, Town Centres, towns
5 Comments
‘Writing the Rules of the Game’: Non-market Strategy, commercial interests and health policy
The UK Government has recently published a set of proposals and statements about restricting commercial activity as part of an approach to tackle obesity. We have also seen the first stage of a ‘National’ Food Strategy be published. In Scotland … Continue reading
Posted in Academics, Alcohol, Consumers, Diet and Health, Food Retailing, Food Standards Scotland, Health, Healthcare Retail Standard, Hospital Shops, Large Store Levy, Markets, Non-market Strategy, Politicians, Profits, Promotion, Public Health, Public Health lev, Public Policy, Regulation, Retail Levy, Scottish Government, Sugar Tax, Uncategorized
Tagged Alcohol, Diet and Health, Food Standards Scotland, Non-market Strategy, Public Health, Regulation, Retailing, Sugar Tax, Tobacco
1 Comment
Fighting Fit? Independent Convenience Stores and the Public Health Agenda
The last 2019 Cross Party Group for Independent Convenience Stores, held last week, was a cracker. With all the excitement of the AGM (not really), it was almost too much to have three excellent presentations on retailing and the public … Continue reading
Posted in Academics, Alcohol, Best Start Foods, Convenience stores, Cross Party Group, Deposit Return Scheme, Diet and Health, Food Retailing, Food Standards Scotland, Government, Healthcare Retail Standard, Healthy Living, Independents, Internet shopping, Legislation, Local Retailers, Politicians, Products, Regulation, Retail leadership, Retail Policy, Scotland, Scottish Government, Scottish Grocers Federation, Scottish Local Retailer, Scottish Retailing, Small Shops, Sugar Tax, Uncategorized, University of Stirling
Tagged Best Start, Cross Party Group, Deposit Return Scheme, Food Standards Scotland, Healthcare Retail Standard, Healthy Living, Minimum Pricing, Policy, Promotions, Regulation, Scottish Government, Scottish Grocers Federation, Scottish Parliament, Tobacco, Unhealthy foods, University of Stirling
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Christmas may be Cancelled
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 Brexit, Business, Christmas, distribution, European Union, Food, Frictionless, logistics, medicines, No-Deal brexit, Politicians, Retail, Space, Stock, Supply chains, Warehouses
1 Comment
Brexit and the ‘F**K Business’ Approach
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 Brexit, Disruption, European Union, Food, Frictionless, Just in Time, logistics, medicine, Politicians, Quick Response, Retailers, Supply chains, Tansport, Warehouses
5 Comments
Damaged Goods
As Private Eye put it, serialised exclusively across all newspapers, this book says that Philip Green is not a nice person. “Quelle surprise” as they may say in Croydon. But on the other hand, Oliver Shah is the Sunday Times … Continue reading
Posted in BHS, Employees, Finance, Government, Leadership, Legislation, Pensions, Philip Green, Politicians, Regulation, Retail Failure, Retail leadership, Shareholders, Uncategorized
Tagged Brexit, Collapse, Corruption, Damaged Goods, Employees, Pensions, Philip Green, Retail, Scandal, Sunday Times
2 Comments
Business Rates: an election issue (not)
This blog has covered the issue of rates on a number of occasions (e.g. rates relief, a levy, some rates and the Grimsey report, the poll tax and business rates) never fully satisfactory, and indeed, re-reading the pieces, with a … Continue reading
Posted in Closure, Governance, Government, High Streets, Internet, Internet shopping, Large Store Levy, Mary Portas, Online Retailing, Places, Politicians, Public Health lev, Rates, Regulation, Retail Policy, Retailers, Store Closures, Tax, Town & Country PLanning, Town Centres
Tagged Business rates, Election, Government, High Streets, Local Government, Politicians, Rates, Retailers, Revaluation, Tax, Town Centres, Vacancies
5 Comments
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