Author: Leigh Sparks
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May 2023 – Two new articles and a book chapter noted on the Journal Articles page
February 2023 – New piece for The Conversation on online retailing (see commentaries tab)
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)
Top Posts & Pages
- Transformative Food Retailing, Data and Consumers
- Twenty One Years of UK Grocery Market Share
- The architectural heritage of Montague Burton’s Art Deco shops
- Internet sales as a percentage of retail sales in the UK
- UK Grocery Market Share 1997-2019
- Retail Branding: it's not (just) private label
- Co-operative Tokens, Sports Direct and The Bristol Pound
- Are Retailers Social Engineers?
- Food, health and data: developing transformative food retailing
- Strange Things in Self-Service
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Category Archives: Regulation
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
8 Comments
Conversation Piece: High-street strategy: recovery will take more than street parties and more bins
On the 15th July, the UK Government published its new high street strategy for England “Build Back Better: High Streets”. I was asked by The Conversation to prepare a peice about the strategy, its links to Covid recovery and its … Continue reading
Posted in community wealth building, Festivals, Government, High Streets, Independents, Local Retailers, Mary Portas, Permitted Development Rights, Places, Planning, Policy, Public Policy, Public Realm, Regeneration, Regulation, Retailers, Retailing, Streetscapes, Town Centres
Tagged Build Back Better, Business rates, Communities, community wealth building, High Streets, Independent Retailing, Permitted Development Rights, Retailing, The Conversation, Town Centres
2 Comments
Should Large Retail Stores be Open or Closed on New Year’s Day (Ne’erday) in Scotland ?
Invitation to Respond to Consultation (closing date 24th August 2021) A Scottish Government consultation seeking the views of business, retailers and shop workers on New Year’s Day trading has been published. Running for 10 weeks until 24 August, the consultation … Continue reading
Posted in Christmas, Competition, Consumers, Employees, Employment, Internet shopping, New Years Day, Online Retailing, Opening Hours, Petitions, Regulation, Retailers, Retailing, Scotland, Scottish Government, Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Retailing, Sunday Trading, USDAW
Tagged Christmas Day, Consultation, Large Stores, New Years Day, Opening Hours, Regulation, Retailing, Scotland, Scottish Government, scottish retail consortium, Shop Workers, Trade Restrictions, USDAW
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Aberdeen, No More?
The Covid pandemic has hit retailing hard. Government support (though important) has in no way matched the lost sales and business. Previous trends have been accelerated, most notably in terms of online sales. Retailers of all shapes and sizes have … Continue reading
Posted in 1960s, Aberdeen, Architecture, Bids Scotland, Buildings, City Centres, Closure, Consumers, Cooperatives, Covid19, Department Stores, Internet shopping, John Lewis Partnership, Lockdown, Norco, Online Retailing, Pandemic, Rates, Regulation, Rents, Retail Change, Retail Sales, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Shopping, Social value, Tax, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Waitrose
Tagged Aberdeen, Architecture, Brutalism, Business Improvement Districts, City Centres, Consumers, Covid-19, Department Stores, John Lewis, John Lewis Partnership, Norco, Online sales, Retail costs, Retailing, Scotland's Towns, Tax, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group
2 Comments
Ten years on stirlingretail.com
Ten years ago today (6th April 2011) I put up my very first post on this blog. My intention was really two fold. First I wanted to have a place to collect and publicise retail things so as to avoid … Continue reading
Posted in Academics, Consumer Change, Convenience, Convenience stores, High Streets, Internet, Internet shopping, Local Retailers, Market Shares, Mary Portas, Multichannel, Online Retailing, Red Tape, Regulation, Retail Change, Retail Sales, Scotland, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Government, Scottish Grocers Federation, Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Retail Sales, Shopfronts, Stirling, Tesco, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Waitrose
Tagged British Retail Consortium, Convenience Retailing, High Streets, Historic Shops, Retail Sales, Retailing, Scotland, Stirling, Tesco, Town Centres, University of Stirling, Waitrose
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Essential vs Non-Essential Retailing
At the start of lockdown in March, there was a division of retailing into essential and non-essential retailing, with a secondary division into physical and online channels. There was some grumbling from some retailers (Sports Direct, Waterstones) who felt they … Continue reading
Posted in Alcohol, Closure, Essential Retailing, Government, Independents, Lockdown, Non-Essential Retailing, Non-food retailing, Online Retailing, Regulation, Scottish Government, Uncategorized, Wales
Tagged Covid-19, Essential, Independent Retailing, Lockdown, Non-Essential Retailing, Regulation, Retail
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
Build Back Better: Bill Grimsey and Covid
When Mary Portas produced her report for the UK Government on high streets, Bill Grimsey was quick to posit an alternative and to focus on leadership and technology for places. His report and its follow-up a few years later have … Continue reading
Posted in Bill Grimsey, CLES, Community, Consumers, Covid19, Government, High Streets, Leadership, Local Authorities, Mary Portas, Places, Proactive Planning, Public Policy, Regulation, Reinvention, Retail Change, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Social Justice, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Uncategorized
Tagged Build Back Better, CLES, Covid-19, Grimsey, High Streets, Leadership, Localism, Pandemic, Portas, Recovery, Scotland, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Social Renewal, Suatainability, Town Centre Action plan, Town Centres
2 Comments
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