Author: Leigh Sparks
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January 2024 – Roll over of some areas for new year, plus The Economics Observatory piece on Christmas trading (see commentaries tab)
May 2023 – Two new articles and a book chapter noted on the Journal Articles page
Top Posts & Pages
- The architectural heritage of Montague Burton’s Art Deco shops
- Personal News - Retirement
- Co-operative Tokens, Sports Direct and The Bristol Pound
- Shrewsbury - Welsh or English?
- Grocery Market Shares in Great Britain (GB) 1997-2023
- "Argos catalogues - a fascinating historical archive"
- Twenty One Years of UK Grocery Market Share
- London's Welsh Dairies: The Welsh Milk Trade
- The Year of the Tomato
- Herkku Food Market Delicatessen – Helsinki
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Category Archives: Uncategorized
Toast – Green Shield Stamps
Green Shield Stamps could be traded in for ‘free’ gifts so why did consumers abandon them? Sean Farrington examines their rise and fall and discovers how they spawned a famous retail chain which is still trading. The stamps were the … Continue reading
Some more on Singapore’s Shophouse and Art-Deco Heritage
In the short time I had in Singapore this January, we decided to continue to seek out the old amongst the new. It was, as I noted last year in my piece on shophouses good to see pockets of old … Continue reading
Posted in Art Deco, Branding, Cinemas, Design, Historic Shops, Places, Retail History, Singapore, Streetscapes, Tiles, Uncategorized, Urban History
Tagged Art Deco, Design, Historic Shops, Retail History, Shophouses, Singapore, Tiles
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The Importance of Markets, Asian Style
As I think I have mentioned, I was away in January, mainly in Cambodia, but also in Singapore. Since I have been back it has been a little hectic and so some posts reflecting on aspects of my time away … Continue reading
Posted in Cambodia, Food Retailing, Localisation, Markets, Networks, Producers, Singapore, Uncategorized
Tagged Cambodia, Food Culture, Goa, local food, Market Halls, Markets, Singapore
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Celebrating 40 years of the Institute for Retail Studies at the University of Stirling
Anyone entering the library at the heart of the University of Stirling in recent weeks can not help but notice the latest use of the exhibition space. It’s been taken over by us retailers, to celebrate 40 years of retail … Continue reading
Posted in Academics, Alumni, archives, Branding, Brands, Exhibitions, Food Retailing, Institute for Retail Studies, Private brands, Products, Retail brands, Retail Change, Retail Degrees, Retail History, Retail Research, Retailer Branding, Shopping, Stirling, Uncategorized, University of Stirling
Tagged Alumni, Archive, Exhibition, History, Institute for Retail Studies, Library, MBA in Retailing, Packaging, Professor John Dawson, Retail Branding, Retail History, Retail Research, Retailing, University of Stirling
4 Comments
The Wonder of Woolies – 15 Years On
Early January 2024 marked 15 years from the collapse of Woolworths in the UK and the closure of its 807 mainly high street stores. There are several potential parents of the phrase ‘death of the high street’, spanning many decades, … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Consumer Change, Convenience stores, Discounters, Heritage, High Streets, History, Reinvention, Retail Change, Retail Failure, Retail History, Town Centre Living, Town Centres, Uncategorized, Urban History, Woolworths
Tagged Convenience, Discounters, Discounts, failure, High Streets, Reinvention, Retail, Retail Change, Streetscape, Town Centre Living, Woolworths
2 Comments
How is consumer spending around Christmas 2023 likely to affect retailers?
Retailing has been going through a challenging time in the last three or four years. The restrictions and disruption of Covid have given way to an extreme cost-of-living crisis and an almost apocalyptic sense of uncertainty on a geo-political level. … Continue reading
Posted in Christmas, Consumer Change, Consumers, Cost of Living, Economics Observatory, Energy Costs, ESRC, Government, Inflation, Office for National Statistics, Pricing, Retailers, Retailing, Sales, Uncategorized
Tagged Austerity, Christmas, Consumers, Cost of Living, Economic Observatory, ESRC, Inflation, Pricing, Retailers, Retailing, Sales
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Regenerative Scotland: Town Centre Regeneration
A couple of months ago I sat down with Ariane Burgess MSP and Kimberley Guthrie to chat about town centre regeneration – well, we virtually sat down as we were in three different locations. Ariane is a Scottish Greens MSP … Continue reading
Posted in High Streets, Independents, MSPs, New Future for Scotland's Towns, Places, Planning, Public Policy, Regeneration, Retail Change, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Living, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized
Tagged A New Future for Scotland's Towns, Ariane Burgess, High Streets, Places, Regenerative Scotland, Retail, Scotland, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Towns and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Town Centres, towns
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My Summer 2023 in Vegetables
As many people know from Twitter (and this blog) I try to grow some vegetables. I do this both for the crop (taste, variety) but also for the enjoyment it gives me. About this time of the year, most harvesting … Continue reading
Posted in Food, Gardens, Greenhouse, Uncategorized, vegetables
Tagged Chillies, Food, Gardens, Greenhouse, Home Growing, Runner beans, Tomatoes, vegetables
4 Comments
Singapore Shophouses and Tiles
It was a pleasure to be back in Singapore at the end of September for our latest graduation of students from our partnership with SIM (Singapore Institute of Management). I am no great fan of monolithic corporate hotels, so arranged … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Azulejo, Design, Heritage, Historic Shops, Singapore, Streetscapes, Tiles, Uncategorized, Urban History
Tagged Architecture, Conservation, Design, Heritage, History, Restoration, Retail History, Shophouses, Singapore, Tiles
1 Comment
Grocery Market Shares in Great Britain (GB) 1997-2023
It’s July and that can only mean one thing – it is time again to update the grocery market share data for Great Britain in the latest instalment of slow data for this series. Regulars to this blog know that I have … Continue reading
Posted in Aldi, Asda, Brands, Competition, Data, Discounters, Food Retailing, Grocery retailing, Inflation, Kantar, Lidl, Market Shares, Morrisons, Retailers, Sainsbury, Tesco, Uncategorized
Tagged Aldi, Asda, Discounters, Food retailing, Great Britain, Grocery retailing, Inflation, Lidl, Market Shares, Morrisons, Sainsbury, Tesco, UK
3 Comments
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