Category Archives: USA

Lockdown Reading: Welsh Saints on the Mormon Trail

Posted on July 20, 2020 by Leigh Sparks

When we were living in the USA in 2000-1 we flew to Jackson Hole in Wyoming via Salt Lake City.  That last flight to Jackson Hole was the most unpleasant flight I’ve taken before or since, shaken and bounced over … Continue reading →

Posted in Ajax Underground Store, Buildings, Catalogues, Cooperatives, Department Stores, Emigration, Historic Shops, History, Mormons, Places, Retail History, Retailers, Retailing, Uncategorized, USA, Wales, Zion Co-operative Mercantile Institution | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Going Self-Service – a 70 year old revolution?

Posted on September 30, 2019 by Leigh Sparks

A few weeks ago a journalist rang and asked about the introduction of self-service retailing into the UK.  A particular question was about the way in which retailers converting to self-service in the 1940s and 1950s knew what to do … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumer Change, Customer Service, Express Dairies, Food Retailing, Historic Shops, History, Retail Change, Retail History, Retail innovation, Retailers, Retailing, Self-checkout, Self-Service, Small Shops, Tesco, Uncategorized, USA | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ghosts in the Rockies

Posted on October 18, 2018 by Leigh Sparks

In one of the many ironies of destroying my knee in May, we were left with a race against time to see if I was fit enough to go on a booked holiday in late August and early September. Would … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Architecture, Buildings, Canada, Corporate branding, Downtown, Ghost Signs, Heritage, High Streets, Historic Shops, Places, Retail History, Signage, Small Towns, Streetscapes, Urban History, USA | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Travelling Fellowships 2017

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Leigh Sparks

In the summer of 1989 I spent eight weeks travelling around the United States and Canada looking at the customer service practices of North American retailers.  I visited numerous retailers, large and small, and interviewed countless owners, managers, directors and … Continue reading →

Posted in Basketball, Churchill Fellow, Customer Service, Retailing, USA, Winston Churchill Memorial Trust | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

How Are Consumers using Online Grocery?

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Leigh Sparks

I’ve been called many things, but as I have noted in this blog before, one of the most distinctive is that I am a ‘Black Belt’ on the Brick Meets Click website.  I am not sure what I have done … Continue reading →

Posted in BrickMeetsClick, Click and Collect, Consumer Lifestyle, Food Retailing, Online Retailing, USA | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Clarence Saunders and Keedoozle

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Leigh Sparks

A year or so I was invited to become part of an online community – Brick meets Click (BMC) – which discusses and comments on interesting things in the world of retailing and technology and looks at the future of … Continue reading →

Posted in Automation, Click and Collect, Consumer Change, Dark Stores, Food Retailing, History, Multichannel, Online Retailing, Retail History, Supermarket, USA | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Shock and Awe

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Leigh Sparks

I am too young to be an ageing hippie – honest. And I certainly no longer have the hair for it. But a few nights ago we went to the Neil Young and Crazy Horse show in Glasgow. Growing up … Continue reading →

Posted in Festivals, Merchandising, Music, Retailing, Sport, Tourism, USA | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Only in America?

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Leigh Sparks

Despite having lived in the USA for extended periods of time I am still unclear about my favourite parts.  The western swathe from New Mexico to Wyoming is unique, but the south-eastern states often draw me back. So following a … Continue reading →

Posted in Department Stores, Downtown, Heritage, Local Retailers, Localisation, Regeneration, Regulation, USA | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment