Author: Leigh Sparks
-
Follow me on Twitter
My TweetsPage Updates
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
- Grocery Market Shares in Great Britain (GB) 1997-2023
- Co-operative Tokens, Sports Direct and The Bristol Pound
- Personal News - Retirement
- UK Grocery Market Share 1997-2019
- Oxford Street, Hull and Beyond
- The architectural heritage of Montague Burton’s Art Deco shops
- London's Welsh Dairies: The Welsh Milk Trade
- Retail change and why we fell in love with supermarkets?
- The UK Government's Long Term Plan for Towns
- Retail Branding: it's not (just) private label
Writing About ...
Archives
-
Join 5,704 other subscribers
- Follow Stirlingretail on WordPress.com
Meta
Tag Archives: Architecture
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
Re-store, Re-use, Re-generate Historic Buildings
Last week I presented at a Heritage Trust Network event in Stirling. The event focused on restoring, reusing and regenerating historic buildings in town centres and their scope to aid recovery of the high street. The event, highly appropriately, … Continue reading
Posted in Arcades, Architecture, Buildings, Heritage, High Streets, Historic Shops, Kirkwall, Local Authorities, Midsteeple Quarter, Places, Public Realm, Regeneration, Retail History, Scotland, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Shopfronts, Stirling, Stirling Council, Streetscapes, Town Centre Living, Town Centres, Towns, Urban History
Tagged Alhambra Theatre Stirling, Architecture, CARS, Heritage, High Streets, History, Kirkwall, Midsteeple Quarter, Old Arcade Stirling, Regeneration, Retail, Stirling, Stirling City Heritage Trust, Town Centres
Leave a comment
Shrewsbury – Welsh or English?
There I was, quietly photographing an old shop and a neat ghostsign in one of the main streets of Shrewsbury (see photo above), when an elderly local man challenged me. He said he thought I was mad as there was … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Ghost Signs, High Streets, History, Independents, Local Retailers, Pret, Retail Change, Retailers, Shopfronts, Shrewsbury, Streetscapes, Town Centres, Urban History
Tagged Architecture, Buildings, Ghostsigns, Heritage, High Streets, History, Indpendents, Pret, Retail, Shops, Shrewsbury, store design, Town Centres, Urban History
3 Comments
Power, Heritage and Place: Battersea Power Station
The Sir Giles Gilbert Scott monumental Battersea Power Station on the south bank of the Thames in London is an iconic building, and not just due to Pink Floyd. Designed and built between the 1920s and 50s it produced a … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Art Deco, Battersea Power Station, Buildings, Heritage, London, Regeneration, Retailers
Tagged Archeology, Architecture, Art Deco, Battersea Power Station, Buildings, Commerce, Gilbert Scott, Heritage, London, Mixed-use, Pink Floyd, Preservation, Redevelopment, Residential, Retailing, Rome
Leave a comment
The architectural heritage of Montague Burton’s Art Deco shops
Anyone who follows me on Twitter will, over a number of years, probably have got fed up with pictures of storefronts and ghostsigns. A common theme in this has been the architecture that is being lost – something that this … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Art Deco, Burtons, Dublin, Halifax, Heritage, Historic Shops, Hull, Oxford Street, Places, Retail History, Uncategorized, Urban History
Tagged Abersytwyth, Architecture, Art Deco, Burtons, Design, Elephants, Foundation Stones, Halifax, Historic Shops, Hull, LaidbyMonty, Place Vandalism, Places, Retail Heritage, Retail History, Streetscapes, Swansea
2 Comments
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
1 Comment
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
4 Comments
Oxford Street, Hull and Beyond
I have never really understood the fascination with Oxford Street as the retail heart of the UK. I get that there are some great buildings, but as a shopping street, though not a great streetscape, it has never worked for … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Campaigns, Cooperative Group, Cooperatives, Department Stores, Historic Shops, History, Hull, Marks and Spencer, Oxford Street, Places, Regeneration, Retail History, Streetscapes, Town Centres, Towns, Urban History
Tagged Alan Boyson, Architecture, Buildings, Cooperative Group, Department Stores, Heritage, History, Marks and Spencer, Modernism, Murals, Oxford Street, Retail, Ships in the Sky, Streetscapes, Town Centres
3 Comments
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
The Architecture of England’s Co-operative Movement
Over two and a half years ago I attended a seminar at the Engine Shed in Stirling called ‘Talking Shops’ and my blog discussion of the event can be found here. In that post I noted the presentation by Lynn … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Art Deco, Buildings, Community, Cooperative Group, Cooperatives, Corporate branding, Corporate History, Department Stores, Design, Historic Shops, History, Hull, Localisation, Places, Retail Change, Retailers, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Urban History
Tagged Architecture, Book, Buildings, Co-operatives, Community, Design, Historic England, Historic Shops, History, Retailing, Ships in the Sky, Talking Shops
1 Comment
Stirlingretail 