Tag Archives: Book

Ghostsigns: A London Story

Posted on November 19, 2021 by Leigh Sparks

Anyone who follows me on twitter will have seen my fascination with ghostsigns and especially retail ones.  They have also featured at various points in this blog (for example Scotland, Montana, Dublin, London).  Most notably (for I am undoubtedly in … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Books, Buildings, Crowdfunding, Design, Ghost Signs, Heritage, High Streets, History, London, Retail History, Signage, Streetscapes, Town Centres | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Architecture of England’s Co-operative Movement

Posted on November 11, 2020 by Leigh Sparks

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 , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

London’s Welsh Dairies: The Welsh Milk Trade

Posted on September 16, 2019 by Leigh Sparks

As a child I remember people mentioning the ‘milk train’ between London and South Wales, but was never sure if it was first up or last down or both. Before I married, my fiancée and I went to stay in … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Buildings, Consumer Change, Consumers, Customer Service, distribution, Food, Food Retailing, Heritage, High Streets, Historic Shops, History, Independents, London, MIlk, Retail Change, Retail History, Sanders Bros, Shopfronts, Signage, Uncategorized, Urban History, Wales | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Retail Disruptors – the spectacular rise and impact of the hard discounters

Posted on January 21, 2019 by Leigh Sparks

The rise of the hard discounters is a well-observed phenomenon of continuing research endeavour and commentary.  In the UK, as is well known, Aldi and Lidl have captured considerable market share over the last decade. ‘Retail Disruptors’ by Jan-Benedict Steenkamp … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, Aldi, Competition, Consumer Choice, Discounters, Food Retailing, Jack's, Lidl, Market Shares, Pricing, Retail Change, Retailers, Strategy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Aberfan

Posted on October 6, 2016 by Leigh Sparks

At a period when there seems to be an anniversary at every turn, on the 21st October there will be the 50th remembrance of a truly shocking event – Aberfan.  Seared in the memories of individuals and communities, especially across … Continue reading →

Posted in Campaigns, Community, Disasters, Governance, Government, History, Personal, Places, Regeneration, Regulation, Social Justice, Wales | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Have You Heard of Sanders Bros?

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Leigh Sparks

For me it all began when one of my MBA retailing students showed me an advertisement from the 1933 Times and challenged me, as a Professor of Retail Studies, to tell him who Sanders Bros were, given that they were … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, Books, Closure, Food Retailing, Historic Shops, History, Retail Failure, Retail History, Sainsbury, Sanders Bros, Tesco | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments