Tag Archives: Churn

#Woolies10

Posted on January 28, 2019 by Leigh Sparks

I was out at the country on the tenth ‘anniversary’ of the closure of the last Woolworths store in the UK – 6th January to be exact.   I had already contributed to an element of the ‘celebration’/‘remembrance’, so didn’t feel … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Churn, Closure, Consumers, Corporate History, Ghost Signs, Heritage, High Streets, Historic Shops, History, Pound Shops, Poundland, Retail Failure, Shopfronts, Store Closures, Streetscapes, Towns, Uncategorized, Urban History, Woolworths | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“No Town Immune”: Data and reporting

Posted on April 12, 2018 by Leigh Sparks

On Tuesday afternoon, I was contacted by a journalist (Stephen Naysmith) from The Herald about the upcoming Local Data Company/PwC report on high streets.  He sent me the (then) embargoed press release.  I attach it here for those interested and … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, Closure, Data, Government, High Streets, Independents, Internet, Local Data Company, Online Retailing, Places, Retail Failure, Retailers, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Retailing, SNP, Town Centres, Towns, Understanding Scottish Places, Vacancies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Three Year ESRC Collaborative PhD Studentship Open for Applications

Posted on April 27, 2014 by Leigh Sparks

A few weeks ago I gave preliminary notice of our success in obtaining an ESRC Phd Studentship to study Scotland’s Town Centres. This is a three year collaborative award with myself and Anne Findlay as the Academic Supervisors and Matthew … Continue reading →

Posted in High Streets, Local Data Company, Longitudinal Data, PhD, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Town Centres | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Early Warning: PhD Student Wanted!

Posted on March 21, 2014 by Leigh Sparks

One evening last week I had one of those great emails, bringing good news.  I had been successful in the ESRC Scottish Graduate School for the Social Sciences Collaborative Studentship Competition.  With only 10 awarded across the whole of Scotland … Continue reading →

Posted in Academics, Churn, High Streets, Local Data Company, Resilience, Retailers, Retailing, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Shopping Centres, Town Centres, Vacancies | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Retailing in Scotland’s Towns and Cities II

Posted on February 28, 2014 by Leigh Sparks

Just prior to Christmas we launched our joint report with the Local Data Company on Scotland’s towns and cities and their retail structure. Details from then can be found here. I stated then that I would return to the topic … Continue reading →

Posted in Charity Shops, High Streets, Independents, Local Data Company, Retailers, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Town Centres, Vacancies | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Far from the “Magic of the Mall” but …

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Leigh Sparks

The death of the high street and the decline of the town centre have been widely debated, with the finger of blame being pointed to decentralisation of economic activities and changing consumer behaviours. This polarisation between traditional town centres and … Continue reading →

Posted in Competition, High Streets, Longitudinal Data, Places, Regeneration, Retail Policy, Secondary Locations, Tertiarisation, Town Centres, Vacancies | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment