Author: Leigh Sparks
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May 2021 – Journal Articles page updated with two new academic papers in Planning, Theory and Practice, and Sustainability, joining our Ageing & Society paper
March 2021 – Personal Biography redesigned and updated
January 2021 – Updates of Media Commentary and Journal Articles page structures
Top Posts & Pages
- Grocery Market Shares in the UK 2020
- Brexit isn't Delivering
- London's Welsh Dairies: The Welsh Milk Trade
- UK Grocery Market Share 1997-2019
- Scottish and Online Retail Sales in Lockdown
- Retail Disruptors - the spectacular rise and impact of the hard discounters
- Town Centres in Wales: Bounded Muscularity?
- Webinar: "A New Future for Scotland's Town Centres"
- Twenty One Years of UK Grocery Market Share
- Asa Briggs and Marks and Spencer
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Tag Archives: Retailing
Town Centres in Wales: Bounded Muscularity?
A few months ago I, together with Phil Prentice (STP), had a long discussion with representatives of Audit Wales around enhancing town centres. This came in the wake of the review I chaired, and the report I authored, for the … Continue reading
Posted in Car Parking, Government, High Streets, Out of Town, Places, Regeneration, Retail Change, Retail Policy, Scotland, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Small Towns, Town Centre Action Plan, town centre first, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Understanding Scottish Places, Understanding Welsh Places, Wales
Tagged Audit Wales, Bridgend, Car Dependency, Foundation Economy Research, Non-domestic rates, Place, Regeneration, Retailing, Scotland, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Tax, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, towns, Understanding Scottish Places, Understanding Welsh Places, Wales
2 Comments
Axe Stores (this is a description not an instruction)
At the end of July I received an email from a freelance journalist, Steve Cain, seeking any information on Food Giant and Axe Stores. In normal times I know I had material somewhere in my office on Food Giant. But … Continue reading
Posted in Aldi, Axe Stores, Closure, Corporate History, Discounters, Food Retailing, Hintons, Historic Shops, International Retailing, Kwik Save, Laws Stores, Lidl, PAM Group, Retail Failure, Retail History, Retailers, Retailing
Tagged Axe Stores, Corporate History, Discount Stores, Food Giant, Food retailing, Hintons, Italy, Laws Stores, Manchester Business School, PAM Group, Retail History, retail internationalisation, Retailing, Store Closures, Uk Retailing
7 Comments
Conversation Piece: High-street strategy: recovery will take more than street parties and more bins
On the 15th July, the UK Government published its new high street strategy for England “Build Back Better: High Streets”. I was asked by The Conversation to prepare a peice about the strategy, its links to Covid recovery and its … Continue reading
Posted in community wealth building, Festivals, Government, High Streets, Independents, Local Retailers, Mary Portas, Permitted Development Rights, Places, Planning, Policy, Public Policy, Public Realm, Regeneration, Regulation, Retailers, Retailing, Streetscapes, Town Centres
Tagged Build Back Better, Business rates, Communities, community wealth building, High Streets, Independent Retailing, Permitted Development Rights, Retailing, The Conversation, Town Centres
1 Comment
Should Large Retail Stores be Open or Closed on New Year’s Day (Ne’erday) in Scotland ?
Invitation to Respond to Consultation (closing date 24th August 2021) A Scottish Government consultation seeking the views of business, retailers and shop workers on New Year’s Day trading has been published. Running for 10 weeks until 24 August, the consultation … Continue reading
Posted in Christmas, Competition, Consumers, Employees, Employment, Internet shopping, New Years Day, Online Retailing, Opening Hours, Petitions, Regulation, Retailers, Retailing, Scotland, Scottish Government, Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Retailing, Sunday Trading, USDAW
Tagged Christmas Day, Consultation, Large Stores, New Years Day, Opening Hours, Regulation, Retailing, Scotland, Scottish Government, scottish retail consortium, Shop Workers, Trade Restrictions, USDAW
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Grocery Market Shares in Great Britain 1997-2021
Regular readers of this blog will be aware that I have, since 1997, been using Kantar data to look at the changing grocery market shares in Great Britain. Taking July data each year this series now extends almost a quarter … Continue reading
Posted in Aldi, Asda, Competition, Consumers, Convenience, Cooperatives, Discounters, Food Retailing, Grocery, Independents, Internet shopping, Kantar, Lidl, Local Retailers, Longitudinal Data, Market Shares, Ocado, Retail Change, Retailers, Sainsbury, Tesco
Tagged Asda, Concentration Ratio, Cooperatives, Covid19, Food retailing, Great Britain, Grocery market, Independent Retailing, Kantar Worldpanel, Lidl, Market Shares, Morrisons, Online retailing, Pandemic, Retailing, Sainsbury, Tesco
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Small Shops: Brian Lomas
I have just been alerted (thanks to @LeighVBird) to a book recently published by the modernist on the topic of Small Shops. It consists of 45 black and white photographs of small shops from North Manchester, taken in the early … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Community, Consumer Change, Food Retailing, Historic Shops, History, Independents, Local Retailers, Manchester, Neighbourhood, Retail Change, Retailing, Small Shops, Social Change, Urban, Urban History
Tagged 1980s, Books, Community, Manchester, Photographs, Retailing, Retailing change, Small shops, Social Change, the modernist, Urban History
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Scotland Loves Local: The Next Phase
As part of the response to the pandemic and the focus that has been turned onto neighbourhoods, localities and local businesses, the Scotland Loves Local campaign was launched in late July 2020. It proved to “hit the spot” with many … Continue reading
Posted in Community, community wealth building, Consumers, Gift Card, Government, Independents, Local Authorities, Local Currency, Local Multiplier, Local Retailers, Neighbourhood, Perth, Places, Retailers, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Shopping, Small Shops, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized
Tagged Community, Covid-19, Gift Card, independents, Local Authorities, Local Business, Local Currency, Local Multiplier, Miconex, Neighbourhoods, Pandemic, Retailing, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Shopping, Town Centre Review, towns
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Towns, High Streets and Resilience: A Question for Policy?
“It is all too easy to talk about “bouncing back to where we were” without asking which “we” is counted and without asking whether “where we were” is a place to which a return is desirable”. (Vale, 2014, p198) Some … Continue reading
Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, Academics, CLES, Community, community wealth building, Covid19, Government, High Streets, Pandemic, Public Policy, Resilience, Retail Change, Retail Policy, Retailers, Retailing, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Government, Scottish Retailing, Social Renewal, Sustainability, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized
Tagged 20 Minute Neighbourhoods, Academic papers, Bouncing Back, Community, community wealth building, Covid-19, High Streets, New Future for Scotland's Towns, Pandemic, Policy, Resilience, Retailing, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Town Centres, Scotland's Towns, Scottish Government, Sustainability, Town Centre Action plan, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, Town Centres, Towns. Vulnerability, Urban Retail Systems
1 Comment
Independent Retailing During and After the Pandemic: Tell your Stories
In my last post one of the statements that garnered quite a lot of attention was “As an example, I am hearing of (and locally seeing) quite a lot of local independent businesses opening up, and a better realism of … Continue reading
Posted in #IndieHour, Bill Grimsey, Collaboration, Community, Convenience, Entrepreneurship, Government, Independents, Local Retailers, Online Retailing, Pandemic, Retailers, Retailing, Scotland, Scotland Loves Local, Scotland's Improvement Districts, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Uncategorized, Wholesaling
Tagged #IndieHour, Community, Convenience, Covid-19, Grimsey, Independent Retailing, independents, Lockdown, Online retailing, Pandemic, Retailing, Scotland, Scotland Loves Local, technology, Wholesalers
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“Soaring Vacancies” : perhaps or perhaps not?
The end of last week saw headlines about the number of vacant shops in Scotland. Typical Scottish newspaper examples included: The Herald The Scotsman So, something of a downer to end the first week out of lockdown in Scotland and … Continue reading
Posted in BRC, Consumers, Covid19, Data, Independents, Local Data Company, Lockdown, Online Retailing, Pandemic, Places, Rates, Rents, Retail Change, Retailers, Scotland, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Retailing, Shop Numbers, Shopping, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Vacancies
Tagged British Retail Consortium, Consumer Confidence, Consumers, Covid-19, Data, independents, Local Data Company, Lockdown, Pandemic, Retailing, Scotland, Shops, Vacancies
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