Author: Leigh Sparks
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April 2022 -new journal article published (Journal Articles page) on Twenty-One Years of Going Shopping and Marketing History
January 2022 – removal of some redundant pages, reordering of some material, the addition of some new pages (under Commentaries), and some changes to some of the text throughout
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- Grocery Market Shares in the UK 2020
- Checkout the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
- Retail change and why we fell in love with supermarkets?
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Tag Archives: Retailing
The Co-operative Group Results 2021
A few weeks ago I was asked to provide a short analysis on the Co-operative Group’s results for 2021. This has now been published in Coop News. I repost it below. If nothing else it shows the impact of the … Continue reading
The Retail Strategy for Scotland – Launch Day Questions to the Minister
As noted in my previous post, on the 24th March the Scottish Government published its Retail Strategy for Scotland and the Minister Tom Arthur MSP launched it in Parliament that afternoon. The Strategy can be downloaded here and the Ministerial … Continue reading
Posted in BIDS, Bids Scotland, Consumer Change, High Streets, Independents, Local Authorities, Local Retailers, New Future for Scotland's Towns, Places, Public Policy, Retail Change, Retail leadership, Retail Policy, Retail Productivity, Retail Strategy, Retailers, Scotland, Scotland's Improvement Districts, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Government, Scottish Retailing, Small Shops, Strategy, Town Centres, Towns
Tagged BIDs, Business rates, Independent Retailing, Non-domestic rates, Places, Productivity, Retail Strategy, Retailing, Scotland, Scottish Government, Scottish Parliament, Small Retailers, towns
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Predicting the Post-Covid Retail Landscape: presentation for Scottish Grocers Federation Cross Party Group
Later on today (from 1815 on the 16th March to be exact) I will be presenting virtually at the latest Scottish Grocers Federation organised Scottish Parliament Cross Party Group on Local Convenience Stores. I will be speaking, together with David … Continue reading
Posted in Amsterdam, Consumer Change, Consumers, Convenience, Convenience stores, Covid19, Dark Stores, Food Retailing, Internet shopping, Local Retailers, Online Retailing, Retail Change, Retail Policy, Scotland, Scottish Government, Scottish Grocers Federation, Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Retailing, Supply Chains
Tagged Convenience stores, Costs, Covid19, Cross Party Group, Dark Stores, Digital, Future, Hyper Local, Inflation, internet retailing, John Lewis, Local Stores, Retailing, Scottish Government, Scottish Grocers Federation, Scottish Parliament, scottish retail consortium, Scottish Retail Sales Monitor, Supply chains, Working from Home
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Scottish Retail Sales: Covid Impacts against the Long Term Data
The British/Scottish Retail Consortium has been producing its Scottish Retail Sales Monitor for a long time. I have been charting the results since last century (!) and have commented on the monthly figures in this blog before, for example here … Continue reading
Posted in BRC, Covid19, Food Retailing, Lockdown, Non-food retailing, Pandemic, Retail Sales, Retailers, Sales, Scotland, Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Retail Sales, Scottish Retailing
Tagged Covid19, Food retailing, Non-food retailing, Pandemic, Retailing, Scotland, scottish retail consortium, Scottish Retail Sales, Scottish Retail Sales Monitor
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2021 : the stirlingretail.com year in retrospect
My reflections this time last year noted that in the ten years of running this blog, 2020 had seen it attract the most visitors in a year. 2020 saw more than 70% more visitors than any previous year. Well, the … Continue reading
Posted in Aberdeen, Cooperative Tokens, Covid19, Food Retailing, History, John Lewis Partnership, New Future for Scotland's Towns, Pandemic, Public Policy, Retail Change, Retail History, Retail Policy, Retailers, Retailing, Scotland, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Scottish Grocers Federation, Scottish Retailing, Social Renewal, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns
Tagged A New Future for Scotland's Towns, Covid-19, Food retailing, High Streets, Retail, Retail Change, Retail History, Retailing, Scotland, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Town Centres, towns, University of Stirling
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Covid Variants, Retailing and this Christmas
A couple of weeks ago, I pondered putting together something again about the Christmas 2021 retail season. Whilst there were strains over supply and labour availability, retailing seemed set for something much more normal. At about the same time, the … Continue reading
Posted in Boxing Day, Brexit, Christmas, Cities, Consumers, Covid19, Government, Inflation, Internet shopping, Online Retailing, Opening Hours, Pandemic, Retailers, Supply Chains, Town Centres, Towns
Tagged Boxing Day, Brexit, Christmas, Cities, Consumer Confidence, Covid19, Footfall, Government, Inflation, internet retailing, Job vacancies, Pandemic, Retailing, Sales, Supply chains, towns
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Retail Impact Assessments: Time for a Rethink?
This is the second in a linked series of posts. The next one reflects on existing out-of-town developments and what we need to do about them. The first was on the draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4). In that post … Continue reading
Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, community wealth building, Consumer Change, Convenience, Convenience stores, Home Delivery, Internet shopping, Land Use Planning, Local Authorities, New Future for Scotland's Towns, Pandemic, Places, Planning, Public Policy, Retail Change, Retail Impact Assessments, Retail Planning, Retail Policy, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Scottish Planner, Scottish Retailing, Sequential Approach, Spatial Planning, Town & Country PLanning, town centre first, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns
Tagged 20 Minute Neighbourhoods, A New Future for Scotland's Towns, Climate Emergency, Convenience Retailing, Home Delivery, In Home Eating, Land Use Planning, Local Authorities, NPF4, Online shopping, Out of town impacts, Out of town retailing, Pandemic, Place Principle, Planning, Retail Impact Assessments, Retailing, Scottish Government, Sequential Approach, Town Centres, towns
3 Comments
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
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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
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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
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