Author: Leigh Sparks
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January 2023 – Roll over of some areas for new year, plus The Conversation piece on Christmas trading updates published (see commentaries tab) and main posts
December 2022 – End of year tidying up and re-arrangement, including link to EDAS podcast on places and towns (see presentations tab)
April 2022 -new journal article published (Journal Articles page) on Twenty-One Years of Going Shopping and Marketing History
Top Posts & Pages
- E-commerce: economic growth and empowerment of women and girls
- Grocery Market Shares in Great Britain (GB) 1997-2022
- A Japanese Eataly? In Singapore?
- Retail change and why we fell in love with supermarkets?
- Retail Branding: it's not (just) private label
- Who Owns Scotland's Towns, High Streets and Shopping Centres?
- Co-operative Tokens, Sports Direct and The Bristol Pound
- Twenty One Years of UK Grocery Market Share
- Herkku Food Market Delicatessen – Helsinki
- UK Grocery Market Share 1997-2019
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Tag Archives: Tax
Who Owns Scotland’s Towns, High Streets and Shopping Centres?
One of the issues raised in the recent report by the Economy and Fair Work Committee of the Scottish Parliament concerned the lack of transparency over the ownership of much of the property in Scotland. I noted this in the … Continue reading
Posted in Community Ownership, Dumfries, Government, High Streets, Landlords, Legislation, Local Authorities, Midsteeple Quarter, New Future for Scotland's Towns, Out of Town, Place Based Investment Programme, Retail Change, Retailers, Scotland, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Government, Scottish Retailing, Shopping Centres, Streets, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Urban, Vacancies, Who Owns Scotland?
Tagged A New Future for Scotland's Towns, Absentee Owners, Community, Community enterprise, Economy and Fair Work committee, Property, Retail, Scotland, Scotland's Towns, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Streets, Tax, Tax Havens, Vacancies, Who Owns Scotland?
2 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
2 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
A New Future for Scotland’s Town Centres – (2) Summary of our Approach
This is the second of three linked posts on the Town Centre Action Plan Review Group Report (an introduction, summary of the review approach, recommendations). The full report and details of the Review Group, evidence submitted and heard and background … Continue reading
Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, Community, Government, Local Authorities, Places, Planning, Public Policy, Rates, Regeneration, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scottish Government, Social Inequality, Tax, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, town centre first, Town Centre Living, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized
Tagged 20 Minute Neighbourhoods, Business rates, Community, community wealth building, Places, Planning, Scotland, Scottish Government, Social Inequality, Social Renewal, Tax, Town Centre Action plan, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, town centre first, Town Centre Review, Town Centres
2 Comments
A New Future for Scotland’s Towns – (3) Recommendations
This is the third of three linked posts on the Town Centre Action Plan Review Group Report (an introduction, summary of the review approach, recommendations). The full report and details of the Review Group, evidence submitted and heard and background … Continue reading
Posted in 20 Minute Neighbourhood, Citizens, Community, Community Assets, Community Development, Community Ownership, Creative Places, Development Trusts, Entrepreneurship, Governance, Government, High Streets, Housing, Independents, Internet, Leadership, Local Authorities, Local Retailers, Places, Proactive Planning, Rates, Regeneration, Retail Policy, Retailing, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Social Inequality, Social Justice, Tax, Town Centre Action Plan, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, town centre first, Town Centre Living, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Understanding Scottish Places
Tagged Active travel, Car Parking, Climate Emergency, Community, Digital, Entrepreneurship, High Streets, Local Government, Out of town impacts, Planning, Rates, Scotland, Social Inequality, Social Renewal, Tax, Town Centre Action Plan Review Group, Town Centre Review, Town Centrres, towns
7 Comments
The Need for a Digital Tax
The origins of this post lie in early March when we were delighted, in what now seems another era, to host Helen Dickenson, the Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, at our Retail Futures event. She spoke on the … Continue reading
Posted in Amazon, BRC, Competition, Covid19, Digital, High Streets, Internet, Internet shopping, Local Authorities, Online Retailing, Places, Reinvention, Retail Change, Retail Economy, Retail Policy, Retail Sales, Social Inequality, Social Justice, Spaces, Tax, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized
Tagged Amazon, BRC, Business rates, Covid19, Digital tax, High Streets, Online, Places, Retail Change, Retailing, Society, Tax, towns
1 Comment
Poundland and Sports Direct
It has always baffled me; if Poundland lived up to its name and everything was a pound, then why was the average basket size not a round pound number? Anyhow it is a moot point now. The announcement that Poundland … Continue reading
Posted in Accounting, administration, Auditors, Closure, Department Stores, Finance, Government, House of Fraser, Jack Wills, Landlords, Mike Ashley, Poundland, Pressure, Pricing, Rents, Retail Failure, Retailers, Retailing, Sports Direct, Strategy, Uncategorized
Tagged Accounting, Auditors, Fixed Price, High Street, House of Fraser, Jack Wills, Poundland, Retail, Sports Direct, Tax
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Efficiency or Idiocy?
For some time it has been apparent that Dave Lewis has been determined to address the ‘bloat’ in Tesco and cut back on all sorts of things. In the big picture out have gone most of the diversifications of the … Continue reading
Posted in Boots, Competition, Consumer Change, Consumers, Costs, Customer Service, distribution, Food Retailing, Local Retailers, Pharmacy, Plastic Bags, Retailers, Self-checkout, Stirling, Tax, Tesco, Uncategorized
Tagged Boots, Butchers, Consumers, Cost-cutting, distribution, Efficiency, Fishmongers, independents, Plastic, Prescriptions, Self-checkout, Service, Tax, Tesco
8 Comments
Vacancies and Store Closures
Over the last few years, vacancies and store closures have not been out of the news. Whilst vacancy levels may have dropped off from their peak a few years ago, there is a continuation of stories about the closure rates … Continue reading
Posted in Closure, Competition, Consumer Change, Government, High Streets, Local Data Company, Places, Public Realm, Retail Change, Retail Economy, Retail Failure, Retailers, Retailing, Scotland, Scotland's Town and High Streets, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Scottish Government, Scottish Retailing, Shop Numbers, Store Closures, Tax, Town Centre Review, Town Centres, Towns, Uncategorized, Vacancies
Tagged futures, High Streets, Local Data Company, Places, PwC, Rates, Retail, Scotland, Scotland's Towns Partnership, Shop Closures, Tax, Town Centres, Vacancies
2 Comments
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