Leigh Sparks

Large scale food retailing as an intervention for diet and health: quasi-experimental evaluation of a natural experiment

Objectives: To assess the effect on fruit and vegetable consumption, self reported, and psychological health of a “natural experiment”—the introduction of large scale food retailing in a deprived Scottish community. Design: Prospective quasi-experimental design comparing baseline and follow up data in an “intervention” community with a matched “comparison” community in Glasgow, UK. Participants: 412 men and women aged 16 or over for whom follow up data on fruit and vegetable consumption and GHQ-12 were available. Main outcome measures: Fruit and vegetable consumption in portions per day, poor self reported health, and poor psychological health (GHQ-12). Main results: Adjusting for age, sex, educational attainment, and employment status there was no population impact on daily fruit and vegetable consumption, self reported, and psychological health. There was some evidence for a net reduction in the prevalence of poor psychological health for residents who directly engaged with the intervention. Conclusions: Government policy has advocated using large scale food retailing as a social intervention to improve diet and health in poor communities. In contrast with a previous uncontrolled study this study did not find evidence for a net intervention effect on fruit and vegetable consumption, although there was evidence for an improvement in psychological health for those who directly engaged with the intervention. Although definitive conclusions about the effect of large scale retailing on diet and health in deprived communities cannot be drawn from non-randomised controlled study designs, evaluations of the impacts of natural experiments may offer the best opportunity to generate evidence about the health impacts of retail interventions in poor communities.

E-commerce and the retail process: a review

Abstract Views abound on the impact of the Internet and e-commerce on traditional forms of retailing. Scenarios range from on the one hand, the almost total devastation of existing physical retailing to, on the other, limited if any impact upon “real” retailing. Despite excessive hype, spectacular failures and the myriad of conflicting views and crystal-ball gazing, e-commerce processes and procedures provide the potential for a fundamental reassessment of how retailing operates and how retailers behave. Without doubt, the existing ways of operating and the associated cost structures within retailing will be reassessed under the onslaught of new technology and new retail structures. This paper reviews the published evidence on the impact of e-commerce on the retail process. It reviews the situation rather than introducing new evidence. The focus is on the process as it supports B2C activity and how retail processes and procedures could be affected by e-commerce, rather than a pre-occupation with sales impact through traditional merchandise and product sector typologies. Three conclusions are drawn. First, the largest retailers are now pursuing Internet-enabled advantages and cost reductions in operations, which could translate to an enhanced competitive position in process, structure and relationship terms. Secondly, consumer reactions to the new real and virtual offers will be fundamental to their success and failure, but as yet consumer reactions are not fully understood. Thirdly, existing retail floorspace will need enhancement in quality and presentation if it is to continue to provide retail functions.

Failure in international retailing: research propositions

Whilst retail internationalization practice has a long history, academic research into retail internationalization is a more recent phenomenon. We argue in this paper that our continuing conceptualization of retail internationalization would be aided by incorporating aspects of failure in international retailing. In internationalization practice, failure would seem to be a common occurrence, whereas in academia, such failure has been almost routinely ignored. Here, we attempt to define and conceptualize failure in international retailing. We then put forward a series of propositions that might serve as a guide to future research on failure in retail internationalization.

Loyalty saturation in retailing: exploring the end of retail loyalty cards?

The proliferation of retail loyalty schemes has been one of the most marked features of retail marketing in the 1990s. Many retailers have one in some guise or other. Their sheer volume has meant that some have begun to question whether there is a limit to loyalty. Presents results from exploratory research that demonstrates that consumers may be becoming more wary of cards and schemes and being more selective. Managerial lessons from this are developed.

Retail internationalization and retail failure: issues from the case of Marks and Spencer

Retail internationalization has attracted much attention in recent years as the scale and nature of the activity has changed. Most analysis of retail internationalization however is based on market entry and mainly successful businesses. Here, the internationalization strategy of Marks and Spencer over 30 years is examined. Its recent large-scale withdrawal from such activity is considered in the light of theories about internationalization and business failure. The complexity of market exit in retailing is emphasized. It is suggested that market exit and failure are important underresearched dimensions of retail internationalization. More detailed and careful work on market entry and withdrawal (failure?) is needed to adequately conceptualize the subject area.

An Exploratory Study into Failure in Successful Organizations: The Case of Marks & Spencer

Marks & Spencer (M&S) was one of the world’s great retailers, enjoying legendary and iconic status, being often held up as one of the best managed and admired businesses in the world. Its ‘fall from grace’ has been spectacular and dramatic and the company is currently fighting for its life. Based on extensive in-depth interviews with company managers and utilizing a case-study approach, this paper provides an exploratory study into failure at M&S and presents this in the context of the wider literature on organizational and managerial failure. It concludes that whilst external factors in the various trading environments affected the business, there were internal aspects of the crisis which exacerbated the situation and the problems.

Power and Competition in the UK Retail Grocery Market

The UK retail grocery market is widely recognized as being oligopolistic. This has raised concerns over the level and use of power by the leading retailers. This paper considers the changes in the UK retail grocery market in the context of a discussion of power. This discussion focuses on the possibility of a dominant chain arising in the market. Vertical and horizontal relationships and price and non-price competition form the organizing principles of the analysis. Policy implications are suggested and other conclusions are drawn.

Are Loyalty Schemes a Manifestation of Relationship Marketing

Despite a shared complexity of definition, the concepts of relationship marketing (RM) and loyalty marketing have several common components : the use of information technology, customer knowledge, direct customer communications, for example. Recognising the proximity of these two concepts, Loyalty Schemes (LS) have been hailed in marketing literatureas examples of RM in action (Palmer 1994, Gilbert 1996, Gronroos 1996). To date, though, there is little evidence to verify this contention. This paper examines both concepts to analyse how, if at all, retail loyalty schemes reflect the elements of RM as detailed in the literature. The paper begins by deconstructing both RM and loyalty marketing into constituent elements described by their scope, technology and processes and continues by comparing the two. Five retail LS provide case data to add an empirical dimension to the study. Key findings suggest that future success of LS will depend on extended relationships as well as a move away from transactional int...

Variations in fresh fruit and vegetable quality by store type, urban–rural setting and neighbourhood deprivation in Scotland

OBJECTIVE Neighbourhood differences in access to fresh fruit and vegetables may explain social inequalities in diet. Investigations have focused on variations in cost and availability as barriers to the purchase and consumption of fresh produce; investigations of quality have been neglected. Here we investigate whether produce quality systematically varies by food store type, rural-urban location and neighbourhood deprivation in a selection of communities across Scotland. DESIGN Cross-sectional survey of twelve fresh fruit and vegetable items in 288 food stores in ten communities across Scotland. Communities were selected to reflect a range of urban-rural settings and a food retail census was conducted in each location. The quality of twelve fruit and vegetable items within each food store was evaluated. Data from the Scottish Executive were used to characterise each small area by deprivation and urban-rural classification. SETTING Scotland. RESULTS Quality of fruit and vegetables within the surveyed stores was high. Medium-sized stores, stores in small town and rural areas, and stores in more affluent areas tended to have the highest-quality fresh fruit and vegetables. Stores where food is secondary, stores in urban settings and stores in more deprived areas tended have the lowest-quality fresh produce. Although differences in quality were not always statistically significant, patterns were consistent for the majority of fruit and vegetable items. CONCLUSIONS The study provides evidence that variations in food quality may plausibly be a micro-environmental mediating variable in food purchase and consumption and help partially explain neighbourhood differences in food consumption patterns.

Retail logistics in the UK: past, present and future

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the logistical transformation of British retailing over the last three decades and to discuss likely challenges that face logistics managers in the future.Design/methodology/approach – Reviews the key works on retail logistics, including the research undertaken by the authors over the last 20 years.Findings – Illustrates how retailers have control of the supply chain in the UK, drawing upon examples from both the grocery and fashion sectors. Challenges for the future include macro‐environment issues such as climate change and recession in addition to improvements in existing in operations with regard to e‐fulfilment and implementation of technologies such as RFID.Originality/value – This paper provides one of the few contributions to appraise the research undertaken on retail logistics in the UK over the last 20‐30 years.