progress in the study of the geography of retailing and wholesaling in britain

Geoforum, Vol. 9, pp. 83-106, 1978. 0 Pergamon Press Limited. Printed in Great Britain.

0016-7185/78/0301-0083 $02.00/O

Progress in the Study of the Geography of Retailing and

Wholesaling in Britain

DAVID THORPE* Manchester, U.X.

Abstract: Geographers have devoted a considerable amount of attention to the distributive sector. In part this has arisen because this sector provides an excellent testing ground for techniques. Substantive research, despite the needs of decision makers in both the public and private sectors, has been inbalanced. It has tended to focus on shoppers’ behaviour and the factors controlling supply, at least equally important, have been relatively neglected. The paper indicates the significance of these factors and demonstrates how they need to be integrated into different modelling and theoretical approaches if research is to provide really useful insights for decision makers. It outlines how the focus of geographical study has shifted from exa~ning the distributive trades as indicators of other facts of urban systems to the examination of spatial variations which are of substantial operational significance. Such studies do, however, fit readily into a wider framework of a geographical environment which is continuous but partitioned, limited but expanding and organised but diversified. Fruitful research can thus adopt both a spatial and an ecological perspective. The importance of the sector in the economy is sufficient reason for such research to be conducted.

1. Introduction

Many areas of human geography are now faced with il~portan~ questions requiring resolution before further meaningful advances can be made. Within urban geography, studies of retailing and, to a lesser extent wholesaling, have traditionally had a central significance. This paper explores the problems which confront this field of study and examines some possible solutions. Progress in recent years has been dramatic (SCOTT, 1970; DAVIES, 1976) and specialists in other areas of geography may find some useful paralIels from this account. Working in recent years from a unit not physically housed within a geography department, and so exposed to a variety of questions in addi-

* Director, Retail Outlets Research Unit and Senior Research Fellow, Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, Booth Street West, Manchester M f 5 6PB. England.

tion to those raised by fellow geographers, provides I hope a uerspective of value. t

The considerable amount of attention which has been given by geographers to shops and shoppers in recent years arises, in part, from the ubiquity of these phenomena. After population and houses, shops are the most common form of unit found within a town. In Britain there is approximateIy one shop to every 100 people or one to every 40 houses.

t In setting out these questions this paper does not attempt in any way to review comprehensively a large, and disparate, literature. Its purpose is to raise questions which are often neglected in the process of research. However. rather than leaving individual points unillustrated I have referred to a variety of studies. Many of these illustrative citations are to work conducted by the Retail Outlets Research Unit, since its formation in 19’70. As such, the citations are personalised and selective.

83

84 Geoforum/Volume 9/Number 211978

Furthermore, shopping is a necessary part of life for all households and, in principle at least, involves a deliberate spatial decision each time it occurs. It thus differs from most other household decisions which are either infrequent or are imposed by others. Without careful thought this ubiquity can all too readily lead research into detailed studies of the obvious. As in other fields of geography, some uncertainty has existed as to whether the overall objective of the geographer’s study of retailing should be a fuller definition of the processes which lead to L~ni~~~~~liti~s between areas or whether processes are to be examined in order to account for diffkmces that exist between places. Both objectives require the use of the scientific method. The latter objective does not imply a retreat to the study of unique phenomena since its focus is the understanding of spatial processes and would involve the full range of steps which have become identified with the application of the scientific method to geography. In part this debate has been left unresolved because of a general re~ognitioll that the conceptual and statistical tools available for effective research have been limited, and also because the data available have been too poor to make it possible to effectively describe either the processes, the t~niforr~lities or the differences. The time is now ripe for a more carefril consideration of the issues in this debate since many of these problems have been solved.

Much of the attention which appears to have been directed to this field of study has emerged not to contribute to knowledge about retaif- ing but simply to use retail activity as a con- venient laboratory for displaying analytical tools. In some cases data relating to retailing have been used without understanding the shortcoInings that exist in the basic information. From the viewpoint of those responsible for such studies, this is not a very serious shortcoming since their objective has been the development of a technique. From a substantive viewpoint, however, it is often difficult to know whether a given study has materially improved our L~tlderstanding.

Retailing is far more than simply a laboratory. At least seven important characteristics of the Distributive Sector can be noted:

1. In Britain it accounts for 17% of the

private sector’s gross domestic product. 2. 19 per cent of the labour force is em-

ployed in shops. 3. The cost to the consumer of itetns sold

through shops can broadly be considered to arise, in half. from raw material and manufacturing costs and. in the other half, from distribution and selling costs.

4 Under present arrangements, shops contribute a significant proportion of the rate revenue raised by local authorities (for example in Greater Manchester it is 11 per cent of the total or 18 per cent of that from non-domestic rate payers, while in Chester 16 per cent of the total or 29 per cent of the non-domestic).

5 Because of its importance in ensuring access to the necessities of life, many consumers stress the importance to them of retail services and expect adequate access regardless of commercial viability and therefore some observers classify retailing as a semi-public good. (HARVEY. 1973).

6 From a wider perspective some have stressed the importance of shops in determining the form and pattern of urban areas.

7 In the evolution of towns and cities the role of retailing, and particularly wholesaling, as a basic factor ex~iaini~lg the growth of particular towns and cities has been raised by VANCE (1970) so that no longer can a simple classificatory procedure which regulates the distributive sector as tertiary industry be deemed adequate.

The issues raised by such an important activity are many and varied. The contribution that geographical methods can make is considerable. Whilst there is a need to apply the rigours of the methods developed in recent years such application will not be very fruitful unless it can demonstrate insight which would not come readily from other disciplines. (This is a problem central to much of urban geography). 1 believe these insights will come most powerfully if attention is focused on the processes which lead to tli~~bmcts rather than ll~li~}~~~l~t~~s between places. Conceptually there is only a small distinction here. In practice, and from the viewpoint of research strategy, a considerable difference exists. A focus on differences will lead to a ~ol~~~nt~~t~oil of

Geoforum/volume 9jNumber 2/1978

study on major changes in the retail system and their interrelationship with the urban environment.

It will require the careful selection of areas for case study because of their distinctive- ness in one respect or another so that general conclusions about the process of change may be advanced on the basis of this distinctive- ness. Following this methodology it will be necessary to be aware of the general pattern of change so that the case study can be placed in perspective. Referring to the seven important characteristics of the Dis- tributive Sector mentioned in the previous paragraph, the geographer can aid understanding of the first five almost by being the experimentalist amongst social scientists. The question posed might be how do differences between places in either, or both, retail structures and urban environments relate to differences in employment, in distributive costsl in the level of rate income contributed by distributors and in the access to types of retail service? This could then be extended to examine the sensitivity to change of these various features by studying those places where changes have occurred. This research strategy is by no means an easy one. The basic condition for its success is, however, something which should distinguish the geographer from all other social scientists ~ an extreme sensitivity to pkace and the characteristics of the environment (in this case largely the built-environment). There is considerable scope for work on these lines to involve comparisons between countries with different types of urban system and different economic and social structures (N.E.D.O., 1973).

Whilst the geographer may best be viewed as the experimentalist for other social scientists with respect to issues arising from the first five of the Distributive Sector characteristics mentioned earlier, his interest in the role of retailing in shaping intra-urban space and of retailing and wholesaling as potential causes for the growth of towns lies central to many themes in urban geography (DAVIES, 1972; GOTTMANN. 1973; THORPE, 1978a). Whilst central place theory as a descriptive general theory of settlement growth has been disputed by many (notably by VANCE, 1970) it remains an important positive theory. Vance’s historical economic geography mer- cantile model of location and settlement growth, stressing exogenous change, has

85

presented urban geographers with a powerful challenge. The model provides a useful coun- ter balance to Christaller’s mechanistic central place theory by emphasising factors lying behind the supply of enterprise. In many respects Vance suggests the need to focus more work on wholesaling. As a model of conditions when the world economic system was characterised by expanding frontiers, it has a powerful appeal and focuses attention on the spatial implications of changes which many have noted in their temporal setting (e.g. PADBERG and THORPE, 1974). Despite his own work on the changes revealed by census statistics for the period 1929-1963 in the U.S.A., Vance’s theory has yet to be tested fully for its utility as a way of understanding modern patterns of wholesaling and their relationship with settlement (THORPE, 1978b). It is worth noting that the classic study by BOGUE (1950) revealed that wholesaling was far more concentrated in the central parks of cities than either retailing, services or manufacturing (see CARTER, 1973). This level of concentration seems to be especially true of wholesaling which depends on its customers collecting goods by ‘Cash and Carry’ (THORPE. 1971 and THORPE and THORPE, 1976).*

Academic geography has a special responsibi- lity for continuing to devote attention to the geography of retailing. The use that has been made of retailing as a laboratory for the development of techniques. without always a full appreciation of the substantive limitations of conclusions drawn from the studies involved, has meant that in Britain, for instance, there now exists a generation of academically trained town planners which has been exposed to such techniques in this way. Since the Distributive Sector is of considerable economic importance this is unfortunate. Because society will continue to feel the need to plan and control, particularly in a period when growth may be limited, this group of public servants increasingly finds itself in conflict with retail entrepreneurs. Resolution of this conflict is a continued need (THORPE, 1975). The conflict arises, in part at least, because of the uncertainties that surround retail

* Wholesaling has generally received little attention from geographers in Britain. Many of the points which are made later in this paper are, for convenience, phrased simply in terms of retailing. A number of them have an application to wholesaling.

86 Geoforum/Volume 9/Number 2/l 978

location decisions and the competitive process in retailing. These uncertainties are the main reason why those responsible for policy - particularly, but not exclusively, public servants ~ have taken the emergent results of urban geographers and used them prescrip- tively. The simple notions of central place theory, that shopping centres might be expected to be found arranged in a hierarchy preferably spread evenly within a town, have come to have an excessive place in the thinking of town planners. The urban geographer must, of course, examine the role, and underlying postulates, of town planning as one of the major processes involved in shaping this component of the urban area.

of their time while others pursue themes which were more central at an earlier date. A properly integrated study probably involves an interplay of many of these themes. Figure 1 outlines some of the major developments that have occurred. DAVIES (1976) has sum- marised many of these studies without fully indicating their conceptual starting points. Early work largely used retailing as an indication of other features of the urban system (SMAILES, 1944). Many problems exist in this approach and, partly because of these problems. its early promise was not fulfilled. Indicators that can be taken from a field as complex as retailing have a dangerous tendency of varying, without the observer appre-

Approx.

Dotes

1930 AS INDICATOR OF

,g44 URBAN SYSTEMS

I I

I 1960 1 VARIATIONS IN CHARACTER WITH PLACE

1968 I I

(al TOTAL (b 1 LOCATIONAL

SYSTEMS BEHAVIOUR

(Descriptive) OF THE FIRM

8 OF SHOPPERS SHOPPING

MODELS

I

;,

ii IMPACT OF SPATI ALLY

CHANGE ~ * DISCRIMINITIVE

The System 8 The Firm DEVELOPMENTS AND

I

PROCESSES

Figure 1. Main themes in the geographical study of retailing in Great Britain.

I I. Approaches to the Geography of Retailing

Evolution

Urban geographers have been studying retailing for a number of years. It will help to place our present concerns in perspective if we appreciate how the main stream approaches have been varied over time. As in all simple time scale models of intellectual activity there will, at any one time, be some students ahead

ciating the fact, particularly with time. For example. leaving aside the degree to which branches of Woolworth differ one from another at a single time, there are substantial dangers in using the presence of Woolworth’s branches at different times as indicators of urban status.

The approach has continued in various forms. CARRUTHERS (1967) used it in the mid 1960’s to gain insight into the central role

Geoforum/Volume 9/Number 2/1978

of specific town centres in order to contribute to thinking about local government reorgani- sation. For his study, the flow of trade across local government boundaries was of prime interest because its scale in a given case could suggest the degree to which one centre might outrank others and hence be a potential location for a new administration. THORPE (1968) in a parallel study using data from the same census, produced a rather different classification of centres based simply on the level of total turnover (see SCOTT, 1970 for comments on the two classifications). This classification was used to explore various hypotheses about how the structure of shopping centres relates to their size. It can usefully be contrasted with that of Carruthers since it reflects a shift of attention to the study of retailing geography for its own sake rather than simply as an indicator of other urban features. Various other studies reflect this shift, (e.g. DIAMOND, 1966; PRICE, 1972 ). Whilst they frequently produced results of interest to retailers and developers (DAVIES, 1976) they were basically designed in order to make a substantive contribution to knowledge rather than simply for their applied value. CARTER (1965), while establishing shopping centre classification using the Census of Distribution, also utilised this source for data on the number of, scales of and employment in wholesaling establishments in his grading of the functions of Welsh towns in 195 1.

Running parallel to this approach, and then outpacing it because of the demands of the town planning system, was the attention focussed on developing models which, by defining the relationship between existing supply and existing demand, could be used to evaluate the spatial implications of change. Initially great promise was held out for this form of investigation and, particularly in relation to major shifts in population distribution, the modelling approach yielded impressive results. However, it soon became apparent that the models were dependent on the measurement of existing end results and that little was known of processes of supply and demand. In recent years, therefore, attention has again shifted to focus on the impact of specific types of change. From this a knowledge of process might be obtained as well as the evaluation of specific implications of the change in question. This shift of

87

attention within retailing geography has meant that the call to examine relevant problems found elsewhere in human geography has been unnecessary, since attention has already focused on areas of change which, because of the complex interaction of town planner, retailer and consumer, have inevitably involved conflict situations. Thus the growing focus of some areas of human geography on the spatial selectivity of processes finds many parallels in the geography of retailing. Most work involving the geographical study of wholesaling has been by non-geographers. Operational researchers find this field one of enduring interest. A variety of disciplines have focused on the environmental implications of goods traffic (SMITH , 1975).

Spatial Systems

The two main traditions of geographical thinking, the spatial and the ecological, have an important role in research in the geography of retailing. Spatial relationships are implicit in the distributive system linking producer to consumer. Much location theory, from HOTELLING’s (1929) study of ice cream retailers onwards, has been illustrated with examples from this field. Perhaps of equal significance is that those involved in the distributive system, as decision makers, appear to stress the connectivity of the system, and so practical thinking and the academic use of systems constructs are in accord. However, problems do exist. Because spatial features seem so important in the distributive system there is a danger that geographers, in particular, will fail to per- ceive the degree to which space can be sub- stituted by other inputs, or vice versa. All students of the distributive system are presented with a very great difficulty in that inputs and outputs can be readily trans- ferred backwards and forwards through the system so that activity thought to be characteristic of one part of the system suddenly appears elsewhere. This is probably an under- recognised feature of most systems in human geography and limits the contribution to knowledge that can be gained from network analysis. It is a feature which, when ignored in policy relative to the distribution system, has major implications. For example, an attempt to cut retail prices for bread by reference to the level of discounts a retailer obtains from a manufacturer floundered because the real ‘retailers’ of mass produced

88 Geoforum/Volume 9/Number 2/1978

(A)

- Goods . ..a..... Information

(6)

prIT __-____- IT-_---__-- IT ____ ----- TIC

Manufacturer Warehouse Retaller Consumer

(Cl PrITSP ------SITSP ------- STISTP ------_- STIC

Manufacturer Wholesaler Retaller Consumer

Pr - Productjon I - Inventory T - Transportation

S - Search P - Promotlon C - Consumption

(D) CHANNEL INFLUENCE FACTORS

Manufacturer Product

(merchandise) Promotion

Reta I I er Merchandising Service _

Consumer Buying (merchandise selection 1 Shopplng behawour

Figure 2. The distributive system

Geoforum/Volume 9/Number 2/1978 89

Notes associated with Figure 2.

2A. The Prime Spatial Characteristics are for a

2B

2c

Single Product System:

(a) the dispersion of the number of times goods are transhipped between points of manufac- ture and points of consumption.

(b) number of warehouses in which product is stored.

(c) number of shops used by consumer. (d) distance travelled by consumer.

In its simplest form the distributive system involves the movement of goods from the point of production to a warehouse, where bulk is broken, then to a shop for selection and transportation by a consumer. The four characteristics are the geographer’s chief concern. This concern involves how the system meshes with other elements of urban structure. Whilst the flow of goods is of basic concern the importance of return flows, largely of information, is considerable. Discon- tinuities introduced by changes in the owner- ship of goods are critical for the control and shape of the system through the different levels of power that suppliers and distributors can obtain over each other (WILKINSON, 1973).

The basic functions of transportation and stock inventory can be located at any of the nodes in the system. Only production and consumption are unique to a given node.

The system is not a simple mechanistic device. The two additional functions of search and promotion are vital to its success. The former involves wholesalers and retailers in procedures which may be both spatial and aspatial. In spatial terms success to both types of trader will depend on balancing their access to a hinter- land of supply with a position which is satisfactory to a foreland of custom. Retail and wholesale locations therefore come to have features which are controlled by both hierarchical and neighbourhood effects (BROWN, 1968; BROWN and COX, 1971). Promotion is the device used to overcome the spatial (and other) problems of the search process (SCHARY and BECKER, 1972).

2D The system, working in space, then can best be seen as an interplay between logistics, promotion and product. Excluding the wholesaler, for simplicity, major paths of influence can be plotted.

(1) indicates the influence of product design and development on the consumer buying decision. (2) is the influence of product design on the retail buyer’s own merchandising decision.

(3) becomes a part of the consumer’s perception of the store, and also the feedback from consumer response to the merchandise offering.

(4) Promotion is used to influence the retailer. (5) Promotion is also used to influence the final consumer.

(6) the store creates its own image which enhances its own attraction by merchandise selection, while simultaneously influencing the types of merchandise being selected. (7) it also has some effect on the product qual- ity as perceived by the consumer. (8) it creates a separate impression of the store itself in the mind of the consumer. (9) the store image will influence shopping behaviour. Behaviour will vary according to whether the customer regards the store as a speciality, convenience or shopping goods store. (lO)The manufacturer’s logistics variables influence the retailer’s buying decision by affect- ing his costs of acquisition, stock maintenance and replenishment. (1 l)These will also affect the consumer’s buying decision through product availability and inventory holding costs (package size and ease of replenishment).

(12)The manufacturer’s logistics decisions may also affect the retailer’s own logistics through creating ease of shelf-stocking, providing direct delivery to the final consumer and similar services. (13)Store logistics influence the service provided. (14)which in turn affects the store image. (15, 16) Both service and logistics have a direct influence on the selection of the store as a result of shopping behaviour.

90

bread are as much the manufacturers’ bread delivery men as shopkeepers themselves (SUSSAMS, 1977). Similarly years of tax policy, which have made capital investment allowances available to manufacturers when building distribution warehouses but not to the retailer, have had a major impact on the flow of goods through the system both in terms of space and of controlling organisation. Related to this problem and one of long term concern to economists, and of growing interest to geographers, is the difficulty of findinz worthwhile measures in the distributive sector.

The operation of the distributive system as a spatial system can best be illustratccl through a series of diagrams (Figure 2). In these diagrams the interplay of spatial and other features can be seen to be important. This interplay is a problem which confronts geography in many spheres (SACK, 1970, 1974).

In interpreting the system, concepts from central place theory, transport geography and diffusion studies will be helpful (BROWN, 1968; BROWN and MOORE, 1969; BROWN and COX, 1971;HUDSON, 1969;PEDERSON, 1970; RIDDELL, 1972). Also of importance for interpretation is the considerable literature which examines the warehouse location and distribution problems from an operational research viewpoint (EILON, I97 1). Indeed it is the interaction of diffusion and logistics which largely controls the pattern and evolution of the system. Thus, from a macro viewpoint it may appear that an innovation in retailing spreads within a system of towns by following the size hierarchy and distance simultaneously so that, for example,

‘boutiques might first blossom irl London and soon after spread to Birmingham. ~a~~~~~st~r, Liverpool and Leeds, but ut the same time there is a greater ~ik~~iht~~~ of their spreading to Amiowr, Bishops Storffordand Chdmsford thar2 to Rberdecw, Blyth and Carlisle” (ROBSON. 1973).

However the precise working out of this diffusion depends considerably on the relative importance of physical distribution to the retailer as well as the degree to which central organisation is necessary in the trade in question. Overall the sensitivity of the distributive system to the urban geography of an area is considerable.


Figure 2 illustrates the general features of the system. Figure 3 illustrates how a change in the system, often not at first sight anything to do with spatial relationships. can have strong effects on the volume and character of the spatial relationships involved in the system. It demonstrates, (i) how retail advertising might influence

these features, (ii) how the consumption of frozen foods can lead to changes in it, (iii) the variety of implications of a change in wholesaling and (iv) the widespread implications of the growth of mu1 tiple retailing.

Most geographical work relating to the distributive system has concentrated on the link between shops and suppliers, with the objective of explaining shopping trip patterns (an interesting exception is LAULAJAINEN. 1973). This work has drawn heavily on positive and descriptive models from central place, or spatial interaction, theory and behavioural models with motivational or cognitive under pillnings (THOMAS, 1977). HUFF’s (1960) conceptualisation of the consumer decision-making process provides an important perspective to perception studies in this and other areas of urban geography. It focuses attention on the spatial relationships between consumers and supply points by starting from the nature of the stimulus situation and of the physiological drives around the consumer. It then filters this first by a value system largely controlled by socio-demographic factors and then by the space perception and movement imagery of the consumer. This sequence is seen as leading to overt behaviour which. via a closed loop, is further controlled by a re- structuring process which involves evaluation of the movement that has taken place and the perception of space on which this was based so that behaviour is influenced by a learning process. This and simiiar approaches are very difficult for the researcher to opera- tionafise. but many studies include. either implicitly or explicitly. attempts to examine some of the elements involved. Shopping behaviour studies stand as a specialist area within the broad compass of the geography of retailing. They have probably received more attention from academic geographers than all other areas. The review by THOMAS (1977) is most useful and so further attention is limited in this paper.

~eoforumlVolume 9/Number Z/1978 91

(A) MORE RETAIL ADVERTISING

\ Retail System influence on Manufacturer

More CornpetitIon I

I More Special

/

PromotIons

Fewer shops I \

Special Support Speclol

Deliveries Stocks Packoqinq

I \ / Wlgher More

Transport Costs Warehouslng

(B) CONSUMERS EAT MORE FROZEN FOODS

/ I \ ------w High Frequency

of Delivery

Special

Transport

New Cold

Stores

Wider Product Ronge

More Buffer Stocks

Mare Transport More Warehouses

(C) IMPLICATIONS OF DEVELOPMENT OF

CASH AND CARRY

WHOLESALING

I More Warehouses

More Trunking by Manufacturer C long distances 1 /

Manufacturer I

\

\c, Special

Packaging

Supplies still

Cost of Time in Warehouse

\ (Cost Increase 1 Fewer Deliveries to small shops f Cost Saving)

Cost of SupplieS kept if lower Stocks held (i.e. need for frequent

down /

visits)

Figure 3. Some specific illustrations of change in the system.

92 Geoforum/Volume 9/Number 211978

(D) IMPLICATIONS OF AN INCREASE

IN THE MARKET SHARE OF

Larger 8 Fewer Warehouses

MULTIPLE RETAILERS

1 Yer 8 Fewer Shops

Drstrrbution Pohcy

(a) Less Wholesa I rng

\ (b) \ ic) More of the Mixed Policy

Wholesa I I ng

I Function

Manutacturers More Involved \ in Distribution

/ \ 1 More / Warehouses

I I

Lower Stocks in Shops (lower cost)

More Products Short Order a Cycle as

Promctrons Sales Aid

/ 1 More Delrverres -Urban

Congestion

I Unreliabrlity of Dellvery

’ / costs to Manufacturer

I Alternative Policy

More Trunkrng from Factory to Retailers

Warehouse (long distance delivery)

Longer Drstance to Shops

Retailers Expansion mainly controlled by ‘neighbourhood diffusion’

I Need for expansion by hierarchical

Manufacturers responsrble for

Distrrbution

RetdrIers exercise tight control

Less flexrbilrty

higher cost

Fewer Ware

Longer Distances

diffusron’

Drstrlbutron POIICV

Figure 3 (cont’d). Some specific illustrations of change in the system

Figure 3. Some specific illustrations of change in the system.

3A

3B

A change in retailer’s promotion activity, involving more positive advertising leading to a more turbulent pattern of sales for a given product, can also increase distribution system activity. The desirability of such a change requires an evaluation of the competitive impact of the advertising on other retailers and of the production economies that may arise for the manufacturer.

3c

A change on consumer eating and storage habits can lead to the need for new warehouses, new 3D

types of vehicles callin,: at shops more frequently. a higher stock level and general increase in the level of distributive activity (WALTERS, 1975). The desirability of such a change depends on judgement about the eating habits and efficiency of the new production process compared with those existing in the past

The growth of a form of wholesaling which involves the retailer in the transport function has a variety of implications for the distributive system (THORPE, KIRBY and THOMPSON, 1973).

The growth of multiple retailers leas been a major


factor determining the pattern of flows through the system in many areas since such traders are able to exercise a controlling power over suppliers. Different distributioti policies are often adopted by different companies since, at any one time, the physical constra~ts on policy will vary and tSle branch networks to be supplied will have different spatial characteristics (THORPE, KIRBY and THOMPSON, 1973).

The importance of the ecological connection has long been appreciated in the geography of retailing. Indeed the use of shops as indicators of urban systems has grown because of the apparently close connection between forms of retailing and the structure of settlements. Both supply and demand factors are likely to be strongly influenced by other features of urban geography. Sequent occupance *for instance is a real process in retail location. Buildings have a life-span of 80 years or so but most retailers, even when freeholders, write off the capital cost of a building in 16-l 5 years since retail concepts change far more frequently than buildings. The evolu- tionary sequence from methodist chapel, garage or cinema (dependent on area), to small supermarket, to discount store could probably be traced with some frequency. When a form of retailing emerges, such as the superstore, which does not adapt itself easily to the process, conflict ensues between those who control the development of buildings (i.e. chiefly, but not exclusively, town planners) and the entrepreneurs. Part of the conflict arises because of the town planners’ fears concerning the possible future use of the building after a further change in retail technique. This conflict has occasionally been resolved by the use of temporary buildings of various types inclLlding inflatable ones (e.g. Jumbo at Dietlikon, Zurich, TOWSEY, 1973).

The fullest presentation of an ecological framework that has been made so far is that established by the economist HALL et al. (1961). This framework was advanced within the context of a comparison of levels of retail sales per person working in retailing (the ‘dummy variable’ for productivity) at a regional level in Great Britain, Canada and the United States. Productivity was deemed likely to be controlled via a complex set of inter- reIationships (Figure 4) produced by the

interaction of four main factors, each of which can vary on a geographical basis. The factors distinguished were income per head (influencing supply as wellas demand features), population density, population growth rate and the age of settlement. Whilst no full scale attempt was made to operationalise these factors or to quantify the way in which the ensuing causal charts work, this conceptual model has much to offer the geographer.

A more general framework including both the retail outlet (shop) and its sources of supply is needed for a full understanding of the distributive system. This applies even to the shop - shopper link, since what we really need to understand is the interdependent adjustment processes between retail structure and shopping behaviour (i.e. between supply and demand). A very simple initial outline of such a general framework is illustrated in Figure 5. It has four levels of analysis which are as follows: -

1

2.

3.

The visible static structure represented by shops and shopping centres lies in a competitive system which may, or may not, be in equilibrium. Viewed from the position of the individual shop unit, competition is directly with others in the same type of trade or with other trades cross merchandising into its trade. Because ‘production functions’ in retailing are strongly influenced by type of organisation (or sector), competition in a given area is controlled by the organisational structure of that area. At this level. competition may be spatial, expressed either through competition with other shops in the same centre or with shops in different centres. This simple model probably corresponds to the mental image of competition in many retailers’ minds.

A second level can be represented by consumer demands and needs to which the retailer is trying to respond and which in themselves will be influenced by the pattern of supply available.

A third level exists in the factors controlling the supply of enterprise and the ways in which retail organisations have to be managed in order to survive. A further, explicitly spatial, component


I Per capita lnc0me t

(Al (6) CC) (D) (E) (F) (G) Per capita Mobility of Supply of Supply prtce SUPPlY Avallabillty Size of

price of of capltol transc labaur

IT (L) \

Careful use of la bour

(MI Flexiblllty and higher capitol labour t10

(Al (01 ( I )Choln stores Lorge scale of

are larger organlsation ( II )In poor areas (Cholns)

Independents wllllng to set up very small

shops

(K) Scale of establtshment 1

(Nl L r

Sales per person engaged

II Rate of growth of populotlon

c

(A) (6) Greater number Greater consumption of people out of given income

In ““*;r, /“)

Exaandlno

(C) ID) (E) Attraction Less trodltlonollsm

Greater of capital accumulation from other

8 gre~~;:ta.;allob~i~ty

of proflts areas

‘iH)J (J)

Greater availabllitv iirk;t -\ (K) _?I ’

Fuller use of Greater investment exlstlng capacity

( I )

Greater size of both chains 8 Independent stores

Higher capital labour ratlo

I

Higher proportlon of shops with new lay out

(Nl I , I I (01

Sales per p’erson engaged

Figure 4. An ecological framework. Environment and productivity some basic causal schemes (HALL et al., 1961).


In (Al)

Age of premises (Dif t(E)

Convenience Location

Age of settlement

(8)) )(C,

Chain store Traditionalism ratio (Ff (G1

(Octopus effect) Degree of Extent of of layout difficulty

I Size of

shop

compet veness inn0 ltion

I!z

aales per person engaged

DENSITY VARIABLES

INTERTOWN DISTANCES

URB~~~,~URAL OISTRIBUTION OF SIZE OF TOWNS

(A)

CHAIN (a )Numbers RATIO{ b)Sales fJ)

SALES’ PERSONS ENGAGED

~ Jwlt

Figure 4 kont’d). An ecological framework. Environment and productivity - some basic causal schemes (HALL et al., 1961).

is added at this level since these factors are very different for an independent trader with a single shop to those confronting a multiple retailer with a widespread network of branches.

4. A fourth level exists in the spatial and ecological system in which shopping centres are located, and through which consumer demand is expressed, in quantitative or qualitative variations and in shopping trips, and into which entrepreneurs and managers have to adjust their operations.

similar to that which confronts the area specialist in geography (FARMER, 1973). A worthwhile contribution to knowledge will emerge, not by the unthinking application of a set of standard techniques, but by the use of the scientific method from a well- rounded appreciation of the nature and problems of the field under study. This is a problem which has for a long time been of importance in geography, involving the interplay between the generalist and specialist traditions within the discipline. It is now of increased significance in urban geography because of the better statistical techniques that are available. Thus a prior condition‘for the development of an effective geography of

The problem that emerges when considering this framework is, in many respects, very

96 ~~oforumlVolume 9/Number 2/1978

SPAT I AL & ECOLOG I CAL SYSTEM

OTHERS IN OTHERS IN IN SAME

SAME TRADE- SAME SECTOR- CENTRE 4 I

0 D

N E

SHOP UNITS

\

OTHERS IN DIFFERENT TRADE

A

S M

u A

OTHERS IN IN DIFFERENT M N DIFFERENT CENTRE

SECTOR *

I

E D

4 R

MANAGE’MENT & EMPLOYMENT ETHOS

Figure 5. A simple general framework.

retailing is a well rotlnded knowledge of retail decision making. If in gaining this the researcher instills some ‘geography’ into retailers and others involved in the system a valuable by-product may be created (EPSTEIN, 1969; McNEE, 1970; KRUMME. 1969).

I1 I. The Academic Framework

The last 13 years have seen a closer interrelationship of the social sciences, and parti-

cularly between human geography and other social sciences. This relationship is a further necessary condition for an effective geography of retailing. It was quickly recognised how important both economic and social factors were in the shopping process. It was more belatedly appreciated how significant political decisions could be. These influence town planning decisions and the background to town planning thought relative to this

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAvIOUR

~~HOLO-;

_* /*‘;...“_ __.. *- . ..** ,ji_:_..*-- : . . k’E0GRApHY

MARKETING- OF TOWN PLANNING

RETAILING

OPERATIONS

RESEARCH

ECOLOGICAL

URBAN GEOGRAPHY

Figure 6. The academic framework.

~eoforum/Volume 9/Num~r 2/ 1978 97

sector. This now means that in explaining regularities between places, or differences between them, the geographer has to gather information from other disciplines in order to understand better the processes at work (Figure 6). Geography has had a special relationship with town planning, having had a considerable influence on the methods used in that field as well as itself being strongly influenced by the development of the planning profession. This has arisen particularly because of the career prospects for academically trained geographers in that profession. The surge of attention in the study of retail models can best be seen in the context of this relationship. Despite Applebaum’s work over a long period at Harvard, (e.g. APPLE- BA UM ,196 l), geography has tended to neglect the contributions which studies from marketing and business administration could make to increasing understanding in this field. Even Applebaum’s studies reflect relatively few inputs from marketing. They have, however, been widely quoted in marketing texts. This is satisfactory for the standing of geography, but suggests that a gap exists between the two disciplines if such a notable proponent of marketing geography finds Iittle of relevance in the adjacent discipline. This should be overcome for various reasons. Intellec- tually, marketing stands in relation to many fields of business administration in much the same position as geography to other social sciences. There is the same problem of syn- thesis; a similar tension between theory and empiricism and between uniqueness and regularity. The contribution that students of marketing have made to studies of retailing has been limited because of the newness of the subject, and a marked tension between applied and pure studies in the marketing academic world. However, marketing studies have generally focused on individual decision- making units and so have worked with better data and on more definable problems (not necessarily more ~portant) than investiga- tions in the field of retailing. In consequence there are many insights which have potential value to the geographer.

In parallel with geography’s association with town planning there appears to be a growing need in the business world for managers who have a high level of competence in urban geography, either in specialist site location

departments (in Britain, J. Sainsbury Ltd., for instance, ma~tain an atlas of their store catchment areas), or in sales management and administration.

IV. The Role of Models and Theories

General or Partial Theories

As it develops, retail geography, like other areas of urban geography, is faced with the problem of how its findings can be best generalised into models and theories. Models. have generally provided excellent ways of making abstractions of reality. There is, however, a danger associated with them - that work will be judged on its style (e.g. by the degree of abstraction and its use of models developed in other fields) rather than by its real contribution to knowledge. Because of the relationship between retail geography and the town planning process, there has been a tendency to focus most attention on building models of general spatial allocation or spatial equilibria. This now appears to have certain disadvantages. It tends to neglect the need for theories for different purposes (CHISHOLM, 1971). Some confusion exists as to the appropriate political position of the modeller relative to the planner and to the politician or other decision maker (KARL- QUIST, 1975). A decade or more of intensive effort in this field has probably still left us with a situation which BERRY described in 1964. Models aid our progress in:

“understanding various facets of systems and sub-systems, for other facets we stand much as we did a decade ago. . . We have very little understanding of how to put these different patterrls together in more general models that are broad in scope. Sound models of partial kinds are providing the building blocks but maximum progress during the next decade awaits the architectural system- atiser’:

By now, there must be at least a suspicion that a fuller knowledge of the system requires scholarship rather than technical manipula- tion; that the end is not so much a ‘cost- benefit’ model of the system and its subparts but a learning, action-orientated, broadly based, rounded knowledge and ‘check-list’ of the nature of the interconnections, steeled


in partial models but greater than the sum of these models.

One of the problems that the model-building era has brought is that it has sometimes diver- ted attention from the necessity, to para- phrase GOTTMAIW (1969), of looking behind the model for the ideas that control its formation. In this respect, the claim that most practical models are ‘value free’ is now widely disputed. This is of great importance because of the ready acceptance of models in town planning and the increasing power that bureaucratic structures have in controlling retail and other forms of urban activity. In a pure academic context, any urban geographer who attempts to explain, to those not within the field, the research that has characterised the discipline in recent years will find how hard it is to justify much of what has passed as research. Theoretical frameworks and techniques may be elegant in themselves, but what matters, for the continued interest from both society and the acadetnic community as a whole, is how much do they contribute to knowledge of important processes. There is, therefore. a need for both the general and the partial and, above all else, a balance between the two. HOLM’s (1974) paradigm is one useful way of viewing this (Figure 7). Wit~lin th$, indifference curves might represent the utlhty of models, some will contain more information but lie on the same curve as more general ones.

The Context of Nwrnative Tltewy*

Decision-makers require theories which provide indications of what people should do in order to get the best results. This is a very

General Situation

Specific Situation

Degree of Generality

demanding requirement and one in which little general progress has been made. How- ever, because decisions have to be taken, some heuristics will inevitably be applied. Any theory, whether it is an inductively produced descriptive theory, a deductively generated positive theory - representing certain given rules and premises of how people can be expected to behave -- or a normative theory proper, will tend to be used by decision makers. (In this respect it is worth noting that HEMMENS (1968) found that American planning agencies in the late 1960’s attributed the greatest value of urban development models to be the benefits that could be obtained through them in training staff in a fuller awareness of the phenomena being planned rather than as explicit instru- ments of planning.) Because of the importance of implicit or explicit theories to decision-makers, a very fruitful way of increasing understanding of the geography of retailing is to work closely with them. Action-oriented research is generally wel- comed, providing access to significant data and, above all, valuable feedback for theoretical development. This type of programme is, however, something which organisationally is not easy to create. COPPOCK (1974) has pointed out how policy-oriented research has a number of important characteristics. Thus, in addition to the universal values of clear thinking and rigorous methods, the results of research have to be presented clearly, concisely and in a format (and within a time-span) that is acceptable to decision- makers.

Positive theory has often been accepted by policy-makers because its deductive frame-

Truism Theory

Nonsense Description

Aggregote minimum information

Disaggregate maxlmum informatlon

Figure 7. Helm’s paradigm [After E. Helm, 1974).


work appears to indicate the nature of a response to an induced change. In reality, it is only useful if the rules and premises are sufficiently comprehensive to adequately explain the response to change. It is of little consolation to the policy-maker if, after the event, it is pointed out that the theory was built on an assumption that was not met in actuality. HALL (1974) has suggested that normative theories are rare in geography. He considers ‘spatial efficiency’ and ‘distance minimisation’ as candidates, but suggests these are more likely to be descriptive theories or hypotheses and not objectives to be achieved. He considers these features in the context of a planned framework and suggests that what really has to happen is for a political trade-off between them and other desirable features. However, with a different framework, it could be argued that these were in fact conditions which should be strived for as part of a fuller normative theory within the trade-off process. Spatial efficiency and distance minimisation are, of course, central themes in many models of retailing. Hall goes on to discuss the differences between theories based in economics which stress self-interest, competition and trade-off between objectives and also between individuals - with, as an ideal, the ‘so called’ Pareto optimality (a state in which one can be made better off without someone else being made worse off), and in sociology ~ at any rate in classical Parsonian formulation - where stress is laid on mutual adjustment and adaptation of groups and ~dividuals. He also points to the need for geography to be responsive to political science theories (largely positive in character and thus, unlike descriptive theories, having the strength that their deductive framework can be tested repeatedly against reality).

Within the changing geography of retailing, many themes appropriate to all three types of model exist. Some have maintained, in the face of the demand for sites by superstore operators, that the retail system, from a consumer’s viewpoint, has reached the Pareto optimality (HILLMAN, 1973) without being able to demonstrate whether or not this is so. A growing amount of work focuses on the way in which different shopping centres and shops adjust themselves to change.

At variance with HALL’s (1974) view of central place theory as simply a descriptive, or at most a positive, theory is a claim from PARR and DENIKE (1970) that this theory can incorporate efficiency or welfare criteria which could usefully form the basis for public policy. Although this does not amount to a formal normative theory, it has at least some normative implications. To these authors, as many others, central place theory is not the simple settlement formation theory of Christaller but a form of microeconomic theory representing the interplay of supply and demand in space. Initially, they present the theory in a classical economic framework of perfect competition with normal profits, free entry, perfect mobility and knowledge. They then suggest that, by restricting entry by various degrees, it is possible to maximise profits, consumer welfare, or society’s efficiency, through the level of “system surplus” that could be achieved. Before considering this further, another feature of the role of models and theories should be examined.

Planners ‘Theory ’ and Retailers ‘Theory’

A general distinction in the nature of the models and theories used by decision-makers, responsible either for coordination or project profitability, is important. Geography, because of its special relationships with planning and its general synthesising traditions, has tended to place little significance on the theories associated with the latter. Business planning and its associated procedures is believed to be manipulative~ selfish and dominated by short-run objectives. These latter are often considered by students of geography to be worse than long-run objectives even though the long-run may never reach us and, if it does, is not evaluated in terms of the dis- ruptive effects that have been needed to achieve it. This attitude tends to be true of much urban geographical thinking. As a by- product, the contribution that geographical techniques could make in improving business planning, and the contribution that business planners could make to geography, are neglected. There has also been a tendency for more interest to focus on how groups of businesses interrelate rather than how an individual firm positions itself in the market. Within this general field, the geography of retailing provides a valuable area for exploration.

100

The preferred planning mode of the retailer is incremental with a careful testing and analysis of the results of experiments before proceeding with further development. It is only in recent years that retailers have been confronted with conditions in which the methods associated with this procedure have changed in a way which points to a need for different methods. The reason for this partial change is that the two forms of retail development which came to dominate the pattern of change in the trade in the 1970’s, the hypermarket and the covered shopping centre, cannot necessarily be viewed as incremental and so differ from most earlier types of change (the development of the department store in the late nineteenth century had some of the same characteristics and brought a similar debate). These forms of development have led some traders to consider the evaluation of the overall retail capacity in an area. This apart, retailers have maintained that their’s is a trade in which freedom of entry is considerable (indeed some would say it was too great) and that the public interest was best maintained by free and fair competition(con~icts have existed over the operational definition of the latter).

Town planners have taken a different view. They have asserted a need to balance provision in one area in comparison with another; this can only be done by assessing the future need for retail floorspace (some try to distinguish ‘need’ from ‘demand’) and thence allocating to different areas an appropriate share of future capacity. The researcher would be a live and active agent in this, since assessing the need for retail floorspace involves an enormous amount of data (THORPE, 1975). A conflict then ensues between planner and retailer. The retailer may well recognise what the planner is attempting but asserts: Is there sufficient data for that? Furtll~rmore, prescriptive questions, such as what is the right level of floorspace in an area for different objectives, are ignored. Usually, they are answered posi- tively or descriptively. The retailer then asks what the consequences will be for society, by interfering with ‘freedom of entry’, if the assessment of floorspace need is wrong. This contrast in attitude is one which will continue to provide a fruitful area for study.

Whilst retail models, drawing on the work of various disciplines including geography, are now well advanced in planning usage, considerable doubt still exists about their utility both as planliing instrL~~~ents and as effective ways of concentrating attention on significant features of the spatial and ecological process involved in the changing geography of retailing. It may well be necessary to conclude with the Economic Development Comnlittee for the Distribution Trades’ models sub-committee (1970) that ‘What we don’t know is more important than what we do’. It has been generally noticeable how little weight is given to the shopping policy arguments advanced, on the basis of models, either in opposition to, or in support of, superstores at various public enquiries arising from refusals for planning permission for superstores and hypermarkets, e.g., the Cribbs Causeway Enquiry in which 6 major proposals were simultaneously considered (BRISTOL CITY PLANNING DEPART- MENT, 1972). An illustratio1~ of the problems arising from shopping models can be seen in the exchange between OPENSHAW (1973, 1975) and DAVIES (1974) in the Journal of Regional Studies.

Part of the reason for the lack of weight given to models is important for the researcher as well as the practitioner. The modeller defines a set of relationships, either deductively or inductively. and then uses this set to demonstrate the implications of changes in part of the set. CalibratioIl of the relationships is usually established by a cross sectional study, and/or by iterative methods, which most frequently have the objective of defining a pattern rather than a procc~ss of interrelationship. Time series data are rarely available (and too little use is made of those which do exist). Unless change is fully incorporated, the modelled relationships will probably be adequate only for use in situations where the scale of new development, relative to existing development, is very large (e.g. a major new town development or a regional shopping centre of the size envisaged at Haydock (Manchester University) and not a 20 30 per cent increase in capacity in an existing town).

Geoforum/Volume 9/Number 2/ 1978

One way to start overcoming this problem, in addition to a concerted effort to use all existing time series data, has been stressed in the introduction to this paper. Carefully selected case studies of important changes in retail systems can be used to demonstrate the implications of change. The chief problem which arises from this method is that there may be insufficient information available to allow attribution of the degree to which observed changes are a result of circumstances special to a particular case, rather than to basic changes in the spatial economy being studied. This can only be resolved as knowledge expands.

A general conclusion of a sequence of studies superstore and hypermarket ’

$HORPE 1977b c) is that the in~i?~~~~ of its impact on other trades and shopping centres is greater for those in a given area which depart most, in terms of their market share and role, from a ‘national’ average, although it should be noted that these stores have yet to spread nationally in Britain. Thus, in Peterborough, ROGERS (1974) found that small self-service shops had a very high share of the market before the opening of a Sainsbury store at Britton. At Caerphilly, Co-operative Societies held a high share before the Carrefour Hypermarket opened (THO RPE and McGO LD - RICK, 1974a). Similarly in North Manchester town centre, stores and small local shops held a high share before the opening of the Asda Castleton store (THORPE and McGOLDRICK, 1974b). By 1976 however, superstores in an adjacent area had captured a high proportion of trade and so the development of a further superstore (the Co-op., Failsworth store) resulted in attracting most of its trade away from existing superstores (THORPE and McGOLDRICK, 1977). Thus, the infusion of additional competition tends to reduce the differences which exist between areas in shopping patterns. Whilst traditionalists de- plore such tendencies, welfare considerations may indicate that they are valuable. (It is, however, doubtful whether sufficient weight is given to environmental differences in granting planning permission.) Other patterns of change in retailing may work in the oppo- site direction because the trades concerned are associated with a deliberate consumer preference for differentiation @CHILLER, 1970).

101

One important by-product of this case study approach is that it can spotlight the danger of preconceptions, during a period of change, either of the likely impact of that change in a given situation or of the characteristics of the change in general. This type of result should not be overlooked as a typical geographical insight when the phenomenon in question is as closely influenced by the characteristics of place and spatial system as retailing. This limitation to our claims, and particularly to our preparedness to see general models applied, is something which is important to accept because of our lack of knowledge of dynamic processes. The intellectually honest answer for the planner, regardless of political ideology, may be to say that there is simply not enough evidence for a major degree of intervention in the market. In this respect, the postulates derived from Central Place Theory by PARR and DENIKE (1970) are interesting if related to present British planning policies. Town planners, fearing empty premises, generally assert a need to restrict entry by limiting the capacity of floorspace available to retailers. However, there appears to be no agreement of how ‘over-shopping’ might be measured, except through vacancy rates ~ something which may be influenced by more specific conditions of individual premises than by the overall level of floorspace in an area. Thus, which one of the three conditions (maximisa- tion of profits or optimisation of consumer welfare or the efficiency of society) may arise from such a policy is by no means clear. This also ignores the further problem of measuring the economic contribution of such externalities associated with different levels of capacity (e.g. congestion, building and land costs, environmental standards, etc.).

The conclusion of this section is that in many ways, for both academic observers of a changing system and planners attempting to control and co-ordinate it with other features of the urban environment, a cybernetic process relationship can be a more fruitful framework for study, or for political and administrative control (STEISS, 1974) than traditional models. From an academic viewpoint, Steiss believes that this would suggest the need for a more heuristic theory for the examination of urban phenomena which would have the advantages of both ‘hard’ systems (scientific applications) and intuitive or value-oriented

102

applications. It would allow the various disciplines to make their own contributions to knowledge and provide a vehicle for communication. Steiss reaches this conclusion because he starts with a traditional tenet of urban geography that “the city is a system that interacts with its environment”! This is a basic characteristic of that part of the city system represented by the distribution system. An important by-product of such a cybernetic approach will be a delimitation of which parts of the system are ‘esoteric ultrastable sub-systems’ (i.e. will absorb a considerable amount of pressure from the environment without undergoing major change and which only need to be understood by specially initiated individuals (BEER, 1970). Implicit also in a heuristic theory is the problem of the system learning about the environment. The student of the geography of retailing will find that well designed studies have a considerable ‘relevance’. Whilst some might want to ensure that this relevance was contributing to specific social ends, many will feel content that a by-product of scholarship is a geographical mirror on the world (THORPE, THOMAS and KIVELL, 1971; THORPE and KIVELL, 1974; DIAMOND and EDWARDS, 1975) which can diminish uncertainty and lessen the frequency with which policies are advanced on the basis of incorrect preconceptions of geographical realities. VANCE’S (1970) conclusion that ‘no longer does the unknown have much importance’ is in some ways premature. CHISHOLM (1975) notes that although the geographer should accept the scientific method it would be a mistake to conclude that everything will be explained. In this context. Chisholm quotes the view expressed by Shonfield, that for the social sciences generally it may be the case that ‘scientific proof’ is impossible to attain but that in- formed opinions can be given. In the context of the geography of retailing in Britain it is noteable how acceptable this type of process has been in the town planning enquiry procedure. Those who have been refused, or who are refusing, planning permission have frequently used the result of geographical studies elsewhere by way of analogy in support of their case.

V. Some Research Themes

The interest of the geographer in retailing

Geoforum/Volume B/Number 2/1978

and wholesaling raises many questions. Traditionally, and most powerfully reinforced by Vance with respect to the latter, the focus of attention has been on the ways in which trade influences settlement rather than the way in which settlement influences trade. The traditional concerns of the urban geographer, although very important, have not been featured in this paper. In some respects this is myopic since the interrelationships of environment and trade are so complex. For instance, a continued question of concern in the planning of retail locations is the degree to which shops should be associated with other urban land uses.

Basically the geographer studies retailing because of its importance in the urban environment and not simply because of the relevance of his work to planning policy. Whilst the urban geographer can make valuable contributions to knowledge of the way in which systems of cities have evolved, it is also possible that by examining processes which lead to differences between areas, the geographer can contribute insights of value to present operations. Thus if ROBSON (1973) is correct in remarking that ‘students of the city seem always to be one jump behind reality’, there is an indictment of our strategy, our techniques and our theories. Partly arising from this sort of attitude has been the realignment of approaches to the geography of retailing which has characterised the last few years. This is not the place to draw up a full scale programme for future work. However, the paper would not be complete without some indication of the potential direction of the field. GOTTMANN’s (1969) threefold characterisation of the geographical environment is an appropriate framework for this: the environment being continuous but partitioned, as limited but expanding, and organised but diversified. Each of these dichotomies is central to the problems to which the geographical approach can be expected to provide some important insights.

As location theories move from a microeconomic to a welfare economic base (CHISHOLM. 197 l), the ‘partitioning’ of society becomes an important theme which. in this context, raises questions about how total satisfaction from the distribution of shops relates to the tlistrihictiorf of satis-


faction from this distribution. This not only implies studies of the shopping behaviour of sub-groups in society, particularly of the elderly and those without access to a car, but also, when a global modelling approach is used, to a further study of the residuals from a distance-decay function for shopping trips, rather than simple reliance on the continuity of the iteratively established ‘best fit relationship’ (JENSEN-BUTLER, 1970). Therelation- ship of this approach to commercial market segmentation studies and to the discovery that different consumers have very different psychological drives is close. In the latter respect GO LLEDG E (1970) distinguishes consumers as Marshallian, Pavlovian, Freudian, Veblenian, dissonance minimizers or spatially rational. Each of these behaviour types will produce different spatial results. Retailers are aware of these characteristics and attempt to find market niches within them. In a period of relatively static conditions the environment, as something continuous but partitioned, points to the need for a further evaluation of the implications of shopping centre capacity decisions taken by partitioned units (local authorities) which have continuous implications (i.e. in competition with other centres beyond the boundary of the authority concerned). Those operating in the retail system have traditionally stressed the competitive forces that surround them, and many have maintained that freedom of entry is essential to competitiveness in the sector. If constraints (e.g. of town planners) limit and partition space, what are the long-run implications?

The characteristic of the environment as something limited but also expanding is of considerable relevance in this field. Thus, in addition to the way in which new development may change spatial relationships arising from partitioned decisions within a continuous space, major questions arise from the interplay of limitation and expansion. This paper has already referred to the implications that exist if capacity is limited. In addition to those relating to profit, consumer welfare and system efficiency, there are the potential benefits associated with expansion of innovation and improvement. All of these have a very specific locational component. Possibly, but not necessarily, related to the limitation of retail capacity are the factors which lead to the closure of shops, and a net fall in shop

103

numbers, during periods when demand is expanding. Some work has attempted to provide indicators as to the processes at work in this area (BATES, 1976, 1977; THORPE, 1977a; SHEPHERD and THORPE, 1977). A broader question which has never been answered empirically is to what extent does the demand for retail goods vary with the supply of shops? By this one means an absolute process and not simply a redistribu- tion of demand between centres. A further issue of interest is the nature of the implications that exist in an area if the growth of some centres is deliberately limited so that other centres in that area can expand more easily.

The organisation of space and its diversity is central to many of the issues confronting the geography of retailing. Analogies from plant communities and organising principles, which equate diversity with certain regularities, particularly of size, have been assumed in many classificatory studies. The association of size of centre with variety of shops has led many planning policies to concentrate retail capacity in the hope that a greater range of services may emerge than if capacity was more dispersed. This hope has sometimes not been fulfilled. There is a need to understand the processes behind diversity far more fully than we do. Related to this is a continued need to improve measures to represent the gravitational attraction of shopping centres to dispersed consumers. This in itself is but part of the problem of understanding the way in which shoppers organise and vary their shopping trips. BUCKLIN (1967) has provided a useful conceptual framework related to different search procedures for goods for which shopping would be dominated by convenience factors, or for which either a limited or full search would be worthwhile. A different form of organisation and variation of special interest to the retail geographer arises from the control of branch networks by a single firm. A whole series of questions then emerge: for instance, what controls the varying performance of these branches?; or how can a centrally organised network vary its procedures sufficiently to match branches to variations in local environment?

VI.Conclusion

This paper has ranged over a wide spectrum of issues raised by the geography of retailing

104

and wholesaling. It has attempted to demonstrate the nature of the challenge that confronts further work in this field. The geographer can make a distinct contribution to knowledge in general by his analysis of the retail system and its environment. In doing this, urban geography can expect more mature models and insights which are based, not on the simple use of retail and wholesale phenomena as indices of the other urban features, but on a rounded scholarship which seeks to aid a comprehensive knowledge of a system of considerable economic and social importance. A further special contribution arises from the sensitivity of this system of private sector entrepreneurs to the intervention of public land use planning. A whole range of issues arises from this, including the contribution that location modelling can expect from a fuller appreciation of the planning procedures and theories used by individual firms, as well as political questions of conflict resolution in a space-economy operating within a society conditioned by postulates of neither a market nor a totali- tarian economy. Christaller’s involvement with planning in Nazi Germany and sub- sequently in the German Democratic Repub- lic has been noted by CAR0 L (1970). In Britain, a location modeller (BROADBENT, 1977) has concluded that the logic of such an approach points to the desirability of the nationalisation of a range of services. How- ever. it was a British socialist Prime Minister who feared that nationalisation in retailing would make Marks and Spencer, the ‘flagship of efficiency’, similar to the consumers’ Co-operative Movement. which was. at that stage, generally categorised as inefficient!

4c~rzo~clledgemerzt I am grateful to Lady Margaret Hall, Professor C. Wisten and the Oxford University Press for permission to use Figure 4 taken from HALL, M. et al. (1961).

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