The UK food retail “race for space” and market saturation: a contemporary review

Wood, SM and McCarthy, D (2013) The UK food retail “race for space” and market saturation: a contemporary review International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research.

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Abstract

This conceptual review paper explores food retail space saturation in the UK in the light of an apparent recent peak of store space growth, an inferred decline of the hypermarket format, and, in particular, the stagnation and subsequent deterioration in performance of the UK market leader, Tesco. Despite saturation being widely discussed by retail executives and analysts, the last significant academic work in this area occurred in the mid-1990s. In this paper, we develop an understanding of retail saturation that rests on a spatial conceptualisation of retail development at a local catchment level and rationalise why, and in what ways, saturation manifests itself through sales impacts and cannibalisation. In the process, we analyse the differing local effects of new store openings, store extensions and format innovation to illustrate how saturation is contingent upon local catchment conditions, competitive interactions and the particular geography of retail brands and formats. Although a significant slow-down in new store construction may be a logical response at the level of the industry, this may not necessarily be the case for individual retail firms.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions :	Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences > Surrey Business School
Authors :	Wood, SM and McCarthy, D
Date :	27 August 2013
Additional Information :	This is the author's version of an article accepted for publication in International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research,Copyright 2013 Taylor & Francis. International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research can be accessed at http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rirr20/current
Depositing User :	Symplectic Elements
Date Deposited :	25 Sep 2013 18:16
Last Modified :	20 Mar 2015 02:08
URI:	http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/id/eprint/797766

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