Both food and textile based retail groups have been outstanding stockmarket performers since the general upturn in share prices since last January. At the beginning of June for instance, both sectors were showing increases of around 150% from the low point of 1975. That is a little in excess of...

Bijenkorf have long been regarded as pioneers in department store management, not only in their native Holland but in Europe generally. When they decided to create a new concept in department store selling in Arnhem—what one might call “upmarket self‐service”, they approached the British...

Derek Smith is a retailer with conviction. As managing director of Audiotronic Holdings, parent company of Laskys chain of 31 hi‐fi shops, he believes that the business he is involved in is well on the way to becoming a major consumer industry. “Our objective,” he says, “is to establish...

This year it is estimated that we in tills country will spend £330 million on toys, according to David Brown, general manager of British Lego. Traditionally the sale of toys has been conducted through the specialist toy retailer. Over the past thirty years or so, others have encroached on this...

World food demand depends on world population, now standing at 4,000 million. In another 25 years it is estimated that it will be 6,000 million. India has one million more to feed every 28 days. On the whole the countries with the biggest projected increase in population are those with low...

Photopia are suppliers ‐ primarily of photographic equipment, which takes up some 70% of their £6m turnover. They also supply calculators, and optical and audio equipment. They use a number of retail outlets ‐ specialist independents, multiples and department stores; they also supply mail...

The current turnover in the health foods market is around £30m. and this has doubled since 1968/69. Inflation has obviously had its effect on recent annual increases; the rate of expansion was 20% per year but now appears to have slowed down.

Globus, the Swiss retail organisation, is a classic example of a retail conglomerate. It includes seven department stores, 35 chain stores, 11 menswear shops, two department stores in France and a small publishing operation. Since 1974 a new system of management has been in operation which has...

Two years ago David Walters carried out his well publicised “Delphi” study which attempted to establish cause and effect relationships between changes in retailing and developments in physical distribution (RDM, September/October 1973). This article, proceeding logically from the study,...

Introducing a minimum order quantity, reducing the range, or frequency of delivery, or stockouts ‐ all these are common suggestions arising out of physical distribution studies. They may indeed reduce costs. But be warned ‐ they may also reduce profits. This article outlines the precautions...