The failure of independents in non‐food sectors to adapt themselves to the voluntary group structure has been one of the features of the recent retail scene. But now there are signs of interesting activity in the confectionery/tobacco/news field. Independent CTNs are subject to pressures from...

In this second of a series of articles dealing with aspects of wage payment and employment in retail distribution, the authors turn their attention to the question of part‐time workers. These have increased substantially in recent years: for women only the proportion of part‐time employment...

Headlines were made when Kwik Save's chief and founder Albert Gubay gave up control of his company early this year and abruptly left for New Zealand. One of the most successful of the discounters, Kwik Save built itself up mainly on food, but has recently extended into non‐food and...

The Financial Times had a full house for their recent conference on Retailing in Europe. Chaired by Lady Hall, Fellow of Somerville College and an RDM Advisory Board member, and Mr. James Gulliver of Oriel Foods, the conference examined a number of issues of relevance to retailers with a...

The idea of the design consultant as somebody who comes into the board room and makes bright suggestions about the colour of the vehicles and the typeface on the stationery is more than a little outdated — if indeed it was ever valid. Today's design consultant must have a knowledge of his...

An unusual and ambitious retail development recently opened in London's Tottenham Court Road. Described as Britain's first department store devoted to hi‐fi, audio and video equipment, Lindair House plans to take advantage of anticipated dramatic growth in the audio industry. This new...

This is the first of a new occasional feature which will offer comment on topical aspects of the distributive scene. The pseudonym adopted by the author cloaks the anonymity of an executive concerned with the planning function in a major national retail organisation. This month Donald Wright...

From time to time we have had occasion to refer to earnings per share in terms of the new ‘imputation’ system of company taxation. This is a somewhat complex system and we have asked our Financial Correspondent to explain in some detail what is involved. In attempting an explanation, he has...

Limited use of containers; government intervention in the control of deliveries; the creation of a National Pallet Pool; the development of automated warehousing; these are some of the developments in physical distribution which are seen likely to happen, in varying degrees, by a number of...

The phenomenal rise of mail order — armchair shopping — has been well documented. More recently, discount trading has made a marked impact on the retail scene in this country. Now we are seeing the emergence of a new form of retailing which is a combination of both — the catalogue...