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UK fashion retailing is characterised by high levels of market concentration, centralisation and outlet standardisation. In the pursuit of market share, the multiple fashion retailers are implementing branding strategies that aim to differentiate their product offer and reinforce their market positioning. Empirical research, via key informant interviews, examined the branding decisions of two multiple fashion retailers and established four main methods of brand differentiation.

During the 17th century, the Dutch Republic sought to project a positive global image centred around the principles of economic endeavour, moral stewardship and military resilience. By illustrating one way in which the country sought to communicate its international position, the paper aims to provide an early example of political diplomacy and reputation management.

Pictorial narratives provide an important but often underutilised insight into our cultural, social and economic history. As works of art were considered legitimate and authoritative forms of communication, their importance can lie beyond any aesthetic accomplishment. Using established iconographic techniques, this paper deconstructs and interprets the meaning contained within a specific genre painting, The Young Mother (1658) by Gerrit Dou.

Rather than being devoid of meaning, The Young Mother represents a narrative purposely constructed to symbolise the cultural, religious and economic character of the United Provinces. It celebrates success through global trade, innovation and enterprise while simultaneously reminding audiences of the country’s moral and spiritual foundations. Like the patriotic allegory of De Hollandse Maag protecting the sacred space of the hortus conclusus, the painting is a secular representation of the new Loca Sancta.

While acknowledging that The Young Mother has been praised for its visual qualities, this paper maintains that any broader political significance has been largely overlooked. The analysis and findings therefore offer original interpretations from which new conclusions are drawn.

The key purpose of this paper is to examine the principal dimensions involved in store‐choice decisions and to discuss the trade‐off consumers make in their judgments between salient variables. The process of conjoint analysis is considered, in the first section of the paper, as a means to understanding the behavioural dimensions of customer segmentation. The second section explores this link, with reference to recent research undertaken with a multiple menswear fashion retailer. Respondents were interviewed to elicit their preferred ‘bundle’ of store‐choice attributes, which they felt influenced them in their choice of where to shop. In the third section of the paper, an attempt is made to evaluate the trade‐offs involved in the choice process.

The objectives of this paper are two‐fold. First, it seeks to rectify an imbalance within the employment literature by focusing upon the important but neglected retail sector. Secondly, it attempts to conceptualise such employment relations within a broader theoretical framework.

For many individuals, Sunday working in retailing is simply a fact of life. With many retailers trading, some legally, others illegally, on a Sunday, there is a need to understand the Sunday labour market. Provides a general summary of the findings of a major survey into the structure, composition, terms and conditions and motivations of this Sunday retail workforce.

Distance learning is becoming an increasingly utilised medium of management education and training. It provides the opportunity to reach large numbers of practising managers who would otherwise be outside the spectrum of educational development. The contribution that the MBA in Retailing and Wholesaling at the Institute for Retail Studies makes to this process is examined, arguing that distance learning is best understood as a process of skill acquisition. The MBA provides the basic rules and procedures which the individual supplements with practical experience. Distance learning, however, poses a series of specific problems; there is a need to address the issues of quality and competency. Five factors deemed critical for the success of the Institute′s programme are identified and a series of conclusions about the successful implementation of distance learning, drawn from the practical experience of running an MBA programme are presented.

Airport retailing has undergone a series of significant developments over the last two decades and now occupies a central position in the revenue generating strategies of many airport authorities. This paper identifies briefly the factors that have prompted these developments before examining in detail how these changes have affected the role of buying within airport retailing. It outlines the buying and negotiating process common in many European airports and details the methods used for both buyer and supplier evaluation. It concludes that airport retailers have experienced a significant increase in their market power and the process of supplier negotiation has consequently changed to reflect this.

Details the methods used by European airport authorities to segment their consumer base. It will be argued that macro‐level factors, over which the industry has no control, have compelled airports to expand their commercial activities. As a consequence, airport authorities have been forced to adopt a more marketing‐orientated approach. To fully capitalise on the opportunities afforded to them, a range of segmentation categories have been developed that are specific to an airport environment. It will be argued that authorities act as “gatekeepers” and use this unique form of a priori segmentation to determine the most suitable tenant mix for their airport. Once operating within the airport, the retailers themselves also undertake a further series of segmentation strategies based either on a priori principles or on “micro‐level” techniques.

This paper aims to detail the strategic repositioning of a retail organisation in South Africa. It seeks to describe the social and political transformations that have occurred since the ending of the apartheid regime and discuss the implications of these changes for the retail sector. In particular, the emergence of a new middle class has required many organisations to reconfigure their business processes and operations. The paper focuses upon one company (Boardmans) to illustrate many of these changes.

The data used in this paper are primarily secondary in nature. One of the authors was also incumbent within the organisation and had direct experience of many of the issues that are described.

Many retail organisations initially found it difficult to cope with the needs of non‐white customers and were forced to make changes to the way in which they operated their businesses. Boardmans, whilst initially coping in the post‐apartheid period, over time, lost touch with its customer base. The paper details how the company's position was re‐established after its acquisition by the Edcon Group. This required an holistic approach that sought to engender change throughout the whole of the organisation.

There is only limited research on the South African retail market. This paper provides a detailed insight into the issues surrounding market positioning and makes an original contribution to this literature.

Airport retailing is an under‐researched area of study. It is also a sector displaying significant year‐on‐year growth. This paper examines the structure of the supply chain within airport retailing and the main factors that differentiate it from its downtown counterpart. It describes the structure and operation of the supply chain within European airport retailing and the main sources of power that retailers and suppliers draw on in the negotiating process. The paper concludes that, relative to other retail sectors, relationships within the airport retailing supply chain are technologically unsophisticated and based on conventional market exchange principles.