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Shopping is widely regarded as a major leisure‐time activity, but many people do not enjoy the shopping experience. Although these so‐called “apathetic shoppers” comprise a large and growing segment of the population, they have attracted very little academic attention hitherto. Using an innovative research procedure ‐ personal introspection ‐ provides an in‐depth insight into the mentality and motivations of the apathetic shopper. Highlights the sheer depth of emotion engendered by the retailing encounter; notes the social, non‐shopping considerations that intrude into routine forms of consumer behaviour; and draws attention to the practical, managerial benefits that might flow from pandering to the apathetic shopper’s needs.

Within the Ayrshire knitwear industry in Scotland, a group of small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) have formed a network with the purpose of developing group branded products for export markets. The initiative was instigated by the Ayrshire Textile Group (ATG), which was created in 1991 as a partnership between Enterprise Ayrshire, a government funded body, and the local textile industry. This paper briefly reviews the existing literature describing the internationalisation process of firms and discusses why SMEs may consider networks as a means to developing international markets. The case study of the ATG empirically illustrates how network relationships may facilitate foreign market development by SMEs, the role of enterprise companies in this process, and the problems that SMEs are likely to face in the process. The paper concludes with a discussion of future directions of the research.