Fast growth retailers : Entrepreneurship, corporate strategy and the new retail geography

Abstract

The pace of change in the retail environment has accelerated, and the nature of the changes occurring diversified, over the past two decades. The so-called retail revolution has been matched by a resurgence of academic interest in the subject from a variety of disciplines, recognising both the social significance of shopping and consumption, and the dynamic nature of the retail sector as a business environment. A separate body of research suggests that fast-growth businesses, in particular, are those which are acting as agents of change, being innovative, pioneering new ways of trading, and opening up new markets. This thesis identifies a group of fast-growth retail businesses (FGRs) and uses qualitative research methods to explore the manner in which they achieve fast growth and their impact on the nature of the retail environment. Consideration is given to the entrepreneurial origins of FGRs, the drive to achieve rapid growth, and the impacts of growth strategies at a variety of spatial scales from national store networks to the use of store space. This study provides insights which contribute to both the study of retail geography and that of fast-growth firms. FGRs are revealed to be important agents of change in the retail environment. However, while the sample firms are innovative within the context of their own marketplace, they are shown to draw on a much wider range of influences, both inside and outside their sub-sector, in the development of a successful retail format. As fast-growth businesses, FGRs highlight the roles of retail entrepreneurs in developing a retail format and the business model to realise the vision. Retail entrepreneurs also highlight variations of serial entrepreneurship and emphasise the occurrence of 'messy' start-up circumstances in the firms' development. While the FGRs of the 1980s, such as the Body Shop and Tie Rack, have become established elements of the contemporary retail landscape, this study demonstrates that the FGRs of the 1990s are key elements in shaping the retail trading environment and shoppers' changing experiences of consumption.

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