Retail supply and demand in a system under transition: The case of Israel

Abstract

The paper examines organizational and spatial responses of metropolitan retail trade in Israel to increases in demand. Since the late 1960s until 1984 Israel enjoyed continuous increases in incomes, rates of car ownership and dwelling sizes. These coincided with a suburbanization of population in the metropolitan areas of Td-Aviv and Haifa. Consequently, there developed four new forms of retailing, namely ribbons in industrial areas, factory retail outlets, hypermarkets and shopping malls. Locational and other characteristics of these forms of commerce are discussed. Special criticism is pointed at an undifferentiated evolution of ribbons and outlets.

The evolution and distribution of the Israeli modern retailers

“…In Israel two main locations of commercial facilities that received special attention in literature in the past, are situated in the Tel Aviv Metropolis and in Haifa (Kellerman 1981(Kellerman , 1987Elad and Kellerman 1982;Greenberg and Kellerman 1996). Both areas were analyzed over a number of years with respect to different aspects, such as types of stores, number of different types of stores opening and closing at different times, number of employees and the relation between retailing and the neighboring industrial land use.…”

“…Kellerman (1980) quotes a survey published in 1978, according to which an opening of one supermarket caused on average 12 local shops to close down. Appearance and evolution of hypermarkets, the distribution of different chains and their locations across Israel are described by Kellerman (1987), Kellerman and Ozri (1989). These studies provide accounts of the first shopping malls built in Israel and propose reasons for the differences in the development of modern retail in Tel Aviv and Haifa metropolitan areas (where most of the facilities were situated at the time).…”

Normative issues in the organization of modern retailers in Israel

“…The retail systems in the area have previously been subject of the academic work, which discussed the evolution of the commercial ribbons within the industrial areas (Kellerman 1981(Kellerman , 1987Elad and Kellerman 1982;Greenberg and Kellerman 1996). In their early studies the authors point out that evolution of retail ribbons in absence of planning controls can lead to certain undesired effects.…”

“…In their early studies the authors point out that evolution of retail ribbons in absence of planning controls can lead to certain undesired effects. Kellerman (1987) emphasizes the lack of planning for the retail sector, as well as a general lack in long-term metropolitan planning in Israel. Since these studies were carried out the Israeli retail system has undergone a dramatic transformation.…”