Unlocking the padlock: Retail and public policy in Belgium (1930–1961)

Heyrman, Peter

doi:10.1080/00076791.2017.1319940

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Meanwhile, the of retail trade in the Iberian Peninsula over the long period from the nineteenth century to the Second World War is discussed by Alves and Morris (2017) and Jacques (2018) examines contemporary French retail history, studying both the transformation of retail structures and the evolution of government retail policy from 1945 to 1973. Heyrman (2018) provides a detailed assessment of the role of legislation in the evolution of the retail sector in Belgium. Hilton (2018) challenges the idea that the history of retail development can be defined exclusively by the Western experience and seeks to explain socialist forms of retail in former socialist Eastern European countries.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The historical evolution of the Greek retail trade: a first overview of its organisational-functional and spatial restructuring

Manioudis,

Meramveliotakis

2023

J Innov Entrep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The history of retailing has become an area of growing scholarly interest over the last few decades, with publications mainly concerning the national historiography of retail and wholesaling. On the other hand, although the retail sector is considered to be one of the most historically significant sectors of the Greek economy, the economic history of the Greek retail industry remains a notoriously underdeveloped area of inquiry and, as such, is on the margins of economic and social studies in Greek historiography. In this paper, we, attempt to provide a first concise (and certainly not exhaustive) analysis of the historical development of the Greek retail sector from the nineteenth century to the present (in circa) day. Specifically, we aim to analyse the evolution of the Greek retail trade to assess the spatial and social impacts associated with establishing and operating “new forms” of commerce. The focus is on the sectoral and organisational restructuring of the retail trade with the changes in the standards of the spatial location, which relate to the establishment and operation of retail businesses. Students and scholars of the history of retailing would benefit from this worthwhile exercise which for the first time provides a first overview of the historical development of the Greek retail sector.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The historical evolution of the Greek retail trade: a first overview of its organisational-functional and spatial restructuring

Manioudis,

Meramveliotakis

2023

J Innov Entrep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Retail Trade, Consumption, and the Construction of Markets

Jacques

Sandgren

2018

Scandinavian Economic History Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A couple of decades ago, it was easy to complain about the lack of historical studies regarding retailing and consumption (Benson & Shaw, 1992; Strasser, McGovern, & Judt, 1998). Today, this is definitely not the case. To produce an overview of the developments in the two fields over the last 20-30 years is an enormous undertaking. However, it should be noted that while consumer and consumption history have matured in recent years to the point where it is relevant and possible to publish major overviews (Trentmann, 2012, 2016), this is less so when it comes to retailing history. One possible reason for this difference is the fact that the organisation of retailing and wholesaling is permeated by national characteristics, not the least institutional differences; meanwhile, the character of consumption and consumer society, at least in the last century and in the Western World, has many common features. One aspect is, of course, the Americanisation of consumption ideals. This is not to say that the general development of the retail sector differs much when viewed over a longer period. All types of retail formats and practices, from specialised stores with lavish shop windows and servile manual service to e-commerce, have at some point in time been adopted and developed in all countries around the world. However, the introduction and relative importance of the different aspects of the retail sector have differed between countries and between urban and rural settings. The present special issue of Scandinavian Economic History Review is based on an open CFP on 'Retail Trade, Consumption, and the Construction of Markets from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries'. We, the guest editors, are grateful that the editorial team of SEHR has given scholars doing research on these subjects the opportunity to present their results in this way. We have, in different capacities, been involved in organising workshops on the Evolution of the Retail Trade in the Twentieth Century. One in Paris in 2015 and one in Uppsala in 2016. The main reason for organising these two workshops was a feeling that there was a need for more research on twentieth-century retail history; another motivation was to gather scholars from different countries in order to create a discussion of similarities and differences in the development of retailing and its final destination, consumption. The outcomes of these workshops have been gratifying. A number of papers from the first workshop will feature in a special issue of Business History on 'New perspectives on 20th century European retailing' in the near future. Some of them are already available online (

show abstract

The introduction of self-service and the supermarket in Belgium (1945–1975): The soft underbelly of Europe?

Heyrman

2020

History of Retailing and Consumption

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article evaluates how self-service shopping and the supermarket format were introduced in postwar Belgium. Compared to other European countries, this happened quite late. The main locomotives were the country's four major distribution chains. Their leading role can be connected to the involvement of their managers in transfer of retail expertise from the US to Western Europe, clearly preceding governmental efforts to increase retail productivity by promoting the American model. Family-based shopkeeping was deeply rooted in Belgium's predominantly Catholic societal culture. Forging a compromise policy on the modernisation of retail proved to be quite a challenge. In the 1960s government enabled the further expansion of big distribution but also tried to mitigate the transition by stimulating the modernization of independent retail through consultancy and professional training. It also fostered the growth of a so-called 'independent associated retail sector' through franchising and other cooperative networks. At first, this policy seemed to offer viable perspectives. In the early 1970s, however, Belgium witnessed a remarkable upsurge of shopkeeper protest, in part triggered by the concentration of big distribution and the growing impact of its hypermarkets. To guarantee a durable balance between big and small a new legal framework on retail establishment was introduced.

show abstract

Unlocking the padlock: Retail and public policy in Belgium (1930–1961)

Cited by 3 publications

References 27 publications

The historical evolution of the Greek retail trade: a first overview of its organisational-functional and spatial restructuring

The historical evolution of the Greek retail trade: a first overview of its organisational-functional and spatial restructuring

Retail Trade, Consumption, and the Construction of Markets

The introduction of self-service and the supermarket in Belgium (1945–1975): The soft underbelly of Europe?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About