The last decade has witnessed a clear and steady rise of interest in consumer culture. Many commentators now argue that consumption rather than production is the axis of personal identity and meaningful social action - a standpoint that reverses the traditional view that consumption is an incidental, trivial feature in contemporary culture.

This shrewd and probing book seeks to theorize shopping as an autonomous realm. It avoids the reductionist characteristics of economics and marketing. At the same time it avoids the moralizing tone of many contemporary discussions of shopping and consumption. The book uses an interdisciplinary resource base and comparative data to build-up a convincing analysis of the meaning of shopping

The increasing popularity of online shopping makes Internet retailing a megatrend that cannot be ignored. The collaboration of two co-authors bringing academic rigor and broad consulting experience into the mix, Internet Retail Operations: Integrating Theory and Practice for Managers offers enduring insights on operational issues and principles for the management of internet supply chains. Covering a range of emerging issues supported by a variety of case studies, the book details the evolution of information technology's role in retail supply chain networks, its impact on supply chain networks, and how this has changed service operations. It addresses information technology in relation to service and retail industries, then explores how supply chain dynamics impact traditional service and retail delivery, the costs involved, and customer satisfaction and loyalty. It includes tables, vignettes, and graphs that make the content practical and relevant. As you will learn, many attempts at internet retail do not succeed, some because they fail to appreciate the fundamentals, others may have simply been ahead of their time. Many years of experimentation and growth lie ahead. Drawing equally on theory, research results, and real-world experience, the book provides strategies for overcoming the challenges of building operations capability in the evolving world of Internet retailing.

This fully updated new edition of a respected text retains the original's comprehensive and practical approach to food supply chain management, and introduces a global perspective and a wide range of new material. More than ever, this is the food supply chain management textbook. With an introduction that speaks to academic and non-academic audiences alike, the second edition of Food Supply Chain Management covers all-new topics such as cold chain management, "last mile" logistics, blockchain and traceability in the food supply chain, and the implications of global trade and climate change. Case studies examine the farm-to-table movement, sustainable co-ops, and more, with "quick facts" and mini-cases that are engaging and thought-provoking. This textbook is appropriate for upper-level undergraduate and postgraduate students of agricultural business, natural resources, and food science, as well as supply chain management students. Supporting online materials include lecture slides, test banks, and instructor manuals.

There has been a great deal of recent interest in masculine clothing, examining both its production and consumption, and the ways in which it was used to create individual identities and to build businesses, from 1850 onwards. Drawing upon a wide range of sources this book studies the interaction between producers and consumers at a key period in the development of the ready-made clothing industry. It also shows that many innovations in advertising clothing, usually considered to have been developed in America, had earlier British precedents. To counter the lack of documentary evidence that has hitherto hampered research into the dress practices of non-elite groups, this book utilises thousands of unpublished visual documents. These include hundreds of manufacturers' designs, which underline an unexpected degree of investment by manufacturers in boys' clothing, and which was matched by heavy investment in advertising, with thousands of images of boys' clothing for shop catalogues in the Stationers' Hall copyright archive. Another key source is the archives of Dr Barnardo's Homes. This extraordinary collection contains over 15,000 documented photographs of boys entering between 1875 and 1900, allowing us to look beyond official polarization of 'raggedness' and 'respectability' used by charities and social reformers of all stripes and to establish the clothing that was actually worn by a large sample of boys. A close analysis of 1,800 images reveals that even when families were impoverished, they strove to present their boys in ways that reflected their position in the family group and in society. By drawing on these visual sources, and linking the design and retailing of boys' clothing with social, cultural and economic issues, this book shows that an understanding of the production and consumption of the boys clothing is central to debates on the growth of the consumer society, the development of mass-market fashion, and concepts of childhood and masculinity.

A not-so-quiet revolution seems to be occurring in wealthy capitalist societies - supermarkets selling 'guilt free' Fairtrade products; lifestyle TV gurus exhorting us to eat less, buy local and go green; neighbourhood action groups bent on 'swopping not shopping'. And this is happening not at the margins of society but at its heart, in the shopping centres and homes of ordinary people. Today we are seeing a mainstreaming of ethical concerns around consumption that reflects an increasing anxiety with - and accompanying sense of responsibility for - the risks and excesses of contemporary lifestyles in the 'global north'.

This collection of essays provides a range of critical tools for understanding the turn towards responsible or conscience consumption and, in the process, interrogates the notion that we can shop our way to a more ethical, sustainable future. Written by leading international scholars from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds - and drawing upon examples from across the globe - Ethical Consumption makes a major contribution to the still fledgling field of ethical consumption studies. This collection is a must-read for anyone interested in the relationship between consumer culture and contemporary social life.

The first study of its kind to be published in English, this volume offers a unique contemporary and historical analysis of postwar small-scale industrialization in central and northeastern Italy. Based on a 21-month field study undertaken by the author, "Made in Italy" covers a 100-year time period that encompasses the transformation of central Italy from a poor, agriculturally backward rural society into an important postwar industrial producer of export goods for the world market. Author Michael Blim challenges the widely discussed model for industrial revival proposed by Piore and Sabel in their 1984 study, arguing that forms of labor exploitation rather than technological innovation account for the central-northeastern Italian industrial success. He also challenges contemporary economic policy notions that argue that this kind of industrial success is longlasting and easily replicable in other late-developing regions, asserting instead that the petty entrepreneurial, familial character of the Italian small-scale industrial sector militates against its ultimate durability in a world dominated by transnational corporations.

Blim starts from the premise that the rapid postwar economic development in the towns of central and northeastern Italy was the culmination of a century-long process of radical social change. Taking the shoe industry as an example, Blim shows how postwar entrepreneurs, accustomed to an economic system based on family enterprises, created an innovative local production system utilizing the cooperation of highly specialized firms. Although the enterprises enjoyed remarkable success, Blim demonstrates that profits depended greatly upon the exploitation of secondary labor populations, and the use of undocumented labor, facts usually ignored in other treatments of central-northeastern Italian economic development. Organized into three sections, the study first analyzes social and economic life between the Unification of Italy and the end of World War II. Subsequent chapters discuss the rise of the new industrial order and its labor process, describe the social and political consequences of postwar development, and offer the author's conclusions. Students of economic development, anthropology, and sociology will find this an important counterweight to studies that fail to assess the sometimes deleterious effects of postwar industrialization.

In the debate over the treatment of China in trade remedy investigations, this book focuses exclusively on anti-subsidy law. As such, it brings a long neglected and often underestimated area of international trade law to the fore.Exploring the delicate relations between the WTO, the EU and China, it focuses on the current legal framework for the use of alternative benchmarks in anti-subsidy law and analyses the consequences that arise from its practical application in investigations against China. Scrutinizing recent developments in WTO anti-subsidy law, in particular the adoption of country-specific rules in accession protocols, the book reveals the shortcomings of the current approach and argues for fundamental reforms. Accordingly, the book provides academics and practitioners alike with vital insights into the legal evolution and practical application of alternative benchmark methodologies in the context of WTO and EU anti-subsidy law, while also putting forward a critical analysis of the status quo.

This book examines the challenges that ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members need to overcome in order to sustain and intensify economic growth. The ASEAN market is widely regarded as a new hub of growth, not least in light of increasing protectionism and declining economic growth of the three largest countries in Northeast Asia (China, Japan, and South Korea). Contributors address a range of issues with a concentrated focus on evidence from Indonesia, including globalisation, increasing populism, trade, FDI, the benefits of the production network, and related issues such as spill-over, crises, innovation and technology, and selected sectoral commodity and policy analysis of Indonesia. This book analyses and explains the relationship between trade and foreign direct investment, and technical changes, with regard to improving 'productivity' in the supply-side economic growth model using, in particular, Indonesia as the de facto leader of ASEAN. This book will be of interest to academics and students specialising in international economics and international development.

This book evaluates Country of Origin (COO) research from new critical perspectives, providing insights on how COO shapes both consumer behaviour and business trends, and how marketers can overcome or take advantage of COO in their strategies. The contributors explore a variety of strategies for utilising Country of Origin, including how country image can influence market entry positioning strategies, and how brand heritage can be utilised as a communication tool. There is also a study of what percentage of online products require COO identification, and whether this percentage correlates to customer satisfaction. Several contributors look at consumers' preference for food in relation to COO and authenticity, and further chapters explore the impact of consumer identification with a nation on how they evaluate brands. As Country of Origin is increasingly evaluated by consumers and used by marketers to safeguard locally-owned products, this book will be of interest to those studying the relationship between country-authentic brands and their promotion in the global marketplace. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Promotion Management.

In the context of widespread precarity and ongoing crises, it is no surprise ruins have captured much attention in recent years. This book is about a new kind of space, one that is deeply troubling for consumer society: the retail ruin. Jacob C. Miller bridges human geography, archaeology and critical urban studies to offer a starting point for conceptualizing retail ruins. Drawing on fieldnotes and photographs, Miller crafts a hauntological approach informed by the theories of Walter Benjamin and Jacques Derrida to more recent thinking on assemblage, spectacle and the politics of urban space.

This book analyzes the current economic situations in African countries at the local, regional, and national level. It examines the growing interest from developed and developing countries to invest in Africa and their different reasons for doing so, which aren't always aligned with the interests of African countries. Growth in African GDP has benefitted mainly multinational corporations while the rest of the population remains at the subsistence level, creating a smaller middle class and less opportunity for local businesses to flourish. This book offers potential models of cooperation which could create added value for both African countries and the MNCs investing in them.

Having toppled the bookselling giants on-line, Jeff Bezos is now leading Amazon.com
its list, not to mention a makeover for the web's most recognisable site, is Amazon
pushing its luck or positioning for the future of e-commerce? The so-called 'market
correction' has questioned the future of e-retailing, but for Amazon the future is still
bright.
Now completely updated for this new edition, Business the Amazon.com Way shows
how Jeff Bezos is leading Amazon into the harvesting phase, promising a great ride for
investors, a great experience for shoppers and a model for entrepreneurs and business
leaders everywhere.

Jim Rouse: Capitalist/Idealist is the story of a very special businessman. A successful capitalist a real estate developer Jim Rouse led his life as a practicing idealist. He sought to help people enrich their lives. He wanted people to live in an enjoyable environment and to experience the joy in caring for each other. But he knew that to raise the capital to accomplish those goals his companies had to be profitable. As an enthusiast of urban renewal, he worked to rid core downtown areas of American cities of blight and despair. He created indoor malls in the new post-war suburbs that would be focal points for community life. He developed a whole new city Columbia, Maryland to show what an American city could be like. For one thing, it would be a city totally integrated racially, a city in which anyone could buy or rent on any street. In retirement, Rouse founded the Enterprise Foundation to produce profits that would be used to provide the poorest of Americans with a decent place to live. Rouse was one of America's first practitioners of social enterprise.

Whilst there has been much recent scholarly work on retailing during the early modern period, less is known about how people at the time perceived retailing, both as onlookers, artists and commentators, and as participants. Centred on the general theme of perceptions, the authors address this gap in our knowledge by looking at a different aspect of consumption. They focus on two ancillary themes: the first is location and how contemporaries perceived the settlements in which there were shops; the other is distance. Pictures, prints, novels, diaries and promotional literature of the tradespeople themselves provide much of the evidence. Many of these sources are not new to historians, but they have not been scrutinized and analysed with the questions in mind that are posed here. The methodology to be employed has been developed by Nancy Cox over the last decade, and is used successfully in her book The Complete Tradesman and in the compilation of the forthcoming Dictionary of Traded Goods and Commodities 1550-1800. This book will find a ready market with scholars concerned with British social and economic history in the early modern period. Although it is first and foremost a book written by historians for historians, it nevertheless borrows concepts and approaches from various disciplines concerned with theories of consumption, material culture and representational art.

Addressing the current dearth of available literature on this topic, the editors use a range of international case studies to explore street vending and informal economies which continue to be, especially in developing countries, a vital economic driver.

This volume collects essays from authors around the world about the markets and vendors they know best, including studies of USA, China, Mexico, Turkey. The contributors speak of the struggles that vendors have faced to legitimize their activity, the role that they play in helping societies adapt to and survive catastrophes as well as the practical roles that they play in both the local and global social and economic system.

As well as highlighting the importance of street markets as a phenomenon of interest in itself to a growing body of scholarship, this study demonstrates how an analysis of street vending can provide insights not only into economic anthropology, but also urban studies, post modernism, spatial geography, political sociology and globalization theory.

An important contribution to our understanding of the distribution of retail activities, particularly within cities, this book provides a critical review of the literature on the subject. It points out the major general propositions concerning retailing from the geographical point of view, and identifies key research problems, which need to be examined in order to push forward the frontiers of this sub field of economic geography. It presents a major critique of the central-place model, which has came to hold an important place in the methodology of economic geography, and clearly and decisively shows the model to be static, deterministic, retrospective and of little value for predictive purposes.

Scott also shows with regard to the question of the hierarchy of shopping centers (a major facet of central-place thought) that the methodology employed to identify these hierarchies rests on restricted theory, imperfect data, incomplete measures, and arbitrary decisions. Although he recognizes the value of some of the work associated with the central-place syndrome, the author presents the first effective antithesis to its beguiling and simplistic appeal. He argues that the geography of retailing cannot be understood without reference to the organization of retailing as an economic and social activity and complex patterns of consumer and entrepreneurial behavior, none of which are dealt with in central-place studies.

Distinguished by clarity of presentation objectivity of analysis and breadth of inter-disciplinary interest, this is the only book that covers the geography of retailing substantively and methodologically. This book is jargon and mathematics free, and contains the most complete bibliography on the geography of retailing available in a single volume the book. It will be of value to all social scientists concerned with retailing as a major activity, particularly in modern societies. It may be used as a basic or supplementary text for courses in economic geography, marketing and retailing.

"Peter Scott" is a recognized expert in the geography of retailing and the economic geography of cities. He is engaged in continuing research in these areas and has worked in South Africa, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

This book provides a uniform and coherent approach to the analysis of distribution systems in general and retail systems in particular. It develops the fundamentals of retail demand and supply, and demonstrates how the provision of distribution services is a principal determinant of economic outcomes in retail exchanges for both retailers and their customers, as well as for other agents such as suppliers and franchisors. The author integrates the existing literature with new applications to provide novel insights into the multi-product nature of retailing, the service aspects of packaging, and the evolution of retail formats such as supermarkets, non-store retailers (including the Internet) and shopping centers. He illustrates how the complementarity that underlies retail activities leads to lower average prices for customers. This integrative process also brings out the role of distribution services as mechanisms to exercise economic power. This is evident not only in channels of distribution but in the evolution of Wal-Mart and the development of franchise contracts. The author also identifies the crucial differences between the retailing of goods and the retailing of services. This impressive volume skilfully integrates conceptual, theoretical and empirical research to analyse critical issues in the economics of retailing and distribution. It will be required reading for academics and professional economists interested in industrial organization, marketing, applied microeconomics and business.

Fashion buying and merchandising has changed dramatically over the last 20 years. Aspects such as the advent of new technologies and the changing nature of the industry into one that is faster paced than ever before, as well as the shift towards more ethical and sustainable practices have resulted in a dramatic change of the roles. As a result, contemporary fast fashion retailers do not follow the traditional buying cycle processes step by step, critical paths are wildly different, and there has been a huge increase in 'in-season buying' as a response to heightened consumer demand. This textbook is a comprehensive guide to 21st-century fashion buying and merchandising, considering fast fashion, sustainability, ethical issues, omnichannel retailing, and computer-aided design. It presents an up-to-date buying cycle that reflects key aspects of fashion buying and merchandising, as well as in-depth explanations of fashion product development, trend translation, and sourcing. It applies theoretical and strategic business models to buying and merchandising that have traditionally been used in marketing and management. This book is ideal for all fashion buying and merchandising students, specifically second- and final-year undergraduate as well as MA/MSc fashion students. It will also be useful to academics and practitioners who wish to gain a greater understanding of the industry today.

In this work John Bone provides a lively and engaging insight into the social world of direct selling organizations. He investigates these under-researched organizations via a detailed ethnography of two home improvement companies selling products such as fitted kitchens, double glazing and conservatories, as well as developing wider sociological debates on trust and interaction. These organizations tend to be loosely ordered and internally competitive collectives whose sole aim is to maximize short term profits through sales strategies that routinely employ the calculative exploitation of consumer norms and expectations. John Bone uses his findings to argue that amid the wave of increasing deregulation and liberalization that has supplanted the planned and regulated form of capitalism that predominated until the 1970s, such conditions are now becoming prevalent in mainstream contemporary organizations, threatening to unleash a latent disorder that underlies the rationality of 'modern' business.

The retail industry is under significant pressure. Not only are retailers grappling with rising costs, but they are trying to keep up with rapidly changing consumer behaviours, technological advancements and ever-increasing competition. To win, retailers today have to learn how to serve customers equally well both on and offline. This means integrating the physical seamlessly with the digital and creating something that is flawlessly omnichannel as, more than ever, customers are seeking convenient, personalized and unified shopping experiences, regardless of when or where they choose to engage. An omnichannel approach to retail delivers the potential to boost footfall, enhance customer insight, improve service, grow loyalty and ultimately drive sales. Omnichannel Retail serves as a practical guide for businesses on how they can better serve customers to fuel their growth by harnessing the opportunity that being digitally enabled and data-driven brings. This fully updated new edition explains how to build engaging loyalty schemes, deliver personalized marketing and how to maximize the power of customer data. Featuring case studies from omnichannel leaders worldwide such as Asda, Woolworths Australia, Target and Pret A Manger, this book provides tangible and proven examples of how retailers can capitalize on the opportunity that our hyper-connected and always-on world presents.

How has the activity of shopping changed over the centuries? And what does it tell us about the lives and interests of people living within different cultures? In a work that spans 2,500 years, these questions are addressed by 55 experts, each contributing an overview of a theme applied to a period in history. With the help of a broad range of case material they illustrate broad trends and nuances of the culture of shopping from antiquity to the present. Individual volume editors ensure the cohesion of the whole and, to make it as easy as possible to use, chapter titles are the same across each of the volumes. This gives the choice of reading about a specific period in one of the volumes, or following a theme across history history by reading the relevant chapter in each of the six. The six volumes cover: 1 - Antiquity (500 BCE to 500 CE); 2 - Middle Ages (500 to 1450); 3 - Early Modern Age (1450 to 1650); 4 - Age of Enlightenment (1650 to 1820); 5 - Age of Revolution and Empire (1820 to 1920); 6 - Modern Age (1920 to 2000+). Themes and chapter titles are: Practices and Processes; Spaces and Places; Shoppers and Identities; Luxury and Everyday; Home and Family; Visual and Literary Representations; Reputation, Trust and Credit; and Governance, Regulation and the State. The page extent for the pack is approximately 1,700 pp. Each volume opens with Notes on Contributors and an Introduction by the Volume Editor and concludes with Notes, Bibliography and an Index. The Cultural Histories Series A Cultural History of Shopping is part of the Cultural Histories Series. Titles are available both as printed hardcover sets for libraries needing just one subject or preferring a one-off purchase and tangible reference for their shelves, or as part of a fully searchable digital library available to institutions by annual subscription or on perpetual access (see www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com).

* A perfect guide for marketing and sustainable procurement and supply chain professionals in large companies, local authorities and governments and NGOs globally. * Can be used as a supplementary text on postgraduate and advanced undergraduate courses aimed at responsible marketing and procurement. * The book can be used internationally - ethical buying and selling behaviours are proliferating in almost all countries of the world. * Written by a leading authority on ethical consumption.

From the Civil War through the Great Depression small businessmen and their stores dominated retailing in nearly every city and town. Within the walls of their shops, grocers wrestled with fundamental changes in the structures of industrial and commercial capitalism, including the development of mass production, distribution, and marketing, the growth of regional and national markets, and the introduction of new organizational and business methods. Yet today we know very little about the considerable achievements of these small businessmen and their corner stores and even less about their major contributions to the making of "modern" enterprise in the United States. Popular stereotypes of Rockwellian storekeepers as avuncular men who prevailed over pickle-barrel conversations and checkers games, have characterized grocery retailers as backward and resistant to modernizing impulses. Cornering the Market challenges these conventions to argue that nineteenth- and early twentieth-century grocers were important but unsung innovators of business models and retail technologies that fostered the rise of contemporary retailing. Small businessmen revolutionized business practices from the bottom by becoming the first to own and operate cash registers, develop new distribution paths, and engage in transforming the grocery trade from local enterprises to a nationwide industry. Drawing on private thoughts from storekeepers' diaries, business ledgers and documents, and the letters of merchants, wholesalers, traveling men, and consumers, Spellman shows how proprietors confronted industrialization by crafting solutions centered on notions of efficiency, scale, and price controls, without abandoning local ties, turning social concepts of community into commercial profitability. It was a powerful combination businesses from chain stores to Wal-Mart continue to exploit in the twenty-first century.

Praise for the first edition: 'Accomplishes its task to provide readers with a broad multi-disciplinary view on globalization's many impacts on Latin America ... the organization of the collection is logical and thoughtful, and the structural perspectives offered are convincing and powerful. I recommend it to other Latin American social scientists.' Growth and Change 'An impressive, timely and lively volume, which is especially valuable for teaching purposes.' Journal of Latin American Studies 'Authoritatively written by leading scholars in their respective fields.' Area Latin America Transformed, 2nd Edition explains the region's economic, political, social and cultural transformations, its association with globalization and the search for modernity, and contributes to a greater understanding of how these transformations are affecting the people of Latin America. Using a political economy approach to unravel the concepts of globalization and modernity within Latin America, emphasis is placed on interpreting the macro-level structures that frame the transformations taking place. The book also investigates the dynamics of people's livelihoods as they make sense of, rework and live out these structural transformations. The international team of authors involved with the successful first edition have updated their focus and substantially rewritten their material to examine the challenges facing Latin America in the twenty-first century. Three completely new chapters have also been added. Latin America Transformed, 2nd Edition is now even more useful for undergraduate and postgraduate courses that examine economic, political, social and cultural change in Latin America.

The book is made distinctive by the presentation of practitioner insight allied with academic underpinning to create a powerful new framework of unusual breadth and depth. The book communicates contemporary retail thought from the perspectives of both senior international retailers and expert observers. It is structured around four sections: * Section I: retailing in an international context * Section II: chapters from faculty at Templeton College in Oxford outlining the key issues with review questions, discussion topics, assignments and further reading. * Section III: A unique series of in depth interviews with senior executives in the world's major retailers conducted by the Oxford Institute of Retail Management. Each case is backed up by company and sector information to demonstrate the changing retail and global environment. * Section IV: A summary and overview with further exercises assignments and recommended reading.The book is an innovative and highly effective new text for both students and executives needing to understand the complexities of the latest global developments and thinking. * Dual focus, with firm conceptual context supplied in the introductory essays and practitioner insight provided by the case studies. * Includes a range of learning features to help you test your knowledge and develop your thinking. * Talented contributor team offer rigorous and far-reaching analysis of the issues and case histories. Combining practitioner insight with academic background, this book offers a useful framework on retail strategy with unusual breadth and depth. It communicates contemporary retail thought from the perspectives of both senior international retailers and expert observers.