Retail in London

18 October 2006, City Hall

Seminar summary

Retail has a significant impact on London’s economy. Almost Ł4 in every Ł10 spent by Londoners goes to the retail sector. Retail accounts for around nine per cent of London’s employment making it one of London’s largest sectors.

As a result it is important that in setting policy there is a good understanding of London’s retail sector and its workings. This seminar provided an overview of a wide-ranging body of research into various aspects of London’s retail sector carried out by GLA Economics. As well as this overview, the seminar looked in more detail at the issues of regeneration, competitiveness and logistics.

Speakers

Bill Boler, Director, Underserved Markets, Business in the Community - "Underserved Markets: Using Retail as a catalyst for regeneration"
Bill Boler looked at: barriers for using retail to regenerate areas; what works and what doesn't work; and comparisons in the experience of retail in regeneration between the USA and the UK.

Bill Boler presentation PDF
Bill Boler presentation RTF

Bridget Rosewell, Consultant Chief Economist, GLA Economics
Retailing is a pervasive activity – we all need shops. It is also a business of creating the right mix of material, presented in the right way and in the right location available at the right time. Retailers compete to do this and their success contributes to the overall success of the UK. Measuring how effective this is and evaluating progress is hard and will be the subject of this presentation.

Bridget Rosewell presentation PDF
Bridget Rosewell presentation RTF

Matthew Waite, Senior Economist, GLA Economics
Matthew Waite provided an overview of GLA Economics’ research on the retail sector. It touched on the retail offer in London, how retail in London has changed over time and what the future of retail in London might look like.

Matthew Waite presentation PDF
Matthew Waite presentation RTF

Ian Wainwright, Freight Co-ordinator, TfL Surface Transport
Ian Wainwright introduced TfL’s freight strategy. He outlined the reasons it is required, key proposals of the Freight Plan for London and potential impacts on retailers.

Ian Wainwright presentation PDF
Ian Wainwright presentation RTF

Richard Prothero, Economist, GLA Economics
Richard Prothero looked at the servicing and delivery issues that affect retailers in London including a review of evidence, an outline of current trends and a discussion of retailers key concerns.

Richard Prothero presentation PDF
Richard Prothero prseentation RTF