RETAIL SATURATION, RETAIL LOCATION, AND RETAIL COMPETITION - AN ANALYSIS OF BRITISH GROCERY RETAILING

The appreciably dramatic idea that British grocery retailing is facing imminent saturation has attracted increasing attention particularly s ince the mid-1980s to late 1980s. In this paper we seek to review and attempt to sophisticate the debate over saturation by providing a deta iled discussion and spatial analysis of current levels of retail provi sion. This analysis, in itself, offers a view of the potential for fut ure retail expansion. We argue here, however, that spatial patterns of retail provision must be interpreted carefully, particularly given th e profoundly different competitive conditions that characterise Britis h grocery retailing in the 1990s as compared with the 1980s. In consid ering both the spatial patterns of, and competitive processes underlyi ng, British food retailing, we offer an account of recent retail geogr aphy in a way that synthesises approaches that are all too frequently presented as antagonistic.