The changing structure of the retail trade in New Zealand

Abstract

The retail trade in New Zealand is no longer just "the butcher, the baker, and the candlestickmaker", but is a complex structure, changing in response to a variety of processes. Concern is frequently expressed about the changes which appear to be occurring in retailing: firstly, it is generally assumed that the trade is becoming increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few large units, and in the largest cities at the expense of the small retailer and small town - and secondly, within the city, that the central business district is declining and the small "corner store" disappearing as large suburban shopping centres are developed. This thesis will examine the basis for these assumptions, and analyse the structure of the retail trade in terms of concentration, specialisation, and related processes. The analysis will be multivariate in approach. Previous studies in marketing geography have attempted to explain the very complex process of distribution in terms of a few factors: central-place theory has concentrated on spatial arrangements to the neglect of temporal patterns; gravity models stop at population and distance variables; consumer preference surveys overlook the businessman's locational decisions; and few investigators even recognise the organisational aspects - ownership, control, management, productivity and finance. This study will view these factors in the several dimensions of the retail structure: the product-line, the establishment, the firm, and the shopping centre. The latter locational aspects will be dealt with in the second section at both the inter-city and intra-city levels.