ABSTRACT
In recent years it has become more generally accepted throughout the profession that a shop can provide a valuable extension to the museum’s services. On a national basis, some museums have invested substantially in shop development and sales stock. A number of the larger museums, or those more favourably placed in areas of high tourism, operate well-established shops on true commercial lines producing annual turnovers that would be the envy of many a high-street retailer. By comparison, others perform at much lower levels which make financial and staffing subsidies towards operational costs essential. This latter group at best create a trading surplus, with staff, administration and other overheads being ignored or written off. This is not an uncommon practice in public-sector-managed museums, but many are now progressing towards running retailing operations on a self-financing basis.
