ABSTRACT
The recent history of British retailing has seen a marked increase in the scale of operation, resulting from an escalation in the concentration of retail capital, and the increased mobility of the consumer. Allied to the stimulus provided by the decentralisation of the population, these changed circumstances have led to the proliferation of large out-of-town superstores. The retail multiples have pursued aggressive expansion policies with, for example, Sainsbury's investing £188.6 million in site acquisition and development in 1985-6, a year in which they opened fifteen new stores.
