ABSTRACT
Since the early 1970s there has been dramatic change in the retail environment of Western economies. This is of critical importance to both economies and societies, given the growing significance of the retail sector associated with the shift from an industrial to a post-industrial stage. In the UK, 2.1 million people (almost 10 per cent of the labour force) were employed in retail distribution in 1992 (Employment Gazette November 1992) and the largest retailers are now among the largest companies (Lowe & Crewe 1991). In 1991, J.Sainsbury employed about 95,000 people (Sainsbury 1991), while Marks & Spencer employed about 61,000 (Marks & Spencer 1991). In the USA, even larger organizations are commonplace. Wal-Mart, a discount retail chain, was in 1992 reputed to be the largest retailer, with a turnover of $44 billion from 1,700 stores and a workforce in excess of 365,000 (Financial Times, 3 March 1992).
