ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book demonstrate how different national contexts continue to play an important role in shaping retail traditions and practices. It provides an opportunity to move beyond the European/UK/North American perspective of the volume and much of the literature. The book attempts to address the historical contingency of retail phenomenon by placing such activity within its broader economic, political, technological and environmental contexts. It examines retail activity in all its diversity and distinctiveness, but a focus on building and organisational typologies highlights many interesting similarities of retail form across the globe. The book aims to provide both an overview of the history of retailing and an entrée to its many and varied elements. Two notable absences within the volume – China and Africa – have extremely long and diverse retail histories and need to be addressed by further study.
