ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the German word for shed, schuppe, where goods were manufactured for sale at the weekly market. The original meaning of schuppe or shop persists in terms like workshop. The word schuppe is related to the Saxon term 'chepe', meaning marketplace; a meaning preserved today in English place names like Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire and Eastcheap in London. The supermarkets have squeezed more sales out of their space and staff. Tesco, between 1997 and 2001, increased its annual UK sales per employee from 146,300 to 161,600 and its annual sales per square metre from 211. 20 to 235. 50. There are a number of reasons why consumers have found the supermarket so appealing: wider choice, convenience, the ability to do all the household shopping, food and non-food, under one roof, easy free parking, a reliable brand sold in a well-lit clean shopping environment, to mention a few.
