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Leigh Sparks

I am Professor of Retail Studies at the University of Stirling. I was a geography undergraduate at the University of Cambridge, and completed my Ph.D (on retail employment) at the University of Wales.

I have been professor of retail studies at Stirling since 1992. I was a Visiting Professor at Florida State University, Tallahassee from July 2000 to July 2001, and Visiting Professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville from June to December 2006.

I undertake research into aspects of retailing, mainly for personal curiosity, but also on behalf of public and private clients and for the research councils and other funding bodies, as well as for major retailers. I have authored and edited a number of books, have published over 125 refereed journal articles as well as many practitioner, trade and newspaper pieces.

In 2012-2013 I was a member of the External Advisory Group for the Scottish Government’s National Review of Town Centres and also on the Expert Advisory Group reporting to the Scottish Government on the lessons to be learned from the horsemeat scandal.

I am currently Chair of the Scotland’s Towns Partnership and Chair of IDS Scotland Ltd, the company set up by the Scottish Government to oversee Scottish Business Improvement Districts.

I run a blog on things retail, typically Scottish: www.stirlingretail.com

Britain's ruthless High Street leaves no room for stragglers like BHS

Apr 25, 2016 23:49 pm UTC| Insights & Views Business

Department store BHS has gone into administration after failing to find a buyer. It is a worrying time for more than 10,000 employees and could be viewed as another piece of evidence that the UK high street is in terminal...

Economy

Beyond the spin, beyond the handouts, here’s how to get a handle on what’s really happening on budget night

Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, TV or news websites on budget night. The quickest way to find out what...

Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility

Ivan Vladislavić is Johannesburgs literary linkman. He tells us, in the first pages of his new book, The Near North, that before cities were lit, first by gaslight and later electricity, people of means paid torchbearers...

What if the Reserve Bank itself has been feeding inflation? An economist explains

Heres something for the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia to ponder as it meets next month to set interest rates. It has pushed up rates on 13 occasions since it began its attempt to restrain inflation in May...

China’s new world order: looking for clues from Xi’s recent meetings with foreign leaders

There is broad consensus that Chinese foreign policy has become more assertive and more centralised in the decade since Xi Jinping has ascended to the top of Chinas leadership. This has also meant that Chinese foreign...

How India’s economy has fared under ten years of Narendra Modi

More than 960 million Indians will head to the polls in the worlds biggest election between April 19 and early June. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is seeking a third...

Politics

Labour can afford to be far more ambitious with its economic policies – voters are on board

To say that the Labour party is flying high in the polls is something of an understatement. But despite its consistent lead against the Tories, the opposition finds itself in a rather odd position: on the cusp of power but...

History for sale: what does South Africa’s struggle heritage mean after 30 years of democracy?

One of my favourite statues is the one of Nelson Mandela at the Sandton City shopping centre in Johannesburg. Larger than life, its oversized bronze shoes shimmer in the evening light, polished by the hands of many...

Sudan: civil war stretches into a second year with no end in sight

In the early hours of April 15 2023, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) a Sudanese paramilitary force attacked the military airstrip in the town of Merowe and deployed troops across strategic locations in Sudans capital,...

Turkey’s suppression of the Kurdish political movement continues to fuel a deadly armed conflict

The world has 91 democracies and 88 autocracies. Yet 71% of the worlds population (some 5.7 billion people) are living under autocratic rule, a big jump from 48% ten years ago. This trend towards authoritarianism can...

Georgia is sliding towards autocracy after government moves to force through bill on ‘foreign agents’

Georgias ruling party attempted to pass a controversial bill on foreign agents in March 2023. The law would have required civil society groups and the media to register as being under foreign influence if they receive...

Science

A Nasa rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilised life on Mars

While we go about our daily lives on Earth, a nuclear-powered robot the size of a small car is trundling around Mars looking for fossils. Unlike its predecessor Curiosity, Nasas Perseverance rover is explicitly intended to...

The rising flood of space junk is a risk to us on Earth – and governments are on the hook

A piece of space junk recently crashed through the roof and floor of a mans home in Florida. Nasa later confirmed that the object had come from unwanted hardware released from the international space station. The 700g,...

Peter Higgs was one of the greats of particle physics. He transformed what we know about the building blocks of the universe

Peter Higgs, who gave his name to the subatomic particle known as the Higgs boson, has died aged 94. He was always a modest man, especially when considering that he was one of the greats of particle physics the area of...

Could a telescope ever see the beginning of time? An astronomer explains

The James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST for short, is one of the most advanced telescopes ever built. Planning for JWST began over 25 years ago, and construction efforts spanned over a decade. It was launched into space on...

US media coverage of new science less likely to mention researchers with African and East Asian names

When one Chinese national recently petitioned the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to become a permanent resident, he thought his chances were pretty good. As an accomplished biologist, he figured that news...

Technology

DeepL Unleashes AI-Powered Tool for Business Writing

DeepL is a translation service from Germany, and it announced on Friday, April 26, that it would launch a new tool called DeepL Write Pro. It is an AI-based writing assistant created to help businesses with their writing...

Arthur Hayes Predicts Major Bullish Crypto Market Recovery Signal From US Treasury Department

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, has identified a potential boost for the cryptocurrency and stock markets based on recent U.S. Treasury actions. These actions could inject substantial liquidity, fueling a bullish...

Tesla Cybertruck Spotted in Sydney Sparks Debate: Potential Australian Release?

As the Tesla Cybertruck makes unexpected appearances on the streets of Sydney, speculation swirls about its potential availability in Australia, despite previous doubts regarding its local launch. Tesla Cybertruck...

Hertz to Offload 30K EVs This Year, Deepens Cuts Amid Mounting Fleet Losses

In a recent financial revelation, Hertz disclosed continued losses from its electric vehicle (EV) investments, announcing plans to sell 30,000 EVs this year amid depreciating values and escalating maintenance...

Toyota Motor Launches Trial for EV Pickups in Thailand

Toyota Motor Corporation launched the trial for its electric pickup trucks in Thailand. The Japanese automaker said its pilot project brought nine fully electric Hilux Revo pickups to key Thai market. According to...