The impact of the demise of department stores on the geography of UK retailing

Purpose The article examines the impact of the closures of department stores on the geography of retailing in the United Kingdom and the supply of shops in different types of shopping centres. Design/methodology/approach A three-step process was adopted to address the task. First, a list of closed department stores was identified. Second, the analysis draws on the CoStar database that provides information on real estate transactions from property agents. For each of the closed stores information was collected on what had happened since the store ceased trading, so whether the unit had been relet, sub-divided, use changed or remained vacant or a combination of these. A third step was the supplementation of this information with searches of news outlets such as the BBC and local newspapers to provide more detail. Findings The findings from the empirical analysis show that large regional centres have coped reasonably well with the demise of department stores, as have retail parks and large out-of-town centres. Nevertheless, there have been some changes of use for these vacant stores, notably to residential and leisure in city centres. Offices have also offered an alternative use. The long-term decline of small centres over decades has been amplified by the closure of their department stores that were probably the largest store in the locality. A high percentage remain empty while others have been converted to other uses, so that a significant majority of former department stores have been lost to retailing in these localities. Given that these stores acted as core attractions to shoppers in these small towns who then also visited other retail businesses, there is an existential crisis of local retail function unfolding for small centres. Originality/value This is the first article that assesses the impact of the widespread closure of department stores on the retail hierarchy. While the research is based on the United Kingdom, the findings almost certainly have a resonance for other countries.