Semester 2 

This module captures contemporary debates on retail strategy and retail space. It is centred around four sites which lie at the heart of our everyday experiences of retailing and consumption at the beginning of the twenty first century – the street, the store, the mall and the home. Short capsule readings – and some video material – will be examined during the course to offer depth and perspective on key issues. These will serve as important springboards for students’ own guided reading in the field 

The module will enable students to place their studies of retailing and consumption within the broader framework of developing theoretical debates in the social sciences and humanities. Lectures and readings will demonstrate how the retail sector can be viewed as an important lens through which to develop a critical understanding of business strategy.  Students will learn to engage with rapidly developing debates in the field, and to develop an awareness of a research literature unfolding as they are being taught. The module will serve as an important stepping stone to postgraduate study or the service sector workplace. 

View the retail industry as an important sector, and see this sector as a useful lens through which to understand aspects of business (especially service sector) strategy (K/C)
Situate their retail management studies within the broader context of debate on retailing and consumption within the social sciences and humanities (K/C). View retailing and consumption spaces as actively produced, represented and contested (K/C). 
Demonstrate knowledge of the developing and contested nature of academic research and writing (C).  Develop their own ideas beyond those conveyed in the prescribed literature, and be able to convey these ideas in written and verbal forms (P/T). 
Relate theoretical academic writing on retailing and consumption to examples of the retail industry on the ground (K/P/T) 

·        Introduction to retail strategy and retail space 
·        Introduction to reading retail and consumption
·        Introduction to group project 
·        The configuration, manipulation and contestation of retail space 
·        Group project guidance 
·        The Street 
·        The Store 
·        The Mall 
·        The Home 
·        Course summary, evaluation and revision 

The teaching and learning strategy is designed to encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning and progress and as an important primer for postgraduate study or the workplace.
The teaching and learning methods include lectures, core readings (as introduction to guided reading outside class), video material, guest speakers. 
Assessment Strategy 
The assessment strategy is designed to assess group and individual skills and to ensure that students are encouraged to perform to the best of their abilities 

Essential Reading 
Wrigley N and Lowe M (2002) Reading Retail: A Geographical Perspective on Retailing and Consumption Spaces (Edward Arnold, London ) 
Recommended Reading 
Wrigley N and Lowe M (eds) Retailing Consumption and Capital: Towards the New Retail Geography (Addison Wesley Longman, Harlow ) 
Background Reading 
Several sections of books and book chapters 
Environment and Planning A 
Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 
International Journal of Retailing and Distribution Management
International Review of Retailing, Distribution and Consumer Research  
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 
Urban Studies