Case Study 2: Sheffield

'A case study of the distribution and variation of retail service provision
and the ways in which such provision is changing within one large
urban area.'



Since 1980, the key change in British retailing has been the rapid
growth of out of town shopping centres. This is one such example.
Key Words are in bold.

Distribution: where it is around the city.
Variation: the type of retail services it offers, e.g. high, low or
middle order goods.
in the past, shopping in Sheffield used to be in the CBD (city
centre). Now, it has moved to the outskirts of the city, where a
large shopping centre called Meadowhall was built.
Reasons for moving:
Economic: shops in the center were too expensive to rent
as land value goes up.
Less Shoppers & a smaller variety of goods and services
Rise of Internet Shopping
Advantages of MeadowHall and its improvements upon
Sheffield's previous shopping district:
great accessibility as close to motorways and therefore large
sphere of influence (the distance from which a service
attracts customers; how far people are prepared to travel to get
there). 9 million people live within an hour's drive of it.
larger variety of shops (high, middle and low order goods) and
entertainment options. also attractive to shoppers due to it
being indoors.
constructed on brownfield site so no green areas were
destroyed.
cheaper rates for renting space - so economic push factor
Negative impacts: impact on the Sheffield city centre, as more
shops move to MeadowHall. Many small businesses suffer and
are forced to close.