Food Retailers: Stuck in the Middle?

As the twenty‐first century beckons, the competitive terrain of the UK food retailing industry is set to change. A host of forces signal the need for food retailers to embark on programmes of strategic change in order to find a defendable position within an increasingly competitive industry. Highlights the strategies adopted by successful retailers in Northern Ireland which reflect adaptation to environmental forces. Identifies some of the opportunities which are available to food retailers in other regional centres throughout the UK, together with suggestions for their exploitation through a focus on shopping in provincial towns.