Retailing in Poland

Most people have two basic ideas about retailing in eastern European countries — firstly that there are lots of queues, and secondly that if you are privileged there are special shops for you (usually taking hard currency). Beyond this there is little knowledge of what the retail scene really is. These vague perceptions have recently been put to the test by Dr Steve Burt and Dr Leigh Sparks of the University of Stirling, who spent a number of weeks in Poland studying and investigating the organisation and structure of Polish retailing. Their trip was made possible by the generous financial assistance of the British Academy/Polish Academy of Sciences exchange scheme. This paper reports on the findings of their study tour.