SUPERSTORES IN WEST GERMANY Available to Purchase

The Loi Royer, intended to restrict the development of hypermarkets in France, received a great deal of publicity when it was passed in 1973. What is not so widely known is that West Germany also has its planning restrictions, notably para 11 of the Regulation on the Use of Buildings. This was amended last October and is regarded by some as providing local authorities with clearer guidelines than had existed previously. But with superstores claiming 12½ of total retail food sales in West Germany in 1977, others regard the restrictions as a case of “closing the stable door after the horse has bolted”. This article is based on information forming part of the report on issues in retailing prepared by Richard Evely for the Anglo‐German Foundation