Jon Stobart is Professor of History at Manchester Metropolitan University. His research ranges across a wide variety of topics relating to retailing and consumption in England during the long eighteenth century. Vicki Howard is a Lecturer at the University of Essex and author of From Main Street to Mall: The Rise and Fall of the American Department Store, which won the Hagley Prize in Business History. They are co-editors of the Taylor & Francis journal, History of Retailing and Consumption.
'This compendium provides an unrivalled insight into the development of retailing through the ages. I particularly enjoyed reading the impact of entrepreneurship, innovation and regulation on retailing in countries as diverse as New Zealand and the Netherlands. A must-read for executives, academics and decision-makers who want to understand and improve the wheels of fortune in retailing.' Anne Staal, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands