Trading places: The evolution of the retail sector in the new German Länder since unification |
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| Authors: | Tim Coles |
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| Institution: | School of Geography and Development Studies, Bath Spa University College, Newton Park, Bath BA2 9BN, UK |
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| Abstract: | After unification in 1990 the German government was faced with the task of modernizing the economies of the five new Länder. This process has focused on service sector expansion, particularly the growth of consumer services, which were underdeveloped in the German Democratic Republic. This paper presents a preliminary survey of the impact of the political transition on the structure, organization and spatial pattern of retail services. The new retail sector is characterized by channels of distribution imported from West Germany, uneven development of retail services, and the survival of artefacts from the retail system of the socialist era. Close convergence with levels of retail provision in the old Länder has not been achieved and the changing nature of economic, legislative and political conditions render further expansion problematic. The introduction of legislation to regulate retail growth, the increasingly contested nature of retail change and the complex politics surrounding economic redevelopment in eastern Germany will influence the nature and extent of future retail development. |
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| Keywords: | German unification retailing structure organisation pattern |
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