Written By Adam Beardmore - · PDF fileThe question I have put forth comes from a proven theory made by Bowen and ... Central Place Theory made by Christaller in 1933. This theory

Written By Adam Beardmore

Contents: Introduction Page 3 Location Of Acocks Green In U.K. Page 5 Hypothesis Page 6 Methodology And Data Collection Page 7 Questionnaire Analysis Page 8 Collection Day Timetable Page 9 Planning Sheet Page 10 Analysis Of Sphere Of Influence And Floor Space Page 11 Calculation Of Floor Space Page 12 Sphere Of Influence Map For Safeway Page 13 Sphere Of Influence Map For Aldi Page 14 Sphere Of Influence Size Calculation For Safeway Page 15 Sphere Of Influence Size Calculation For Aldi Page 16 Analysis Of Reasons For Shopping At Each Supermarket Page 17 Analysis Of Supermarket Prices Page 18 Analysis Of Important Reasons For Shopping At Each Supermarket Page 19 Analysis Of Pedestrian Flow Page 20 Conclusion Page 21 Accuracy And Reliability Of Sample Page 21 Limitations Of Methods Used Page 22 Limitations Of My Conclusions Page 22 Amendments For Future Reference Page 22 Bibliography Page 23 Acknowledgements Page 24

Images And Diagrams: Aerial Photo And Pictures Of Supermarkets Page 3 Maps to Locate Acocks Green In The U.K. Page 5 Diagrams To Calculate Supermarket’s Floor Space Page 12 Diagram To Illustrate The Sphere Of Influence Of Safeway Page 13 Diagram To Illustrate The Sphere Of Influence Of Aldi Page 14 Diagram To Calculate The Size Of The Sphere Of Influence Of Safeway Page 15 Diagram To Calculate The Size Of The Sphere Of Influence Of Aldi Page 16 A Graph To Represent Reasons For Shopping At Each Supermarket Page 17 A Graph To Represent Important Factors When Choosing A Supermarket Page 19

Chapter 1: Introduction

The aim of this investigation is to investigate how the Sphere Of Influence of two very similar supermarkets is related to their floor space. I am likely to study two similar supermarkets of different floor space that sell similar Low Order Goods. At the centre of this project is the Sphere Of Influence. The basic definition of the Sphere Of Influence made by Bowen and Pallister (1999) is “The area served by a settlement, sometimes called its catchment area or hinterland.

This basic idea is to be applied to the retail-outlets, as a logical progression from

the theory that applies to settlements. The question I have put forth comes from a proven theory made by Bowen and Pallister (1999). They write “the larger the settlement the greater the number and variety of shops and services and therefore the wider the area people will come from to use the centre.” I have taken this theory one step further and believe that it will also be true that the floor space of an individual supermarket will be an indicator of it’s Sphere Of Influence.

I am planning on doing the fieldwork in Safeway supermarket on the Warwick

Road, and Aldi supermarket on the Warwick Road, in the centre of Acocks Green. Both are within a mile of each other, and Safeway sells similar goods to Aldi, but are much larger and therefore they both fit the specification made at the start of this chapter, in that they are similar and competing, but one is visually larger. Therefore I think that these two supermarkets, which are situated close to each other, (see map below), are suitable to study in my project.

The maps on page 5 show the location of the supermarkets in Britain. From the

map it can be seen that both supermarkets are in similar locations relative to the centre. The map shows that although Aldi is slightly further from the centre, neither is exactly in the centre and therefore the location of the supermarkets is unlikely to be important as neither is outside the rows of shops.

I am now going to give details about the meaning of the phrase Sphere Of

Influence. The following points are made by Waugh (1999) and are based upon Central Place Theory made by Christaller in 1933. This theory is for settlements and is not for the Sphere Of Influence of a retail outlet.

1. The larger the settlements are in size, the fewer in number they will be – i.e.

there are many small villages, but relatively few large cities. 2. The larger the settlements grow in size the greater the distance between them

– i.e. villages are usually found close together while cities are space much further apart.

3. As a settlement increases in size, the range and number of its functions will

increase.

4. As a settlement increases in size, the number of high order services will also increase – i.e. a greater degree of specialisation occurs in the services.

I am now going to define what I mean by high order and low order goods. A

low order item is an item that is bought regularly such as bread, and generally people are prepared to travel less distance to purchase such items. A high order item is an item that is purchased infrequently such as furniture and generally people are prepared to travel a greater distance for such items.

Chapter 1: Hypothesis As I am making a logical progression from the theory made by Bowen & Pallister (1999) which is “the larger the settlement the greater the number and variety of shops and services and therefore the wider the area people will come from to use the centre”, my hypothesis is:

• The larger the supermarket, the larger the sphere of influence. I am also going to study other factors that may affect the sphere of influence so that if my hypothesis is wrong, I can attempt to find some reasons why it is wrong

Maps To Locate Acocks Green In The U.K.

A Map To Show The Location Of The West Midlands In England

The Location Of The Birmingham Conurbation In The West Midlands

The Location Of Birmingham In The Birmingham Conurbation.

The Location Of Acocks Green In Birmingham

The Location Of Warwick Road In Acocks Green The Location Of Acocks Green Island On The Warwick Road

A Street Map Of Acocks Green An Aerial Photograph Of Acocks Green Highlighting The Supermarkets