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Fixed Assets or Sunk Costs? An Examination of Retailers' Land and Property Investment in the United Kingdom

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  • C M Guy

    (Department of City and Regional Planning, University of Wales College of Cardiff, PO Box 906, Cardiff CF1 3YN, Wales)

Abstract

In this paper I examine the policies of leading multiple retailers in the UK with regards to property development, ownership, and investment. The discussion is set in the context of recent work by Clark and Wrigley in which they seek to relate locational decisions and other elements of corporate strategy to the economic concept of sunk costs. This concept is shown to be relevant to the recent experience of some British retailers which have incurred irrecoverable costs through overpayment for ‘premium’ sites for grocery store development. More generally, property development and ownership have in recent years become important activities for leading retail firms. Policies to separate property ownership and management from the mainstream retail trading function appear to have been successful, but some companies have lost money through overambitious programmes of property development. The conclusion is that, though retail development inevitably incurs sunk costs both at entry and exit, these are for most companies outweighed by the long-term growth of land and property values in the United Kingdom. Sunk costs may therefore be of less significance than in other types of private enterprise.

Suggested Citation

  • C M Guy, 1997. "Fixed Assets or Sunk Costs? An Examination of Retailers' Land and Property Investment in the United Kingdom," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 29(8), pages 1449-1464, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:29:y:1997:i:8:p:1449-1464
    DOI: 10.1068/a291449
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. N Wrigley & F M Dieleman, 1992. "Sunk Capital, the Property Crisis, and the Restructuring of British Food Retailing," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 24(11), pages 1521-1530, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Konstantinos Melachroinos & Nigel Spence, 1999. "Regional Economic Performance and Sunk Costs," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(9), pages 843-855.
    2. N Wrigley, 1998. "Understanding Store Development Programmes in Post-Property-Crisis UK Food Retailing," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 30(1), pages 15-35, January.
    3. T Marsden & M Harrison & A Flynn, 1998. "Creating Competitive Space: Exploring the Social and Political Maintenance of Retail Power," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 30(3), pages 481-498, March.
    4. C M Guy, 1998. "Alternative-Use Valuation, Open Al Planning Consent, and the Development of Retail Parks," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 30(1), pages 37-47, January.
    5. Steve Burt & Leigh Sparks, 2001. "The Implications of Wal-Mart's Takeover of ASDA," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 33(8), pages 1463-1487, August.
    6. Peter Hall & Stephen Marshall & Michelle Lowe, 2001. "The Changing Urban Hierarchy in England and Wales, 1913-1998," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(9), pages 775-807.
    7. Colin J Thomas & Rosemary D F Bromley & Andrew R Tallon, 2004. "Retail Parks Revisited: A Growing Competitive Threat to Traditional Shopping Centres?," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 36(4), pages 647-666, April.
    8. Rachel Poole & Graham Clarke & David Clarke, 2002. "Grocery Retailers and Regional Monopolies," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(6), pages 643-659.

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