A study carried out by Target Business Advisory Services (TBAS), part of Target Components Limited (co reg. 3113281) a trade only IT distributor.
This study uses data for the technology / office supplies sector to estimate results for the retail sector as a whole.
SUMMARY
BIS population estimates suggest micro-businesses employ twice as many as large enterprises. Judged purely from an employment perspective, this suggests that small businesses are more beneficial than large ones. We wanted to test whether this also applied in the retail sector where small and large retailers are relatively interchangeable.
The results are far more dramatic than we expected. Even a relatively small – say 20% - difference would have demonstrated a clear beneficial impact of small retailers on total employment. The results are way beyond this, suggesting single-store independents employ almost five times more than multiples and almost thirteen times more than online retailers.
On face value, these are compelling figures, but they do throw up some immediate questions; are these results reliable, and what should we do about them?
To read the full report click here
Author: Paul Cubbage TARGET BUSINESS ADVISORY SERVICES Jan 2014
