Retail supply and demand in a system under transition: The case of Israel

The paper examines organizational and spatial responses of metropolitan retail trade in Israel to increases in demand. Since the late 1960s until 1984 Israel enjoyed continuous increases in incomes, rates of car ownership and dwelling sizes. These coincided with a suburbanization of population in the metropolitan areas of Tel-Aviv and Haifa. Consequently, there developed four new forms of retailing, namely ribbons in industrial areas, factory retail outlets, hypermarkets and shopping malls. Locational and other characteristics of these forms of commerce are discussed. Special criticism is pointed at an undifferentiated evolution of ribbons and outlets. I wish to thank Ms. Naomi Elad and Mr. Moshe Schmerler for field work in metropolitan Haifa and Tel-Aviv respectively.