Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Burch, David
• Lawrence, Geoffrey

Titel

Financialization in agri-food supply chains: private equity and the transformation of the retail sector

Ist Teil von

• Agriculture and human values, 2013-06, Vol.30 (2), p.247-258

Ort / Verlag

Dordrecht: Springer-Verlag

Erscheinungsjahr

2013

Quelle

SpringerNature Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The analysis of the financialization of food and farming has tended to focus on issues such as the impact on the productive and input sectors of the food chain, including the role of asset management companies, private equity consortia and other financial institutions in acquiring and managing farmland. However, processes of financialization impact along the whole agri-food supply chain, including the retail and food service sectors. This paper analyses the take-over by a private equity company of Somerfield, one of the UK’s leading supermarket chains, and the impact the subsequent restructuring had on the management and organization of the retailer’s operations. In doing so, the paper not only extends the analysis of the effects of financialization on the food system, but also raises questions about the extent to which the supermarkets are the dominant actors in the establishment and management of agri-food supply chains.