What happened to Homebase?

What happened to Homebase?

Homebase featured on our High Streets (or more often Retail Parks) for over 40 years, but the name has now disappeared. The BBC Radio 4 programme: Toast covered Homebase recently:  Sliced Bread – Toast – Homebase – BBC Sounds  AMSR can track the...
Did market research save Jilly Cooper’s career?

Did market research save Jilly Cooper’s career?

The news of the sad death of Jilly Cooper brings to mind the report in the Archive on the Sunday Times and other quality newspaper circulation trends in the sixties. This was illustrated by a hand-drawn chart, as this was before the invention of Powerpoint. As can be...
How has Guinness kept its brand fresh for over 25 years?

How has Guinness kept its brand fresh for over 25 years?

When a brand exists in different formats, its owners can apply portfolio management to maximise its fortunes. Examining user patterns for Guinness over a 25-year period, using TGI data held within AMSR, illustrates this perfectly. Guinness has several formats:...
Should cannabis be legalised?

Should cannabis be legalised?

Over the years, there have been calls for cannabis to be legalised or at least downgraded in its classification from the current Class B to Class C (the least harmful). By contrast, there have also been demands, especially recently, that its classification be upgraded...
Are cricket fans bowled over by new formats? (Updated 2025)

Are cricket fans bowled over by new formats? (Updated 2025)

Cricket: Tests and Challenges. The Test Cricket series just ended between England and India is being called one for the ages. For those who had match tickets or who followed from a distance it was very exciting. But the sport’s administrators and followers are...
Has corporal punishment of children been banished?

Has corporal punishment of children been banished?

By parents: Britain is practically alone in Europe in not having legislation banning corporal punishment in the home. Across Europe, 22 countries now have such legislation.  It remains legal in Britain when used by parents “in accordance with reasonable chastisement”....