Sustainability and the development trends of rural retail business in the Czech Republic

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that influence the sustainability of rural grocery stores and to assess the effects of the ongoing consolidation and spatial concentration in rural grocery stores on the accessibility of rural grocery stores in the Czech Republic. In this paper, we start by presenting the continued decline of retail grocery stores in rural areas of the Czech Republic. The decline is seen to be especially severe in villages with fewer than 1,000 inhabitants. By examining official statistics from the Czech Republic and research papers from selected European countries, we see how the rural retail sector is monitored. We demonstrate the very good accessibility of grocery stores for residents of the entire Czech Republic, including residents of small villages. Differences in the external and internal environment of rural grocery stores were identified. Consequently, we also present the preliminary findings of in-depth interviews with rural grocery storekeepers in Southwestern Bohemia. The article ends with a summary of the current situation in rural retail. In policy terms, the research shows that more work needs to be done to identify, quantify, and then promote the advantages of rural retail. External factors influencing rural retail business are the high level of competition, grant programs for rural grocery stores, the relatively short distances consumers have to travel by car or public transportation to modern retail facilities with a wider assortment, better prices, and more attractive shopping space in modern retail facilities. Internal factors that negatively affect a rural retail business are staff with inadequate qualifications and an approach that is not focused on the consumer and his needs, and opening hours and a product range that does not reflect consumer requirements. The contribution of this paper is focused on the sustainability of entrepreneurialism in rural retail.