The riots in England definitely had a business side to them. When the mobs gained control of the streets, they went "shopping", looting many retail outlets. Research in Motion, the company behind Blackberry, is working with London police to investigate the use of the Blackberry to incite rioters and identify good sites for looting.
So what were the targets for looters? There's no clear pattern but we can see some brand conscious choices.
The Barclays Bank was one brand targeted. As a symbol of global capitalism, that makes sense. Enough said.
Another was the Money Shop franchise chain of pawnbrokers and providers of pay day loans.
Then there was sportswear retailer JD Sports, very much a youth brand. For the latest in sneakers, they went for Footlocker.
The Tottenham Hotspur ticket office was also targeted. That's a complete mystery. The Spurs have strong working class credentials. Maybe it was Manchester United or Arsenal fans?
But the interesting part is that they didn't book stores. The Economist notes that books are losing out to high-end jeans and Apple-made gadgets. What happened to the time when books were worthy of burning?
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