Unlocking the padlock: Retail and public policy in Belgium (1930–1961) KU Leuven
During the inter-war and post-war decades, until the dawn of the 1960s, the Belgian retail sector remained very traditional and overcrowded. In that context literature usually points to the Belgian law of 1936/1937 restricting the expansion of department stores. This chapter outlines the history of this so-called Padlock Law (Loi de Cadenas/Grendelwet), and evaluates its effectiveness and impact. It tries to answer the question as to why the ...