MPC Associates was founded in the U.K. in 1968 by Peter Wynne-James (Educated at Charterhouse School) to advise manufacturers of consumer products on the development of their distribution strategies in line with the changing pattern of retailing. In the following decades MPC became a forerunner in the race for retail success at a time when retailing was rapidly expanding both the in high street and Out of Town.
After a seminar at held By MPC Associates at the Hilton Hotel in London to launch their research film "The Retail Revolution" MPC Associates was contacted by the Chairman of Associated Dairies to research and help launch new Superstores. The new name of ASDA was devised across the UK. This was to become a five year programme to carry out economic development location strategies for all potential Out of Town stores in the UK.
In the early seventies, MPC became known as the leading UK consultancy on European out-of-town shopping and for its site location analyses on behalf of major retail groups in the UK, France and the Netherlands.
MPC subsequently extended its economic research and development planning skills into the leisure industry, creating the concept of the Multi-Activity Family Entertainment Centre. After extensively researching leisure activities throughout the world, MPC developed the concept of the first Multi-Activity Family Entertainment Centre in the world. The concept was designed to fuse retailing elements with leisure activities. Recognising the leisure benefit of integrated retailing to the customer was an enormous step forward for both leisure and retailing industries and was the start of an explosion of consumer spending in a new sector of leisure complexing.
In 1998, MPC decided concentrate on the high levels of Supermarket saturation in the UK and how best to help independent stores and Farmers Markets survive through specialization within cities and towns; and also carried out major consumer market research on the needs of shoppers.
Currently in 2012 MPC Associates have been working on projects to help assist independent retailers to fight competition from Supermarket Groups.