As the Asian community grew, so too did a need for specialist grocers and clothing retailers. In 1962, Kamal Ashgar, a Pakistani, opened a grocer's shop, Asiatic, at Walton Crescent. This supplied halal meat, rice, wholemeal flour, spices and other ethnic ingredients which had been difficult to obtain locally. Two years later, a second shop opened opposite the first, and both continued to do good business.

In 1964, the first Asian shop, Mohammedi Grocers, opened in the Cowley area. It moved to 228 / 230 Cowley Road and became the famous Raja Brothers. These grocery shops, also frequented by West Indians, were a male domain where customers exchanged news and job information.

There has been a steady growth of Asian businesses from the six in 1962, and, by 1990, there were more than a hundred.

Though the initial impetus for the shops was to provide for the growing ethnic community, as well as to provide a business opportunity to their owners, retailing did not remain confined to the ethnic market for long. In fact, apart from a small core of shops which continue to serve this South Asian market, the majority were soon scattered over a wide area of Oxford, catering primarily to the indigenous population.

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