British finance minister George Osborne's plans to relax Sunday trading laws has evoked mixed reactions in the country. The chancellor, in his budget statement announced a consultation on easing the Sunday trade rules, to local mayors and councils, potentially allowing retailers to compete better with online rivals.
He said, “To give more power to counties and to our new mayors, we are going to give them the power to set up the Sunday trading hours to in their areas.” Huge market retailers are ecstatic with the move and said the “change is welcome”. New West End Company chief executive Richard Dickinson said, “Retailers in the West End and Knightsbridge welcome the Government’s commitment to review Sunday trading and the opportunity for some greater flexibility on trading hours. Retail is an economic driver for central London with over £10 billion spent in the two international retail areas each year and we must be able to compete globally and reflect changing shopper trends, particular by giving international tourists the opportunity to shop when they want.
An extra two hours trading on Sunday would boost central London businesses by £260 million each year and provide over 2,000 additional full-time jobs.”
Hammerson's David Atkins reasoned, “With nearly 2,000 stores across Hammerson’s regional portfolio of UK shopping centres and retail parks, we believe that the relaxation of opening hours will offer retailers more flexibility and give consumers greater power to choose where and when they shop. The reforms will also bring Britain into line with other international retail markets and address the imbalance between physical and online retailing.”
However, not all market players are keen on the decision, businesses like Tesco and Sainsbury's were less enthusiastic as they argued they have huge convenience estates and are seemingly less keen to keep costly big stores open for longer. Sainsbury's said it regarded the current set-up as “a sensible British compromise” which works for both customers and employees. “Inevitably the competitive landscape would lead to us opening our superstores for longer on a Sunday.”
The most affected with the proposal are the small businesses, owned largely by the Asian communities, particularly those from Gujarati-Indian origins as they realised the relaxation of the law will do them no good. Industry lobby group, the NFRN, said the changes would cause chaos for consumers and damage the independent retail trade, while The Association of Convenience Stores said research showed fewer than one in 10 people wanted to see the rules abandoned.
The Association of Convenience Stores slammed the move, claiming that some small shops could suffer. ACS chief executive James Lowman said, “We are extremely disappointed that this Government has failed to keep its promise to thousands of independent retailers on Sunday trading.”
“Current Sunday trading rules are a popular measure with the general public, with fewer than one in ten people wanting to see the rules abandoned. The plans outlined today will serve only to displace trade from small stores into larger stores, and could make many small stores operating on the edge of profitability unviable. ACS will fight this unnecessary, complicated and harmful plan and will campaign throughout the year to ensure that our existing Sunday trading rules are retained.”
