Mixed reaction to Sunday trading

An artist's impression of the new mall entrance to Rose City Shoppingworld now under construction. (Courtesy McConaghy Group).

By Jeremy Sollars

Reaction from Rose City Shoppingworld retailers to the announcement Sunday trading will come to Warwick and Stanthorpe next month has been mixed.
As reported online by the Free Times last Thursday major stores in Warwick and Stanthorpe such as Woolworths and Big W will be able to trade on Sundays and public holidays from Wednesday 12 July, following a decision handed down last week by the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC).
The National Retailers Association (NRA) issued a statement last Thursday stating the QIRC had ruled in favour of parallel applications brought by the NRA for the two towns, saying Sunday trading would boost employment, increase consumer choice and support the vital tourism industry in both communities.
The decision followed a week-long hearing in February, which included site visits to each town by the QIRC.
A similar NRA application for Pittsworth was knocked back by the QIRC.
While it’s great news for the major supermarket and other big chains in Warwick and Stanthorpe, smaller retailers in Rose City Shoppingworld are mostly either biding their time on making a decision about whether or not to open on Sundays, or they’re staying mum for the time being.
Most of the national chain stores in the centre declined to comment to the Free Times on their potential Sunday opening plans, saying it would be a “head office” decision and local managers and staff had not yet been advised either way.
Peter Walsh of Rose City Jewellers said they had “not made a final decision” about Sunday trading and would have to weigh up operating and staff costs.
Jake Brown, who owns Mister Minit, told the Free Times he would only consider Sunday trading after the Rose City Shoppingworld extensions were complete.
“I don’t think it would be feasible while the re-build is still going on,” he said.
“I did open a couple of Sundays over last Christmas, but it wasn’t all that beneficial to me.
“But I think when the extensions are finished, it’s something I would look at.
“It’s going to be a fair-sized centre.”
Eyecare Eyewear owner Tom Roger said service-style businesses such as his didn’t benefit hugely from Sunday trading and his store in Dalby – where Sunday trading for major outlets has been in place for the last three years – had never opened on a Sunday.
“I don’t feel there’s enough of a call for it – potentially there may be in the future,” he said.
Other business operators in the centre did comment on the number of tourists and other out-of-towners who are often seen milling around outside the centre on a Sunday and peering in through the doors to see if anything is open.
Comments on the Free Times Facebook page were likewise mixed, with outspoken Warwick real estate agent Darryl Evans predicting smaller retailers could be “squeezed out” by Sunday trading.
“If we have a retail spend of say $5 million a week it just means that retail spend is spent over seven days instead of six,” he commented.
“The winner is big business and the loser is small business unless someone cares to explain where the extra dollars are going to come into our local economy from.”
Free Times follower Jodie McNally was upbeat, saying in her experience with Sunday trading in Bundaberg it had been a positive move.
“We actually found it created more jobs and business,” she commented.
“The shopping centre being open meant smaller shops were able to take advantage, which meant more hours and more business being done.
“It’s also good to go shopping on Sunday – less children running around, less crowded, plus grocery stores tend to discount more.”
Stanthorpe’s Damien Malcolm was likewise in favour, commenting that if Stanthorpe small businesses “choose to use this to their advantage, it could mean accessing a previously untapped market”.
“Many a city tourist wanders around our quiet Sunday main street just looking for somewhere to spend their tourist dollars,” he wrote.
“While there may be some drawbacks, and of course the nay-sayers would be naying regardless, really, I reckon in the grand scheme of things it does have the potential to improve things.”
In her statement last week NRA chief executive officer Dominique Lamb said the QIRC was required to test each application against a range of criteria set out in the Trading (Allowable Hours) Act, including the needs of the community, the potential impact on all types of businesses, and the net effect on employment.
“On balance, the QIRC found that these two applications met the required criteria, and has ruled that large stores will be able to trade on Sundays and most public holidays from July 12,” Ms Lamb said.
“In the case of Warwick, this will also support smaller businesses in the Rose City Shopping Centre to open if they wish to, when previously the centre was closed because the major traders were forced to shut their doors.”
She said the QIRC decision acknowledged independent research by QUT which found 75 per cent support for extended hours in Warwick, with only 22 per cent opposed.
In Stanthorpe the figures were 68 per cent in favour and 26 per cent against.
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