By Jeremy Sollars
Sunday trading would appear to be a hit with Warwick shoppers, if numbers in Rose City Shoppingworld last weekend are anything to go by.
While some of those in the centre may have been there more for a sticky-beak than to spend their dollars, businesses who opened on the first day of Sunday trading last Sunday were generally positive, or at least cautiously optimistic.
Sunday trading for major retailers in Warwick and Stanthorpe was green-lighted in June by the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC).
What it means is that Rose City Shoppingworld and Stanthorpe Plaza can open on Sundays – and public holidays – allowing the big retailers such as Woolworths and Big W to open, along with any smaller retailers in both centres who wish to do the same.
Rose City Shoppingworld businesses generally observed that shopper numbers last Sunday were “higher than expected” but they would keep a close eye on the till-takings ongoing.
Wendy’s franchisee Brad Bowles manned his station by himself and while winter is a quieter time for ice-cream sales he was upbeat about Sunday trading.
“There were plenty of people around in the morning and up to around 1.30pm – more than I had expected,” he told the Free Times.
“I’m really just trialling it at this stage, once people become more aware the centre is open on a Sunday I think we’ll start to see steadier traffic.
“Also I think once the building work is finished more people will come into the centre on a Sunday, there’s still a lot of noise and people like to shop and eat their lunch in peace.”
Red Rooster manager Amanda Politch also said the centre had seemed “busier than expected”.
“It started to quieten down around 2pm but in the morning there was probably triple the amount of people I’d expected to see coming through the centre,” she said.
“We’ll keep opening with the same number of staff on a Sunday and see how it goes.”
Donut King franchisee Paul Scerri said the next two Sundays should be busy for Rose City traders and the food court with the Jumpers and Jazz Festival in full swing.
“It’s up to people if we continue to open – if they’re around we’ll open, if they’re not, we won’t,” he said.
Shopper Jess Martin said Sunday trading for Warwick was “long overdue”.
“I work fulltime, we have two young children and we spend a fair bit of time between Warwick and Brisbane where we have family,” she said.
“So it’s good just to have the opportunity to do the groceries on a Sunday.
“Plus I think once the renovations to the centre are finished we’ll have more variety.”
Rose City Shoppingworld owner the McConaghy Group has said it expects the redevelopment of the centre to be completed by the end of 2017.
Subdued start in Stanthorpe
Other than Woolworths the only retail outlet to open on Sunday in the Stanthorpe Plaza was the Stanthorpe Plaza Newsagency.
A spokeswoman said the passing trade was “steady but not overly busy, pretty much what we expected”.
The newsagency was open from 9am to 2.30pm.
Stanthorpe Quality Meats owner Brad Grogan told the Free Times he was planning to “hang off and see what happens”.
“It could take people six months to finally click that the Plaza is open on a Sunday,” he said.
“I don’t know how the meat trade would go on a Sunday – IGA is open from 6.30am and a lot of people just go in there early and get the shopping out of the way, they’re probably not going to wait for a butcher shop to open at 9am or 10am on a Sunday.
“If I opened it might just take some of my Saturday trade away, I don’t know people have any more money to spend.
“But with the whole carpark there it makes it easier to get in and out and helps with parking in the main street.”
