No itâs not.
care to elaborate ??
Absolutely not! Let me quantify thatâŠ
For some 35 years I was general manager of a large grocery superstore in the UK, I obviously recall all too well the first legal Sunday trading day.
Yes Sundays are now busy trading days but surprise, surprise soon the weeks takings were no different to 6 day trading! So from a business point of view extra wage bill, extra power bills etc. for the same moneyâŠ
Of course the problem is major retailers donât want competitors to take trade, if one opens the other will also, so thereâs now no going back on Sunday trade in the U.K.
When I managed stores in Australia in the early 80âs in W.A. only stores under 3500sqft could trade on Sundays, absolutely ideal, as this meant the small retailer (most privately owned and hence their choice to trade or not) could make that little extra money and fulfil the needs of the public if they were starving!!!
But the major thing I have against Sunday trade is the enforcement of employees to work it. Contracts now state any 5 out of 7 days by most retailers. Sunday work can destroys the families possibility spend a day togetherâŠ
Love it or hate it, if one does it, they all do it.
Not far from where my daughter lives, there is a road which runs for five kilometres between one Parisian suburb and a major town. The road is anchored one end by a large IKEA, anchored the other end by a large Castorama. Five kilometres of shops and restaurants, all open from ten til eight on a Sunday, all absolutely heaving with people. Central Paris, all open on a Sunday, all heaving with people. Paris was losing far too much business to London, so now everywhere opens on a Sunday. Mr Ebbs is 100% correct, opening on Sunday doesnât create more custom, it simply gives customers another day to spend the same amount of cash.
Iâm in the Trevor boat here; Love it or Hate it. I see arguments for people who work at times that makes it easier to shop on a Sunday. Those that work in them, can make some extra money. But, if they were not open, the people that didnât really want to work, do not have to.
In the days before Sunday openingâŠwe still survived, because it was the normal thing to actually have to think for yourself, and plan foodstuffs.Now itâs all too easy to blame something/someone for your own lack of foresight.
And⊠of course⊠for every shop that stays open on SundayâŠthe back-up has to work on Sunday as well⊠Deliveries and all Support tradesâŠCleanersâŠoh, the list could go on and on⊠like dominoes⊠one âsmallâ happening has major ramificationsâŠ
Living in Germany for most of my adult life I all but missed the explosion in Sunday shopping experienced in the UK. Having the shops open on all Saturday afternoons and after 6.00 in the evening was enough change. I never shop on Sunday mornings in France.
I like for the shops NOT to be open on Sundays - it means you have to do things other than shop.
I also now donât mind closing at lunchtimes - yes it is a different approach to UK but bear in mind many move to France for a different way of life.
Actually that is the BEST reason not to have them opening 
Like Haydn, I worked in retail for 32 years for a company whose name starts with M and ends with S and Sunday trading for us did not see any major increase in profit.
It was costly as it involved unsocial payments to âenticeâ staff to work ( which now has been totally eroded) and the takings were the lowest of the week. If you balanced the cost of running the store and paying for the staff, most Sundays were actually unprofitable but we had to compete with the other retailers. Only time when it proved to be profitable was the weekends leading up to Christmas.
It for me destroys the only day where you can (could) be with your whole family.
Also travelling on Sunday into London, is a logistic pain as the LU normally have weekend travel restrictions due to maintaince work on the line, which meant your journey was longer.
So, No to Sunday Trade.
Martin
Bit late to say no, next phase is la poste collisimo delivering on a Sunday. Eventually it all becomes the same. Same opening hours, same shops all selling the same stuff. Next phase is high streets full of charity shops and coffee shops. Job vacancies in the isle de France have increased by 75% year on year, and the bulk of these vacancies are in warehousing staff, logistics staff and driverâs. Internet business is 24hrs seven days a week, traditional retail has to compete some how or other, or its loads of empty shops and roads chock a block with white vans.
When we first arrived, the only places open on a Sunday were a boulangerie, bar and cafe, and some shops that opened Saturday were closed Monday. Everywhere was closed lunchtime.
OK, took a bit of getting used to, but thatâs what life in rural France is all about.
Now, supermarkets stay open lunchtime (Carrefour, Intermarche) and are open Sunday mornings, many local shops have closed down, and if there is a holiday where the supermarket may be closed half a day in the week then no point going as it seems like the world is ending and everyone is hoarding!
So, no, Sunday opening not a good thing.
BricomarchĂ© is open on a Sunday morning in our nearest town and they do big business judging by their full car park. IntermarchĂ© supermarket next door is now open Sunday mornings too⊠they employ students on the tills and everyone of them I have spoken to are in favour of this. They like the work experience, it helps with future CVâs, and also the money it gives them. As one young man said to me âwhat would I be doing otherwise on a Sunday morning, certainly not going to churchâ.
So, if the staff arenât âforced to workâ and a shop wants to open why not ?
Nine months down the line⊠do you use Sunday Opening ??