[Smevo]

From today's Cape Breton Post (http://www.capebretonpost.com/index.cfm?sid=1761&sc=13)

Friday, February 16, 2007

Mayflower Mall ends experiment with Sunday shopping

By By Chris Shannon
the Cape Breton Post

By Chris Shannon

Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — It was a novel idea, but it seems the novelty has worn off.

The Mayflower Mall, Cape Breton’s largest shopping centre, will suspend Sunday shopping beginning Feb. 25, with the only exceptions being the Bay, Staples and Sobeys.

Sunday shopping will resume July 8 and continue until the end of December.

Mall general manager Paul Carrigan said shoppers embraced Sunday shopping last fall and during the Christmas season, but the number of shoppers has dropped off since then.

“It’s been minimal,” said Carrigan, on the number of mall patrons coming through the doors on Sundays so far this winter.

“I think people in Cape Breton spoke their minds during that plebiscite (in 2004).”

The mall’s decision will be reviewed annually, he said.

The plebiscite was held during municipal elections in October 2004, when voters narrowly defeated the Sunday shopping question.

Despite pressure to allow shopping on Sunday, then-premier John Hamm defended the results of the vote and successor Rodney MacDonald continued to do the same until last October.

That’s when a sudden policy change occurred as a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge struck down regulations aimed at stopping Sobeys and Atlantic Superstore from opening seven days a week.

Carrigan said closing the mall on Sundays will boost business Saturday night and Monday.

“We base our decision on potential business and this does give the employees an opportunity to enjoy time with their families.

“(Sunday shopping) was more of a novelty, I think. In the wintertime, the incentive to go out isn’t great.”

Opening the Sunday after Canada Day will allow the more than 65 shops and services to go after the lucrative tourism dollar, Carrigan said.


It’ll also allow the mall to take advantage of its $10-million expansion.

Sport Chek is planning on opening in May, Future Shop shortly thereafter and Winners is expected to open Sept. 20.

Other smaller stores are also moving into redeveloped space in the mall.

[mmmatt]

yeah, i heard about that on the news last night, thats too bad for Capers, I dont know what living without sunday shopping is like lol we have had it in moncton since I can remember

[Haliguy]

I find that kind of weird because the malls in the Halifax area say business is up because of SS.

[Smevo]

Moncton was actually debating scaling it back a couple of years ago as well, mostly started by Highfield Square I think. The increase in Halifax is not surprising, though you'll have to wait a few more months to see if the novelty wears off there as well since year-round started when the Christmas season Sunday openings would have started anyway. In small towns, however, it really is only worthwhile for the Christmas season. We've seen that here in Fredericton since SS started, only the businesses don't have the guts to start closing because they're afraid of losing their leases at renewal time.

Anyway, there's still Sydney Shopping Centre which will be open along with the grocery stores, box stores, and the anchors mentioned in the article. We'll see what happens next year after the expansion is done. The only thing necessary to be open on Sundays are grocery stores, in my opinion, though I wouldn't take the right away from other businesses who were making profit from it as long as the workers were able to opt out of working Sunday's with appropriate notice.

[mmmatt]

Moncton was actually debating scaling it back a couple of years ago as well, mostly started by Highfield Square I think.

lol thats not surprising, Highfield square is about the only retail area in Moncton not doing extreemly well on sundays, I used to work there, and sundays were pretty slack because its mostly seinor citizens that shop there (and they arent usually the big supporters of sunday shopping). We will wait and see what the future holds for highfield, sobeys is making a new store across the street (more then twice the current locations size too :)) so that will be 1/2 anchors gone. The Bay can obviously survive on its own, as its the only one in moncton (perhaps the only in NB?) and its possible The Source may be pulling out...as Circuit City announced recenty that they are downsizing the chain (if any were to go in Moncton it would be that one lol)...anyways, sunday shopping is a staple in Moncton and will never leave, perhaps in Highfield, but that mall is an insignifigant speck retail wise in Moncton.

[skyscraper_1]

It is their choice, as long is the government isn't forcing them to close.

[Smevo]

Very true, but I'll add to that as long as workers aren't forced to work Sundays, which works in theory but not always in practice in smaller centres, especially with the unemployment rate in Cape Breton being what it is (hovering around 15% still).

[someone123]

Workers are never "forced" to work, and plenty of businesses were before on Sundays or 24 hours a day thoughout the week before this change.

I don't think Sunday shopping is a novelty. People simply go out to buy things when they have time and for many that means Sunday, particularly in the city. It is much more convenient and fair than the alternative.

[Smevo]

^You've got a good point, but, I can tell you from my experience in Fredericton that in more than a few cases it's "you don't have to work Sunday, but if I have to hire someone else to work it I'll have to give them some of your hours", and if you leave the job to not work Sunday, you're applying for another job that's hiring for Sundays. Sydney is a lot more like Fredericton than Halifax, though I don't know how many people at Mayflower were working Sundays "against their will" for fear of losing hours, if any.

Sunday shopping is wonderful as long as three conditions are met
- no store is forced to close Sundays
- no store is forced to open Sundays or feels they need to open so as not to lose the lease upon renewal
- no employee is forced to work Sundays or feels they need to so as not to lose hours.

I'm all for Sunday shopping, as long as it's fair to everyone involved.

[bluenoser]

I think this is good for Sydney. Though Sunday Shopping may seem necessary from a consumer/business point of view, I say it's not what is best for people in real life.

I find that kind of weird because the malls in the Halifax area say business is up because of SS.

I don't understand how this could be the case. How can people need more clothes/food/anything just because there's an extra day to shop? The only possibility that I can think of is what was mentioned - the novelty factor, accounting for a slight temporary rise in business. Or people are deliberately shopping on Sundays to justify their position. Then in the long run, profits would be down because it's the same amount of business over more days of being open and paying employees. I think corporations like Wal-Mart understood this and thus weren't pushing for Sunday Shopping (though I understand they also didn't feel threatened by losing out on business).

I also find it funny, this latest push for a 'Family Day' holiday in February, right on the heels of taking away 52 Family Days every year.

[Smevo]

From Thursday's CBPost (http://www.capebretonpost.com/index.cfm?sid=12823&sc=152).

Last updated at 11:52 PM on 21/02/07

Mayflower Mall goes it alone print this article
Other Cape Breton malls will remain open on Sundays


BY CHRIS SHANNON
The Cape Breton Post

By Chris Shannon

Cape Breton Post

SYDNEY — The Mayflower Mall’s decision to close on Sundays beginning next week doesn’t seem to be having a ripple effect across the island.

When Cape Breton’s largest mall made its decision last Thursday, it made news across the province.

Mayflower manager Paul Carrigan said traffic in the mall had been “minimal” since early January. It plans to reopen on Sundays beginning July 8 and remain open until the end of December for the tourism and holiday shopping seasons.

But some malls, including the Sydney Shopping Centre, say since the Nova Scotia Supreme Court swung the door open for shopping on the Christian Sabbath back in October, it’s been a successful venture.

Jim Corbett, manager of the Sydney Shopping Centre, said he hasn’t seen a drop in customers similar to that of the Mayflower Mall.

“I can tell you that’s not the situation here. Nobody here is complaining about the sales on Sundays,” Corbett said.

In introducing the change to Sunday openings last fall, the shopping centre rejigged its hours by opening at 10 a.m. instead of 9 a.m., Monday to Friday. It allowed for five hours of shopping on Sunday, without introducing any additional hours.

At the Port Hawkesbury Centre, they’re watching the Sunday shopping situation closely.

Mall manager Barbara MacKinnon said she was surprised by the Mayflower Mall’s decision.

She said malls typically watch their closest competitors before making a major decision such as eliminating a day of shopping.

“We’re going to wait and see what the Antigonish mall does because they are our closest competitor,” MacKinnon said.

“There is no big rush on Sunday. There are no big crowds. So if the Antigonish mall were to close, then we would follow that.”

Slightly more than half of the Port Hawkesbury Centre’s 21 shops and services currently open on Sunday. MacKinnon said a majority of the mall’s tenants would prefer to be closed, however.

“It affects their sales because these stores are given objectives from their head offices and if they’re given sales objectives (it’s) now spread over seven days. So if they have a slow Sunday if affects their averages for the entire week.”

At the Sydney Shopping Centre, Corbett is quick to point out any shop is allowed to close on Sunday if it chooses to do so.

“There is no obligation under the term of any lease, superseded by legislation, quite frankly, that can compel a tenant to open on Sunday.”

Only a handful of stores, including a financial institution, a travel agency and a optometrist office remain closed Sundays at the mall.


Of note: Port Hawkesbury centre competes on a much lower level than either of the two main Sydney malls. Also, Sydney Shopping Centre is more of a neighbourhood shopping centre than a regional mall, and thus thrives off of pedestrian and bus traffic though the buses don't run on Sunday. However, the buses not running could be encouraging people to walk or take a cheaper cab ride to SSC rather than a more expensive cab ride to Mayflower. Also, SSC has a couple of vacancies that have been vacant for a while, so may be trying to use reportedly successful Sundays as an advertising mechanism to potential tenants. Also of note is that Mayflower has committed to revisiting the issue annually, so they could very well try it year-round again with the new section open and the new traffic-drawing power of the coming tenants. I'm mentioning only the public transporation because since anybody with their own car can come and go how they please, neighbourhood vs regional shopping centre would only be an issue as far as what services were needed.