Small retailers slam push by large operators

Sophie Foster, Andrew MacDonald
The Courier-Mail
June 04, 2012

A BID by large retailers to extend trading hours is a fresh assault on the survival of the neighbourhood store, according to owners of smaller shops.

The concerns come after The Courier-Mail on Saturday revealed retailers were renewing their push to expand the hours they are allowed to open.

Major players said the move would help the struggling industry, provide thousands more jobs and help stave off the threat of online retail.

Industry heavy hitters want large retailers in Queensland to be allowed to trade past 9pm on weekdays and 5pm on weekends, in line with most of the country.

But operators of smaller shops fear it will be difficult to survive should the rules be relaxed in Queensland.

“If their trading hours are longer, it will definitely affect our business because customers will think ‘we may as well go and do a proper shop’ because they’re open many more hours,” said Josie Casella, of Josie & Leo’s Convenience Store in Tarragindi.

The corner shop survives by opening at 6.30am and closing at 7pm every day to offer “little top-ups” to people who can’t get to the supermarket or don’t want to tackle larger stores for only a few items.

“I’m finding a mixed reaction,” Ms Casella said.

“Some people can’t be bothered to go in to those shops because it’s such a big drama to get into the car, find a park and get up there when they just want milk. But if the (large stores) were open, customers would have the opportunity to do a big shop instead.”

She said the amount of business that supermarkets took away from small stores was demonstrated on Anzac Day when Josie & Leo’s was “really busy”.

“When you have a public holiday like that when the big stores aren’t open, you go ‘wow, it could be like this all the time’,” she said.

Roz White, who chairs the IGA Queensland/Northern NSW state board and sits on the IGA national council, opposes the push by bigger chains for longer trading hours.

Reduced foot traffic to neighbourhood centres had a significant flow-on effect, said Ms White, who owns IGA stores in Rothwell and on the Sunshine Coast.
“It’s not just the supermarket and independent sector but also all the other businesses that coexist with them in the neighbourhood shopping centres,” she said.

“A lot of these small businesses employ local professionals like their local solicitor, local accountant, they utilise the local bank, so it does actually have a widespread flow-on effect.”