SHOPPING HOURS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 263, 4 October 1940, Page 5

SHOPPING HOURS

BUSINESSMEN’S VIEWS

In connection with the proposed amendments to the Shops and Offices Act, now before Parliament, it is stated locally that were the hours of shopping in Feilding restricted on Fridays and Saturdays the retailers in Feilding would suffer considerable loss of business, due to the fact that the town enjoys the bulk of its trade oil those two days. Feilding would be more affected by a restriction in the hours of shopping than most towns of a similar size, for the obvious reason that Friday is the day of the stock sale here, and as that important fixture docs not conclude until late in the afternoon any suggestion of the late night hours being eliminated would cause not only loss of business to the shopkeeper but also inconveniences to tlie shoppers from rural areas. Regarding Saturday mornings, oneshopkeeper stated that he did almost as much business then as he does on Fridays. Saturday morning is now a popular time for the paying of accounts by those engaged in trades which do not require their employees to work on that day. Due to the fact that most men are at work during tho hours that the shops are open the shopkeepers seldom see them except on Saturday mornings or on the late shopping night, and if they were deprived of possible business from that large section of the community there was no question that they would suffer hardship. During tho earlier part of the week staffs were not always fully occupied and some of the shops could possibly manage with smaller staffs except -for the rush of business on Fridays" and Saturday mornings. Any restriction in those hours of important trading must result in some employees being displaced by the firms concerned, the informant added.