Day of Rest

---

One Westfield store keeps its doors shut on Sundays

As the crowds descended on Westfield last Sunday for a pre-Christmas shopping trip, one store in the 265-shop emporium kept its doors firmly shut.

 

Shunning the 24/7 shopping culture, the owner of The Entertainer toy store, in Westfield’s southern corner, says Sunday opening is against his principles.

 

“I’m a Christian,” says Gary Grant, who jointly owns the 27-year-old business with his wife. “We run the business along Christian principles and believe Sunday is a day of rest so our staff can have a family day. If they have Wednesday off, it doesn’t give the same opportunity. Families are important to us and our staff need a day to recover,” he said.

Nobody in the business, which comprises 47 stores, works on a Sunday. “You can spend money on our website on a Sunday but it won’t get packed on a Sunday,” Grant said.

 

Westfield advertises itself as opening from 12pm – 6pm on Sundays and Grant says they wanted The Entertainer to stay open. But, for him, this wasn't an option and even the current financial climate won’t change him: “I won’t compromise what I believe to make my business viable,” he said. “The number of hours you work doesn’t necessarily deliver success. Where we have taken over other shops, we trade higher in six days than the previous retailer took in seven days.”

He says his Christian beliefs also have an impact on what type of toys he stocks: “We don’t stock Halloween products or Harry Potter because we don’t feel spiritually comfortable with them,” he said. “There are occult-type issues in Harry Potter and Halloween is a pagan festival.”

 

Under the 1994 Sunday Trading Act, shops are allowed to be open for six hours on a Sunday. According to Keep Sunday Special, which campaigns against Sunday trading, a poll earlier this year showed that “88% of people did not notice, did not did not realise, or were not bothered at all by big shops being closed all day on Easter Sunday”.

 

In Westfield last Sunday, however, shoppers did notice and many were bothered.

“I wanted to buy a toy for my Godson,” said one disappointed shopper. “I don’t really care about the religious aspect – it’s inconvenient. When everyone else is open, it is annoying that they are closed. I came specifically to buy toys.” 

A continual stream of people approached The Entertainer, saw that it was closed and hovered, confused, next to the door before moving on. However, nearly all said they would return.

 

“If this is their belief, I respect that,” said one man after we told him why the shop was closed. “I’m Jewish and some Jewish stores don’t open on Saturdays. It’s fair enough. If they’re closed, I will come back another day.”

“I’m a Christian and I’m still shopping,” snapped one woman out with her two young daughters. When asked if she would come back she said: “Of course!”

 

But two shoppers who had come from Hanwell to buy toys said they may not return: “Sometimes Sunday is the only day you can shop when you’re working Monday – Friday. We don’t know if we’ll get the chance to come back again before Christmas,” they said.

Westfield say they respect The Entertainer's decision to stay closed on Sundays: "Sunday is always a popular shopping day. Our aim is to provide a great shopping experience for those who choose to visit the centre. The Entertainer is the only store that does not trade on Sunday. The owner prefers not to trade on Sundays and we respect his choice."

The Entertainer also has a life-sized nativity scene in one of its windows. Next to it is a sign which reads: “Take a moment to reflect on one thing that will never change: the real meaning of Christmas.”

 

Grant says the nativity scene in one window and toys in the other allow him to create a balance between his Christian beliefs and the commercial world: “In amongst the hustle and bustle of a commercial Christmas, people need to see what it is about. Christmas has nothing to do with shopping. I sense there are a lot of worried and unsettled people out there. Whether they come to buy toys or not, there is a whole generation that has missed out on the meaning of Christmas,” he said.

 

Last Sunday afternoon, we saw people of all ages stopping to admire the nativity scene, including elderly people, curious children and parents explaining who the figures were to their sons and daughters.

 

One of the Hanwell shoppers, however, was critical: “It looks nice but I don’t think it’s appropriate for a kids’ store. A kids’ store needs to have toys,” she said.

 

Yasmine Estaphanos

18 December 2008