From next year no more shopping and purchases in malls, supermarkets and shops on Sundays and holidays. This is what the Deputy Prime Minister promises Luigi Di Maio, which yesterday guaranteed to bring home a law on the matter within the year. It doesn't matter if many jobs will disappear and if those who wait until Sunday to do the shopping that they can't do during the week because they work will no longer be able to do it. If Amazon then takes advantage of it, it will be of little use to curse the e-commerce of the Internet giants. In short, goodbye to the liberalization of shop hours – which had been introduced by the Monti government – with the approval of the Church, sindacati and government parties.
Naturally the question is controversial and it is precisely the League that pulls the handbrake: "The proposal we have is not to block Sunday openings in tourist cities", in fact warns the Minister of Agriculture and Tourism, Gian Marco Centinaio speaking from the Eastern Fair. It is no small slowdown considering that in Italy the most important cities are all touristic. On the one hand there are the needs of trade workers – who like a little more free time but fear losing jobs and part of their salary – and on the other hand there are those of large retailers and shops, but also those of the consumers, for whom Sunday shopping had by now become a habit, if not a necessity.
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From Thursday 13 September, the Productive Activities Commission of the Chamber will begin to discuss the new business hours starting from the examination of two bills – one of the Five Stars and one of the Lega – which provide, with a few exceptions during the year, the Sunday closure not only of shopping centers but also of small shops, with the exception of those in tourist and mountain resorts.
In their bill, the Five Stars provide for the truth one shop rotation but staring in a maximum of 12 public holidays per year the days when the openings will be allowed. To limit e-commerce, the Grillina proposal also provides that online shopping can also be done on Sundays, but the goods purchased cannot be delivered on holidays.
Hard the reaction of large retailers. According to the CEO of Conad, Francesco Pugliese, the Sunday closure could lead to the loss of 50 jobs out of the 450 created by supermarkets and hypermarkets, which in many cases are already in crisis. But the parliamentary debate will serve to focus on all aspects of the question, hoping that a pragmatic solution of general interest will be found rather than an ideological and electoral shortcut as the first signs seem to foreshadow.
The most correct thing is the shifts of the cc's. Those who want to go for a walk or to buy go to the open shift and the employees will rest on shifts. I don't see why they shouldn't have a Sunday rest shift.
Periodically, the themes of opening hours and holiday closures of shops come back into the news, on the occasion of long debates on the modification, expansion or restriction of the relative regulations.
The current legislation, of maximum liberalization is now under fire following the presentation of various bills by the Hon. Saltamartini and others aimed at reintroducing the obligation to close on Sundays and holidays. Deputy Prime Minister Di Maio seized the opportunity to restart the parliamentary discussion on the various bills on the subject filed in Parliament, with the initial intention of reintroducing the mandatory closure of shops, then reduced to a roster proposal that guarantees the festive opening of 25% of the shops.
A debate was unleashed on the subject, very similar to a brawl, unfortunately conducted on more ideological than rational grounds, in which considerations were resurrected which in our opinion refer to an Italy that no longer exists.
It is undeniable that shopping on Sundays or on holidays has by now become an extremely widespread habit among Italians, practically a consolidated habit, giving up which, especially due to an imposition of the law, would be experienced by the interested parties as a serious interference in their private life, if not a serious violation of one's rights.
The number of Italians who, at least occasionally, make purchases on Sundays and public holidays is around 12 million. Taking into account that not all Italians make purchases (there are children, paralyzed people, prisoners, hospitalized people, the elderly who almost never leave the house, etc.), it can be deduced that about ONE THIRD of Italian consumers he goes shopping on Sundays or holidays, perhaps more than those who go to mass. Either we consider that Italy is a country of dangerous and vicious deviants, which the State has the duty to redeem, or we acknowledge that it is neither the task nor the right of the State to decide how citizens should spend their holidays.
WHO CARES?
So let's try to identify who are THE PARTIES INTERESTED in this question:
• The generality of consumers, interested in having the maximum possibility of choice in their purchasing alternatives, as well as in the way they use their time
• A certain part of the generality of citizens interested in promoting and protecting certain models of social behavior for all citizens, regardless of the liking of this type of behavior by those concerned
• Operators of medium and large-scale distribution, able to organize themselves for very extended hours and holiday openings
• Small commercial operators, for whom it is difficult to adapt to very extended opening hours and days
• Commercial workers
• Investors, including foreign ones, who place their capital in large structures and/or shopping centres.
Let's try to understand what interests are really at stake, trying to distinguish the problems of festive openings from those of 24/24 disruption.
CONSUMERS
It is clear that for the generality of consumers, both the freedom to open holidays and extended hours only brings advantages, as it presents a series of opportunities that the consumer is free to use or not, without having to incur additional costs. Shopping on holidays is now part of consolidated habits, which it is presumable that consumers will not want to give up, while 24/24 hours have a much more limited diffusion, and constitute a "plus" which many consumers occasionally use, but in general line as a complementary opportunity, which has not yet significantly changed the purchasing habits of the majority of Italians.
For many users, shopping on holidays is simply an extra opportunity, but more and more, for certain categories, it ends up being a precious opportunity that allows you to better distribute your time. A typical case is that of women who work and at the same time have to look after the family, and therefore have very little time for shopping during the week.
In the particular case of shopping centres, the element of multifunctionality is added, which allows purchasing activities to be combined in a single movement with those of entertainment (e.g. cinema) and catering, with new functions that are gaining ground (edutainment, shopping experiential), which require longer times than simply "shopping" and therefore can be carried out with greater serenity and tranquility on holidays, precisely because of the greater amount of time available.
This must be taken into account for shopping centres, which have by now become a place for socialising, even very economically accessible, because it is possible to spend time there without any obligation to shop, and often enjoy opportunities for free cultural, recreational or sporting activities.
This is particularly true for children and the elderly, for whom traditional places of socialization (clubs, oratories and the like) are less and less attractive, because parishes and social centers have fewer and fewer resources and therefore find it hard to deal with its management and maintenance.
The presence in many centers of spaces and play equipment (even free) for children is a considerable resource, and constitute an excellent opportunity for the whole family to spend time together.
The high level of security present in shopping centers is an important factor not only for the peace of mind of adults, but they guarantee one of the few places that children can go to even alone in complete peace of mind, and it is clear to everyone that for parents it is what a great relief to be able to know that their kids have places where they can hang out in a safe and secure environment, without the risk of accidents, bad encounters and more.
CITIZENS IN GENERAL
We can roughly identify its various "parties" opposed to festive openings, made up of subjects adverse to large-scale distribution in general and to shopping centers in particular: conservatives and anti-consumerists.
CONSERVATIVE PEOPLE are generally hostile (or frightened) by novelties, who do not welcome anything that leads to a change in habits and rhythms to which they are not accustomed. For these people (who generally do not coincide with "politically" conservative subjects) any deviation from the social model to which they are accustomed constitutes a danger and an insecurity, and therefore they oppose changes even when these do not necessarily affect them, but only constitute a different opportunities to which everyone is free to adapt or not.
The "arguments" of these subjects are manifold. We list a few by way of example.
Sunday is made for going to mass and then spending time with the family, and the shops open on holidays constitute a lack of respect for traditional values, and tend to break up the family unit.
To this we simply reply that it is not true. On average, a mass lasts less than an hour, so in the space of a day those who want to go to mass can find plenty of time to go there on Saturday or during the rest of the day. Those who don't want to go there (and it seems that most Italians by now) don't go there regardless of whether the shops are open or not. It is not clear why the same opposition is not exercised towards other activities that can compete to occupy people's time (games, television, cinema, walks, etc.). Furthermore, not everyone knows that some shopping centers have begun to make spaces available inside them (usually a cinema hall) for carrying out religious functions. For now they are few but it is a trend that will grow if the public shows its interest.
Then there is a percentage of Italians who are not interested in these values, for the most varied reasons, and it is not the task of the state to force them to align themselves with the values of what is no longer even a majority.
Sunday is a time for the whole family to meet together, perhaps for a festive lunch, and the shops open on holidays make it difficult to meet and be together.
Sunday lunch with the family is a positive value for many people, but it can be a nightmare for others. Shopping is not a function that fills the whole day, and therefore those who want to go shopping can very well do it before or after the family lunch.
If, on the other hand, it is a matter of demanding purchases that require a lot of time and long journeys (for example, furniture purchases, or visits to the Outlets) for the majority of mere mortals, there are no concrete alternatives to holiday purchases, because not everyone has the entire Saturday free or they can take a day off for shopping.
On the contrary, there is an increasing trend of combining visits to shopping centers with the consumption of meals (perhaps cheap, but very entertaining for the children), perhaps followed or preceded by watching a film (once again in the company of the family). Not only is it an interesting solution for spending time together with the family, but it is also an opportunity to free mothers or grandmothers who still do it, from the burden of Sunday overwork in the kitchen (boys are convinced that being a cook and scullery maid every Sunday is the dream of all women, but please, try asking your mothers or grandmothers.)
The world is also changing, and especially in big cities the number of single-member households is constantly growing. It seems that in Milan it is around 50% and this is destined to increase with the aging of the population. What family socialization does holiday commerce rob these people of?
ANTICONSUMERS, on the other hand, are perhaps a more "politically" labeled category, such as ex-XNUMXs, radical chic, lovers of alternative cuisine, etc. These people are convinced that any shopping opportunity is a more or less corrupting push towards consumerism, they define shopping centers as "temples of consumerism" (who knows why, on the other hand, they are good during the week), but they still eat and consume more or less less like the others, but maybe they feel guilty about it and therefore have to find an enemy to demonize.
Evidently they believe that they do not give in easily to the temptations of consumption, but they are convinced that others do not have this ability and therefore they should be kept away from temptations by some state intervention.
One of the main criticisms of anti-consumerists is very similar to that of conservatives, but aimed at other goals. Sunday opening takes time away not from mass or family lunches, but from culture, walks, sport and the like and encourages useless and unconsidered spending, waste and in general the uncritical acceptance of the consumer model. Even the answer is symmetrically similar: even if the shops are open, no one forces me to go there, and if I go there no one forces me to make hasty or inconsiderate purchases. On the contrary, if I buy more calmly on Sundays, I can make more "wise" and thoughtful purchases, and therefore less "consumerist". However, holiday shopping is not the only alternative to the "ethical" behavior advocated by anti-consumerists. For example, there is football which absorbs much of the Italian holiday season, but no one dreams of abolishing matches on Sundays. Indeed, football is much more absorbing, because it also invades my home via television, but the fact that there are matches doesn't oblige me to go there, and fortunately for television there is that fundamental defense of democracy which is the remote control.
On the other hand, it is forgotten that young people must be educated and accompanied to consume. This is a family job. One of the things that families can and should do together is teach their children to buy judiciously, and the festive opening of shops can be an excellent opportunity to accompany the kids on shopping trips and "teach" them how to spend.
A consideration common to the proposals of both these categories, regardless of the contents proposed by one or the other, and therefore from mere conveniences, is of an ethical-political nature. It is up to the state or not to decide how citizens should spend their time. That is, in simple terms, do we want an ethical state or not?
ORGANIZED DISTRIBUTION
Large and medium-sized retailers have mostly declared themselves in favor of Sunday or holiday openings (openings that are less unanimous than when liberalization began), arguing that they generate an increase in turnover and employment. The certain fact is that organized distribution has increased jobs (even if most of them are more or less precarious jobs), while turnover in recent years, as the representatives of small trade point out, has not grown . The problem is, at a time when the economic crisis is far from over, whether the reduction in turnover would have been less or greater if the shops were closed on Sundays?.
Not all large-scale retail companies are in favor of Sunday and holiday openings. In general, Federdistribuzione is in favour, the cooperative movement is optimistic.
Organized distribution generally has the numbers and characteristics to withstand the challenge of holiday openings and also 24/24 opening hours, but it is not necessarily the most convenient solution for everyone. In these years of liberalisation, almost all the operators have made the most of the opening powers, based on the prudential criterion of "if he opens, I must open too, otherwise I don't care about the customers" Few have given up the opening powers, even if now they begin to say that perhaps their needs are different, but many always hope that there is a law that imposes the solution they prefer on everyone, rather than accepting to gamble for it by choosing, in a framework of self-determination, the time that best suits their characteristics corporate.
It would be necessary for large-scale retailers (as in fact many of the smaller ones do) to find the courage to make tailor-made decisions on the characteristics and locations of individual points of sale, renouncing the herd instinct to do what everyone else does.
Coop has begun to do so, opening on holidays only in certain cases and perhaps with reduced hours. I believe that staying open only when the influx of customers is high would avoid unnecessarily increasing personnel costs, improve or not damage the financial results, and improve relations with personnel.
THE SMALL TRADE
In general, small businesses are the most hostile to festive openings, because they usually don't have the economic and human resources necessary to support such long opening times. Small traders generally accuse large-scale distribution of being responsible for their problems and for the phenomena of commercial desertification, the real consistency of which is highly questionable, at least based on ISTAT and regional data.
In reality, there are many reasons why small shops struggle to keep up, but the first, in my opinion, is always the crisis in consumption which is unable to restart. An important role is also played by urban transformations, the emptying of many historic centres, the extra-urban location of the large-scale distribution, and therefore in general a location of the points of sale no longer suited to the needs of the market, and not suitable for generating synergy effects .
The problem cannot be solved by reducing the competitive capacity of the large structures and shopping centres, but by giving the small ones greater competitiveness through the reduction of real estate rents, the improvement of accessibility, synergistic and coordinated promotional policies, and also by bringing back the medium and large structures in urban centers (shopping centers in particular), generating synergies and allowing even small businesses to benefit from the attraction and event generation capabilities of large-scale retail trade. From this point of view, strategic management of holiday openings can prove to be an opportunity rather than a threat.
THE WORKERS OF THE TRADE
The real weak link in the chain in this case are the trade workers (including self-employed managers of small businesses).
They are squeezed between the anvil of risking losing their job (or overtime) in the event of a ban on opening and the hammer of having to accept heavy or very heavy working conditions, bordering on legality, which however for some categories constitute a precious supplement to income (or all income) that they cannot afford to do without. It is estimated, in the food GD alone, that the closure obligation would cause at least 40.00 jobs to be lost (more or less good). The statutory rules on wage increases are applied only in a few cases, and often the reality is different from what appears on paper.
In reality it is not a matter of "malice" by entrepreneurs, but of the fact that, in the absence of controls, companies are almost forced, in order to keep up with competition, to apply the worst possible wage conditions and the longest possible hours to workers.
It is a matter of trade union relations, which belongs to the sphere of the relationship between individual companies and workers. Surely, if there were more controls, wages and working conditions in general would be pushed towards more acceptable levels. Certainly there would be an increase in labor costs (and also in the spending power of the workers), this, if well managed, could lead to a different distribution of openings and hours, allowing openings to be opened when it is really worth it, and therefore to rebalance the changes in turnover q those in labor costs. In practice, the goal should be to maintain total costs and revenues, reducing unnecessary working hours and openings, with a more modern and fair trade union relations policy.
The important thing is to avoid mandatory regulation of timetables, which, leading to a flattening out, would continue the current situation of "everyone is open because the neighbor is open". The differentiation could lead to a more rational use of resources and therefore to a better cost-benefit ratio, provided that companies face the problem with courage and creativity and that the problem is truly tackled jointly between operators and trade unions.
The other problem is that of the existential "inconvenience" for workers in the trade to work even on Sundays. It is certainly a less important problem, both because trade workers are not the only ones who work on holidays, and because a more equitable remuneration policy would make working on holidays less unpleasant and problematic.
THE INVESTORS
Modern commercial structures are hardly owned by the traders who operate them. The construction costs of large structures are so high, the activation times so long and the required management skills so complex as to necessarily require specialized investors, equipped with the necessary know-how and sufficient capital. – In Italy subjects of this type do not abound, and it is necessary to open the doors to foreign investors, who however shun the alchemy of our regulations, bureaucracy and political conditioning, and detest uncertainty, operating with programs that necessarily require planning long term.
For this reason, the mere announcement of the possibility of a restrictive change to the regulation on opening hours has alarmed investors, especially foreign funds, for the twofold reason of introducing an element of uncertainty on a topic that now seemed to have stabilized, and of reducing however the capital value of the assets for which a lower intensity of use and a lower yield would be expected.
Already some operators, who were about to make substantial investments in Italy, of the order of tens or hundreds of millions of euros, have become alarmed and have questioned the launch of already planned initiatives, at least postponing them to when things will be more clear.
THIS HURTS TRADE AND HURTS ITALY. IS THIS WHAT WE WANT?
WHAT TO DO?
Avoiding exaggerations is always a good choice. Not taking into account the conflicts of interest that revolve around the issue of timetables would be unwise and undemocratic.
Without calling into play European obligations or prohibitions (which in reality do not exist) I believe that at least a basic quota of common interests to be respected should be taken into account: on the one hand, the principles of freedom to organize a business (which is quite distinct from the general liberalization of the construction of new structures) and free choice of consumers on how to use their time and resources. On the other hand, the presence of some holidays of high symbolic value to be taken into consideration, but which must not become insurmountable blocks (who knows why no one has ever questioned the opening of grocery stores on Christmas morning? Maybe it pays too much to touch? )
One could therefore reason (also on the basis of the bills advanced in the last legislature on which a certain consensus had begun to consolidate) on the idea of identifying a fairly limited number of holidays with a high symbolic value (civil or religious), no longer of 10 15, among which operators must choose a quota (eg half) in which closure is mandatory. The important thing is that the choice is left to the individual operator, with the right to opt for a greater number of closing days (or half days), limiting the right of the public administration to establish shifts only in the case that the spontaneous choices of operators end up determining, in a given municipality, a total closure of shops for more than two or three consecutive days.