Family Day a juggling act for B. C. retailers

These days there is an expectation that retailers will be open just about every day of the year, and on any given day of the year, B. C. retailers are trying to keep several balls in the air. Throw Family Day in and the juggling act becomes even more challenging for B. C.’ s largest private sector employer. ( More than 300,000 people work in retail in this province.)

Family Day sounds great for workplaces that will be closed on Family Day — for example, all levels of government and companies that do not sell goods and services directly to consumers and tourists. For service companies, Family Day presents a mixed bag of choices. Do I stay open to serve my customers, or take advantage of a day off with the family? If I stay open in order to be competitive, will I lose money because of the additional cost?

When then- Liberal party leadership hopeful Christy Clark announced her intention to introduce Family Day, it may have seemed like a good idea. But she chose not to consult with employers. Most retailers say Family Day will increase the cost of doing business, particularly now that Family Day isn’t aligned with other provinces in Canada or with President’s Day in the U. S., and will not take place in the third week of February. That being said, the new holiday will impact retailers in different ways.

Retailers can be divided into three basic camps: those who will be open by choice, those who will be open against their will, and those who will be closed. Close to 40 per cent of all our independent members report that they will be closed on Family Day either because they support the policy or because they know from experience that it is too costly to be open on a statutory holiday.

The majority of our members who plan to be open report that Family Day will generate additional cost, and that any incremental sales generated will not cover these costs. This is because statutory holiday regulations require employers to pay eligible employees who work on a stat holiday two and a half times their regular pay ( one and a half times regular pay, plus one day off in lieu for working on a statutory holiday).

The most negative reaction to Family Day is from merchants whose hours are dictated by the terms of their lease with their shopping centre landlords. If the landlord decides to stay open, which they will in order to compete in the local market and to entice Canadian shoppers to stay at home rather than spend their dollars cross- border, their tenants will be forced to stay open.

Retailers say there are ways to mitigate the negative impact of Family Day. We have written to the premier and the labour and jobs ministers urging that Family Day be a tax exempt day/ weekend. This will provide a tax holiday for retailers and their customers in order to provide a catalyst to encourage sales in the normally sluggish first quarter. We are also urging government to undertake a formal and comprehensive review of all statutory holidays in B. C. to examine the requirements for retail employees’ compensation on statutory holidays.

Many retail pundits say that successful retailers need to be adept at multichannel retailing ( in- store, online, mobile) while providing extraordinary in- store experiences to customers. The introduction of Family Day means retailers will now have to hone their juggling skills as they try to remain profitable against a backdrop of a multitude of challenges. These include: a lingering global recession, cross- border shopping, a 25- per- cent spike in minimum wage in B. C, multinational manufacturers charging higher prices to Canadian retailers, inflation, rising transportation costs, the spectre of rising interest rates, import duties, competitive pressures, and the significant cost of transitioning back to a dual tax system.

Family Day may be one ball too many for retailers to keep in the air.