Why I'm saying no to Sunday trading

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Sunday is a retail rest day at The Entertainer and it will stay that way.

The Entertainer won’t be opening on Sundays, no matter what other retailers may decide to do if trading hours are extended.

We have never traded on Sundays and never will, either during the Olympics – when it’s proposed big shops should be able to open longer to take advantage of the number of visitors expected – or afterwards, if liberalisation is made permanent.

As a Christian, I have to challenge myself on how changing retail laws affect what I do. One of the Commandments is that Sunday should be a day of rest, and that’s something I believe our staff value no matter whether they follow any faith or none.

We employ about 1,000 people. I doubt whether there is a greater proportion of Christians than there is at any retailer but there’s a real cross-section – young people, mums and dads, grans and grandfathers.

If you were to ask my staff, I think they’d say that The Entertainer values a family day and the most convenient day for them has to be one of the two over the weekend. That’s when they can have lunch, take the children to the park or if they want to, yes, go shopping together.

I’m not campaigning for people to do one thing or another. I’m just considering the obligations my faith brings and deciding how to apply them in my business – they include how I treat suppliers too, whether its my relationship with landlords or right down to the product I choose to stock.

I’m accountable for the holistic way in which I try to balance faith, business and home life. It’s a juggling act. But I value family life and I choose for our employees to be where they want to be on a Sunday.

If we were to be open on Sundays they wouldn’t be able to do that, especially around Christmas when we’re under a lot of pressure. People need to know that they can fall into a chair and relax.

I understand that the Olympics may mean there’s a significant number of extra people and footfall, so retailers’ turnover should increase. But I’m expecting to increase it on the other six days.

And put the Olympics to one side for a moment and think about the wider trading environment. How will people be able to put their financial considerations aside and suddenly have the ability to spend more?

It’s important to understand, however, that I don’t close on Sundays to save money. The fact is, some of my landlords think I lose money by not opening that day.

I’m very motivated by running a profitable business but not to the extent of parking my wider responsibilities.

Look at the high street. Over the last 10 years or so, more than 150 toy shops have closed or hit trouble, whether Gamleys or most recently Hawkin’s Bazaar.

They could open every hour they chose and sell whatever product they liked. We have a business that opens six days and restricts some product but we’re profitable and expanding. Sundays will remain special and a day of rest at The Entertainer.