Retail In Austria
John Cowan
![John Cowan]()
John Cowan
Senior Business Consultant at Real Retail Solutions, Senior Consultant at The Retailer Group
Just returned from working in Austria for a month. The retail market is very similar to the UK with out of town and traditional town centres. However there is one marked difference, opening hours. None of the shops and very few restaurants are open on a Sunday, except in some tourist areas, and the 24 hour supermarket culture is not apparent. However the retail sector is busy and no one seems to be missing no shopping on Sundays.
Regulation also means retail staff have to have 2 Saturdays off a month, leading to they hope a better quality of life for the employees.
On return to the UK I wonder have we gone to far down the "open all hours" culture, or should local and national government legislate to curtail opening hours?