Sunday shopping Off to the Netherlands

DÜSSELDORF · While labor unions here complain about weekend shopping, NRW residents drive to the neighbors to go shopping. Venlo is a popular destination in the Netherlands.

Every Sunday, when Gert Reitsma leaves the Joris Church in the center of Venlo, he sees a long queue of vehicles. There they are again, the Germans, coming to shop on the other side of the border. A court prohibiting Sunday shopping hours, like this week in Düsseldorf, would not be thinkable in the Netherlands. While there is much resistance to Sunday shopping in Germany from the part of labor unions, the question has long been settled in the Netherlands.

The first “Koopzondag” (Sunday shopping) began in 1984 in the Netherlands and was initially limited to four Sundays a year. Thirty years later, every community can decide for itself when and for how long shops are allowed to be open. There are no more limits. It explains why some Dutch tourists in Germany are astonished to see shops closed on a Sunday. Sunday shopping has long become common in the Netherlands, even if there are some complaints from shop owners in smaller towns that they don’t get enough customers on Sundays.

In Venlo, a neighboring town in the Netherlands, it was decided six years ago to remove any limitations on opening hours. “So all residents of NRW can come to us to shop on Sundays,” says Ruud Stikkelbroeck with a smile. He is from Venlo Partners, the organization for city marketing. “There’s lots going on here on Sundays - also because of the Germans. Although, I might actually say - above all because of the Germans,” quips Stikkelbroeck.

He says they appreciate shopping in the small shops and they like the comfort offered by the small squares and pretty outdoor terraces. Despite the busy shopping on Sundays, there are still some owners who only open their shops once a month. Stikkelbroeck says he can understand this because sometimes shop owners want to be with their families on Sundays. But young people seem not too upset about working Sundays. “Especially younger workers are used to a 24/7 economy. They are happy when they can earn some money,” explains Stikkelbroeck. (Orig. text: Adrianne de Koning)

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