27.8.94

City: M&S warns on 'profitless' 
Sunday trade 

MARKS & Spencer yesterday said it didn't believe Sunday opening "will be profitable 
for anybody".

M&S is opening some of its stores in response to the new Sunday trading laws, 
which come into effect tomorrow week. A spokesman for the retailer said: "We are 
only opening to protect our market share. There is no extra money coming in, so this 
simply spreads six days' trading over seven days, with seven days' costs to pay."

Ten stores will be open in selected areas of England and Wales, with the number growing to 25 over the next month.

John Lewis Partnership said it too had reluctantly decided to open some supermarkets on Sundays. Only 18 of its 108 Waitrose stores will trade seven days a week.