That's A Long Time

As I walked into the Sobey's I regularly shop at on the week-end I noticed a sign indicating they were now open from 6am to Midnight, 6 Days a week. In Manitoba the law limits retail shopping to noon - 6pm on Sundays so they would not be able to be open that much on Sunday. That is a lot of hours to be open.

The store will only be closed for six hours a day. I believe this is to compete with Walmart being open 24 hrs. That is a lot of time to be open.

I worked for Sobey's West, A Division of Sobey's Capital Inc. as a in-store manager back in 2001 - early 2002. From that job I learned that retail can really be a killer. The hours are insane. The public can be really good or really bad and everything in between. When I started we were open 9am to 11pm. The hours were reduced to 9am to 10pm as that last hour was not very productive. It was easier on the staff and the schedule. These new hours they are open must be murder on their staff. I can see strong morale developing when people are being stretched further.

I also noted the store was not in great shape. There were normal products that were not stocked. There was not a lot of staff to serve customers. It seemed that the store was suffering.

So, why am I ragging on Sobey's? This is a classic example of letting another company dictate how you will do business. The fear that Walmart strikes in the heart retail executives forces them to make bad and expensive decisions.

In any organization you must figure out what you do and figure out how to be the best at it. If you do what you do well, you will get the results you want. I see Sobey's being a follower in the marketplace and you cannot come in first if you are following someone.