This Sunday the shops in the center of Barcelona they can reopen. And it will be like this during all the holidays during the next four months, until September 11 (La Diada), in application of the business hours agreement which was released last year. In this second year, the aim is to consolidate a formula consistent with what a large city of the 21st century should offer. After years of intense debates on the Barcelona business model, a solution was reached in which representatives of sectors with conflicting interests agree. Limiting the openings on public holidays to the months of May to September and to the areas with the most tourist influx in Barcelona was the meeting point that allowed the agreement between business employers, unions and the city council. Between time rigidity (which makes it difficult to adapt to new consumer habits) and total liberalization (which can leave both workers and small businesses unprotected), a midpoint was reached that facilitated consensus.
The pact was launched in 2022 with the triple intention to reactivate businesses after the pandemic, encourage tourism and increase recruitment. In a tourist and service city like Barcelona, purchases are an engine of economic revitalization. The demand from the tourism sector and the large commercial hubs to extend the restricted calendar of store-opening holidays (a dozen days a year) was logical, and after the experience of 2022, the results were generally positive in terms of sales. . However, the agreement weakened on a point that this year has tried to correct: strengthen labor guarantees. The unions denounced that some companies did not respect the voluntariness of the workers and? they did not reinforce the templates either to cover those days of extra work. The sectoral agreements that have been signed since then have improved this aspect (since they have normative status, non-compliance can be submitted to the Labor Inspectorate). At the end of September, it will be verified if the third objective of the agreement has been met, and the economic impulse of opening the stores on holidays also results in benefits for the worker and an increase in occupation.
If the economic advantage for large commercial hubs is clear, the traditional resistance of small shops that they cannot afford to open on holidays is also understood, for fear of a ‘leak’ of their regular customers. The agreement seeks to protect them by allowing only shops in tourist areas to raise their blinds on Sundays. This limitation is positive, because the singularity of the commercial fabrics of the neighborhoods must be taken care of. However, small shops are also facing the challenge of adapting to a new reality. One of the most notable changes brought about by the pandemic was the growth of ‘online’ consumption: teleworking, ‘streaming’ platforms and the electronic commerce, that if before it was already a challenge for physical stores, now its competition is undeniable. The key to business success is change in time when the consumer changesand it can be counterproductive to maintain the dynamics of the past, when the consumer today You can buy with one click at any time and day of the year and when many other sectors are betting on the labor flexibility.