Deregulation of trading hours in SA will kill small traders

The deregulation of trading hours in South Australia will seriously impact the viability of small businesses throughout the State. The calls for deregulation of trading hours might suit the growth of the chains but family enterprises and private businesses will inevitably suffer heavy financial losses if this happened in South Australia.

We are fully aware of the struggle faced by independent retailers to keep their heads above water, as they fight to combat the might of the chains and MGA strongly supports its 272 SA members and local association, South Australian Independent Retailers, in opposing the deregulation of trading hours.

We have seen Coles and Woolworths gradually expand their power by building more and bigger stores, which in the end just crowd out the little guys to the point of annihilation, all in their own self- interest. Currently small retailers are able to trade at times that gives them a small trading advantage and that helps them to survive, but if those times disappear – then so will they!

We have seen this happen in so many towns and cities all over Australia. The chains get their way and what was once a thriving, tight- knit community, just ceases to exist. High streets become ghost towns.

Businesses that have been established for decades just disappear and it’s not just the supermarkets. It’s the butchers, the bakers and the chemists. It’s also the professionals who were once supported by small businesses, and the surrounding farms that supply local commodities, they suffer too, because Coles and Woolworths have their support in the big cities and they buy in massive quantities.

We need the community to know that there won’t be more jobs, as we are led to believe, there won’t be more competition because there won’t be anyone to compete with and there won’t be any Australian local produce because so much will all be imported. We need to throw ourselves behind the opposition and stop trading hours deregulation.

MGA Independent Retailers is a National Registered Employer Industry Association, representing independent grocery and liquor retailers in all States and Territories. These businesses range in size from small,to medium and large, and make a significant contribution to the retail industry and the communities in which they trade, employing 115,000 people and accounting for more than $14.5 billion in retail sales.

In South Australia our 272 members – independent supermarkets and packaged liquor stores, employ 21,000 people and transact over $2.5 Billion in sales.