Sobeys leaps on Sunday bandwagon

Grocery giant Sobeys is taking a big jump into Sunday shopping, opening six of its stores seven days a week.

Four stores in the Halifax area, one in New Glasgow and one in Sydney River will open this Sunday for the first time, as the company tries to match its competitors.

"There are a lot of other retailers who are offering grocery and food products on Sunday," said Sobeys spokesman Gerald Weseen.

"So for our customers who don't have the option to shop at our stores on Sundays who do go out on a Sunday, we think it will be very well received. Obviously, there will be some people who do not wish to shop on Sunday, and we respect that."

Superstore was the first of the big grocery chains to open a store seven days a week.

There was a lineup outside the Superstore on Barrington Street, in Halifax's south end, when it opened for the first time last Sunday, leading company officials to call it a "wild success."

• FROM JUNE 12, 2006: Superstore shoppers buy Sunday opening

Both Superstore and Sobeys are getting around the Sunday shopping restrictions by dividing its stores into separate businesses, a move pioneered by competitor Pete's Frootique.

Under Nova Scotia's Sunday shopping rules, only businesses that occupy less than 4,000 square feet, pharmacies and specialty boutiques are allowed to open.

Weseen said unlike the Barrington Street Superstore, which opened only five sections, the six Sobeys stores opening on Sunday will sell a full range of products.

He also said no employee will be forced to work on Sundays.