Shops to open on Sundays

Sunday trading will officially begin this weekend in Katanning, with Woolworths to open its doors.

The extended hours come after Minister for Commerce and Industrial Relations Bill Johnston approved an application put forward by the Shire of Katanning.

Woolworths Katanning store manager Carol Khosravi said grocery shopping would now be much easier for the community.

“If you forget something on a Saturday, that’s it, and it can be very difficult for families because there is nowhere else to get your groceries from on a Sunday in Katanning,” she said.

“It’s about convenience for the Katanning people.”

The order, published in the Government Gazette on November 7, allows for general retail shops other than motor vehicle shops in the Shire of Katanning to open on Sundays from 10am to 5pm.

Katanning Furnishings owner Alan McFarland, who put a submission forward to the Shire to encourage Sunday trading, said it was a step forward for the town.

“We choose not to be open on a Sunday because of a lifestyle choice, but if the customers are there willing to spend the money on the weekend then of course we will open,” he said. “The key is there will be more money spent in town and people aren’t going out of town to do their shopping — it’ll also bring more people into Katanning.”

Mr McFarland said other businesses may take some time to get on board with the new hours.

“I think it’ll be a gradual thing. If Woolworths is open and people are shopping on a Sunday, we might find that the demand for other shops to open will grow,” he said.