Federal Government scraps compulsory closing day for shops, opening hours extended to 9pm

Physical retail stores, such as clothes stores, electronics shops and supermarkets are currently bound by strict regulation governing their opening hours.

With the exception of Friday’s, when the are allowed to remain open until 9pm, the must close no later than 8pm. They are also required to be closed for at least 24 hours once a week. Meanwhile, online retailers are accessible 24/7, which gives them a significant competitive advantage.

With this in mind, the Federal Government decided to act. A relaxation of the rules governing shop opening hours is one of the measures contained in the coalition agreement. 

While most major retailers in Belgium have welcomed the changes and say that they intend to take advantage of them, many people that work in retail are less enthusiastic. On Thursday, the German-owned supermarket chain Aldi announced that it is considering opening its Belgian stores on Sundays. This prompted staff at some of Aldis stores to stage spontaneous strikes.

Smaller, self-employed retailers are also wary of the changes. NSZ, an organisition that represents many of the countries small shop keepers has spoken out against the changes. NSZ argues that the changes will increase operating costs and working hours for its members without them benefiting from any significant increase in income.

However, the Federal Minister responsible for small businesses and the self-employed Eléonore Simonet (Francophone liberal) dismisses those concerns. Ms Simonet told journalists that "Even now, not all shops make use of the option to stay open until 8 pm. Nothing will change for them; they can still close at 6 pm. But for retailers who feel at a competitive disadvantage compared to online shops and foreign competitors, we are removing the obstacle."