Betty Barclay will remain closed on Sunday: court ruling shocks outlet!

Betty Barclay will remain closed on Sunday: court ruling shocks outlet!

On Sunday, October 26th, Betty Barclay's shop in the Zweibrücken Fashion Outlet remained closed for the first time. While the other stores in the outlet had their doors open and welcomed numerous customers, the outlet had more visitors overall than there were parking spaces. This scenario is a result of a court ruling that requires Betty Barclay to no longer open 16 Sundays a year, a fact that many find surprising. How Rhine Palatinate reported that the closure was ordered by a court and is causing a lot of conversation among employees and visitors.

The dispute over Sunday opening had its origins in a lawsuit brought by the fashion entrepreneur Steffen Jost from Grünstadt. In his opinion, opening Betty Barclay on Sundays put his own stores at a competitive disadvantage. The Zweibrücken Higher Regional Court partially agreed with him and decided that the Betty Barclay branch must remain closed during the Rhineland-Palatinate school holidays and on the Sundays before and after. Loud daily news There was a special regulation for the outlet that had existed since the time when Zweibrücken Airport still handled passenger flights. However, this regulation was no longer up to date as the airport now only functions as a special landing site and the number of arrivals in 2022 was only 780 passengers.

Economic impact and social implications

According to legal regulations in Germany, shops are generally only allowed to open on Sundays four days a year - a regulation that varies depending on the federal state. In the case of Betty Barclay, the possible distortion of competition was also highlighted. An expert found that the damage caused to Jost by the Sunday openings was only 0.0054 percent of its sales, which according to competition law was already considered sufficient to assume a violation of competition law.

The impact of the ruling is initially limited to Betty Barclay. A spokesman for the outlet operator did not comment on the decision, while Betty Barclay plans to review the ruling with the operator. Steffen Jost was pleased with the decision sheet and sees it as closing a gap in justice.

Demands for new regulations

The general manager of the Rhineland-Palatinate Retail Association, Thomas Scherer, described the verdict as a “double-edged sword”. He advocated that the state government should reconsider Sunday opening times. The discussion about Sunday opening is also reflected in the historical context: Already under Emperor Constantine, Sunday was introduced as a day of rest, which has developed over the centuries until today. The legal framework vary greatly and are a hotly debated topic in society, with both economic and social aspects being debated.