Following the South Australian Government’s support for shifting the state’s time zone forward by 30 minutes, a number of retailers have expressed their view to Appliance Retailer on the pending decision, with a majority vote to keep the time zone unchanged.
Con Tsoutouras from Spartan Electrical Campbelltown, does not consider the 30 minute time difference a major issue.
“As the usual 9-5 work hours become obsolete, particularly with mobile phones and email inboxes at our disposal 24/7, our conversations with customers and suppliers are not inconvenienced.
“If the time zone were to be aligned, I can see the speeding up of logistics as a benefit, but as an independent retailer, with the exception of being part of the NARTA group, we have more flexibility in comparison to the big players of the retail industry,” Tsoutouras commented.
Betta Electrical Gawler, store manager Bob Pearce, agreed with Tsoutouras, saying the time zone did not affect the operations of his store.
“We have been working with the time zone for years and it has never presented any issues. We just remain conscious of the fact that we need to contact our suppliers and other colleagues within their business hours, Eastern Standard Time,” Pearce said.
However, Dunstan’s Electrical Clare, store manager, David Dunstan argued that the time zone put pressure on him and his team as it required further planning, particularly in relation to organising discussions with their IT and merchandise team.
“The current time zone is a real inconvenience because it narrows the number of hours we can be in contact with our team. It would be beneficial to align with the Eastern states time zone to make business more efficient,” Dunstan commented.
Meanwhile, Electrical Discounters director, Thomas Antonio said that time zone differences are inevitable and it’s easy enough to work in the required parameters.
“We are all accustomed to the time zone so I can’t say it impacts our business. It may be a different story for other sectors, but for retail, it isn’t really an issue. If the time zone were to be pushed forward, overall, business would still be as per usual.”
South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill said the 30-minute time difference inconvenienced business and harmed the state’s reputation in a state that has the highest unemployment rate in Australia. Parliament would need to change the law and there would be further consultation with communities on the west coast of the state, and with international airlines.
A report by the South Australian Centre for Economic Studies found the time change could deliver an estimated $2.5 billion in net economic benefits.
By Emily Bencic