Sudbury retailers give Boxing Day sales mixed reviews

Some Sudbury retailers are already planning next year's Boxing Day sales.

A few weeks ago, Sudbury city council voted to repeal the city's store hours bylaw governing Boxing Day sales. As a result, business owners now have the option of opening for business or remaining closed.

Business owners like Kayla Tiedemann say it's important for them to exercise their rights.

I think next year it'll be different, with more businesses being open.- Kayla Tiedemann, small business owner.

Tiedemann, who owns downtown clothing store Fervency, said she didn't have many customers on Boxing Day, but she plans to open again next year.

“I think it's something new to Sudbury so people aren't accustomed to or it's just very soon that deregulation came through,” she said.

“So lots of people, I think, stayed in their old ways of not coming out. I think next year it'll be different, with more businesses being open.”

In Sudbury’s south end, many store owners had a similar perspective.

And Brian Ramakko said his outdoor adventure store saw lots of traffic.

"Sudbury can't be an island in the ocean and do what we want. So I think it was a good business decision."

But not everyone sees it that way.

In Lively, Pinnacle Sports owner Adrian Gedye said he's going to revisit his business decision.

"[Being open on Boxing Day] really didn't accomplish anything for us, sales wise ... other than force our employees to only have one day off."