Restaurateurs and retailers have lobbied Government permission to open to Sunday shoppers, as they grapple with a loss of business after Hurricane Fabian forced the closure of several Island hotels.

Yesterday the head of the Visitor Retail Division of the Chamber of Commerce, George Grundmuller, said he and other members of the Chamber executive, including president Charles Gosling, had met with Minister of Finance Eugene Cox last week.

During that meeting he said the Minister was briefed on how the retail sector had been affected and that although certain sectors, such as hardware stores, construction and appliance retailers, may have seen an upturn in business after the storm, other sectors were suffering.

The Chamber holds quarterly meetings with Mr. Cox, but Mr. Grundmuller said this meeting was focused on how businesses have been impacted following the devastating storm that hit Bermuda on September 5.

There was also a renewed call for Government to consider allowing businesses to open on Sunday, at least on a limited hours basis as grocery stores already have permission to do.

Mr. Grundmuller said the majority of businesses represented by the Chamber are in favour of easing rules that restrict most shops from opening on Sundays and holidays.

He said: "We (at the Chamber) believe in as much deregulation as possible. And we hope that Sunday openings would help those areas not doing well. We know that the grocery sector does extremely well."

He added that this was an issue even before Hurricane Fabian, with a drive to do everything possible to re-invent the Island as a tourism destination: "If we want to revive tourism we have to reinvent ourselves. We know from the exit survey that visitors do that shopping is number two after watersports. If we want to have an enhanced product we need to do everything we can, including offering visitors what they already have at home."

Mr. Grundmuller said that would not necessarily mean businesses being open all day, every day: "We are advocating to be able to do this from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and it would be up to each retailer whether or not they opened," he said.

Mr. Grundmuller added that the need to do everything possible to boost sales was tied to certain sectors not doing well, especially after Hurricane Fabian: "There has been a fork in the road, some have seen an uptake in business that could continue in months to come. But on the other hand businesses that sell luxury goods or rely on tourist expenditure have been affected dramatically."

He added that there had been a clear change in consumer's buying pattern after the storm with more money going to basic goods and a clear drop in what was being spent on luxury items. Geographically, Mr. Grundmuller said those worst hit were businesses located in St. George's and Dockyard, which have seen a downturn in consumers because of the Causeway having limited hours at the East end, and West end businesses being negatively impacted by Sonesta and the Southampton Princess shutting down for an extended period, as well as a downturn in the number of cruise ships at that end of the Island.

As for what might help businesses, Mr. Grundmuller said the Chamber was doing what it could to be a conduit during this difficult time. This meant, he said, that the Chamber itself was acting as a liaison between those companies needing to lay on more staff and those cutting back on their staff requirements.

Mr. Gosling yesterday echoed Mr. Grundmuller's concerns with businesses, especially restaurants and some retail establishments, being especially hard hit: "With two major hotels being closed and 100 rooms at the Hamilton Princess closed, there has been a big downturn in business for these sectors."

Mr. Gosling added it was the view of the businesses represented by the Chamber that now was a crucial time businesses to be able to be more flexible in their opening hours: "Our position is that it would most helpful if businesses were enabled, if they so chose, to be open on Sundays."

Although Mr. Cox did not return calls for comment made by The Royal Gazette yesterday, this matter was already on the mind of Government when it delivered the 2003 budget speech in February of this year. At that time Mr. Cox said Government would this year "review policy on holiday trading to give retail shops more flexibility."

Mr. Grundmuller said the Minister had been receptive to the Chamber's suggestions and was concerned about how businesses were faring after Fabian, but did not give any timeline on when Government would decide on Sunday openings.