Ikea may sue Valencia government for banning Sunday opening
Saturday, December 13, 2014 @ 9:46 PM
SWEDISH furniture giant Ikea plans to sue the Valencia regional government for not letting it open its new store on Sundays and bank holidays.
The company was under the impression it would be able to do so when it opened in Alfafar, just outside Valencia city, but was forbidden to do so by the council.
Shops are permitted to open on Sundays and national, regional and local bank holidays where they are based in an area considered to be a 'tourist hotspot', but the inland dormitory town of Alfafar has no other significant attractions other than Ikea.
An appeal to the regional government has failed, since they have backed Alfafar town council in not letting the store open Sundays.
Local furniture shops said doing so would suppose unfair competition for them, because they do not wish to open on Sundays and bank holidays.
But nearly two-thirds of Ikea's trade in Europe comes from Sunday opening, since the majority of the general public are off work that day.
Head of Ikea for Spain, Carolina García says the firm is 'looking into the possibility of' taking legal action against the Valencia regional government for misleading them into building a store they believed they could open on non-working days, only to find out once it started trading that they would not be allowed.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com