Most major stores here will be open this Sunday

This story ran May 29, 1985, three months before Texas repealed the blue law that prevented many merchants from staying open on both Saturdays and Sundays to sell clothing, furniture, major appliances and other items. Stores were typically closed on Sundays. But many retailers clamored to relax the rule, and several local businesses decided to take matters into their own hands.

Most major Houston-area department stores plan to open this Sunday, rather than wait for September when the Texas blue law officially dies.

Macy's, Joske's and Montgomery Ward plan to open this Sunday, and more smaller shops at the regional malls are expected to follow.

Foley's and J.C. Penney opened last Sunday for the first time in Texas. The controversial blue law banned the sale of 42 types of merchandise on consecutive Saturdays and Sundays.

Gov. Mark White has said he plans to sign legislation to repeal the blue law, but last week he said merchants should wait until the change goes into effect Sept. 1.

Foley's, one of the staunchest supporters of the blue law, was the first conventional merchant to announce Sunday openings, even if it technically wasn't legal, noting that the formal repeal was a foregone conclusion.

Retailers that were open this past Sunday reported a productive day, pointing out that a lot of sales were packed into a short five- or six-hour selling day. Tom Putman, district sales promotion manager for J.C. Penney, said sales per hour were about as good as on a Saturday, when the store is open for 11 ½ hours.

"On Saturday, the peak is between noon and 3 p.m. On Sunday, the whole time is peak," he said.

Other merchants fear a drain of sales from weekdays.

Macy's, which has department stores at the Willowbrook and Deerbrook malls, plans to be open on Sunday between noon and six. A spokeswoman noted that the retailer's stores are open in other cities on Sundays, and that families value it as a day to shop together.

A spokesman for Montgomery Ward said the retailer would be open "in reaction to competition."

Carol Kirchhoff, marketing manager for the Willowbrook Mall at FM 1960 and FM 149, said Tuesday that four of the five department stores that anchor the mall - Foley's, Macy's, Joske's and Montgomery Ward - are scheduled to be open. Sears is the fifth department, and its plans are not known.

Between half and three-quarters of the 155 merchants at Willowbrook will have Sunday hours beginning this weekend, she estimated.

Town & Country Center on the Katy Freeway at West Belt also plans to be open since it received word that Joske's, as well as Penney, would be open Sunday. An executive there expects about 50 percent of the merchants to open.

Some malls, such as Sharpstown Center on the Southwest Freeway at Fondren and Northwest Mall at Loop 610 and U.S. 290, that are anchored by Foley's and Penney were open this past weekend. Sharpstown is encouraging its merchants to open, a mall executive said.

Weiner's, a moderate-price apparel retailer, plans to open on Sunday in the Houston area on June 9. It will open on weekdays a half hour later, at 9:30 a.m.

Palais Royal, the apparel chain, has said it will start Sunday hours on June 23.

Not all retailers have announced plans to open, although executives call it a fluid situation.

"People are getting crazy," said one store operations executive. "I'd like to wait until Sept. 1, but if the competitive situation calls for us to open, we'll have to."

K mart and Target, which worked actively for the repeal of the blue law, still don't plan to open on Sunday until fall.

George Hite, vice president of public and consumer affairs for Target, maintains that since the Legislature has reversed the blue law, there's no reason to jump the gun on the effective date of the repeal.

A spokeswoman at Zale Corp. in Dallas, which also worked for the repeal, said the jewelry chain, "still plans to obey the law, even though it hurts."

After test cases by Academy, the sporting goods chain, and Handy Dan, the home center, retailers at newly opened off-price malls began defying the blue law last fall. Later in the Christmas shopping season, they were joined by large discount stores such as K mart and Target.

Many retailers who opened on Sundays in December, returned to six-day weeks in early 1985.

Store executives said they expect to staff the stores on Sunday by juggling the schedules of current employees, possibly cutting back weekday hours.

Some retailers are paying overtime or offering other incentives to Sunday workers. Executives at Foley's and Penney said they had no shortage of volunteers to work last Sunday.