Sales frenzy for big name stores

Monday, 27 December 2010

Two high-profile retailers are launching their in-store Christmas sales

Two high-profile retailers are launching their in-store Christmas sales, hoping to enjoy the boost to trading seen by their rivals a day earlier.

John Lewis and Harrods open their doors after staying shut on Boxing Day, when most stores traditionally welcome bargain hunters off the streets.

Highlights at Harrods' Knightsbridge store include a Marc Jacobs sequinned evening bag reduced from £670 to £399 and a Sony 3D TV bundle package down from £3,549 to £2,828.

Shopping centres and high streets up and down Britain were packed on Boxing Day as stores slashed prices to lure back the crowds after freezing pre-Christmas temperatures and heavy snow hit sales.

Stores were restricted to six-hour Sunday trading, but some malls opened early to allow people to browse. Many out of town centres reported car parks full to capacity as shops opened their doors. The impending VAT increase from 17.5% to 20% on January 4 gave consumers a reason to splash out on pricier items such as electronic goods and furniture.

Shoppers in London had to contend with the Tube strike, but crowds still descended on the West End to pick up bargains slashed by up to 70%. Other people opted to browse for items from the comfort of their homes to avoid the cold conditions.

When Selfridges in Oxford Street opened its doors for trade at 11am more than 8,000 people were waiting outside, compared to 2,000 last year, a spokeswoman said. A Mulberry bag was the first transaction in the store's accessories hall.

At the Bullring in Birmingham more than 25,000 visitors passed through the doors before 12pm. Aberdeen's Union Square shopping centre said iPads and HD televisions were among the most sought-after items. By 1pm there were 70,000 shoppers swarming over the 200 shops at the Trafford Centre on the outskirts of Manchester.

A spokesman for Bluewater shopping centre in Greenhithe, Kent, said more than 100,000 visitors were expected to pass through its doors, with over 900,000 people forecast to visit the centre by January 1. The Arndale Centre in Manchester reported "phenomenal" trading, with in excess of 150,000 through the doors.

Trevor Pereira, commercial director at Capital Shopping Centres, which manages malls including Lakeside in Thurrock, Essex, and Metrocentre in Gateshead, said customers had been "flooding through" the doors of its 13 centres.