A COMBINATION of fine weather and pent-up demand resulted in an excellent opening day of the winter sales for many retailers.
Brown Thomas reported an increase in early trade of as much as 50 per cent in some stores compared with 2010, while projections from the Dundrum Town Centre were equally upbeat.
Reports of an apparently increased spending appetite among people are being welcomed by retailer and representative groups who stressed the importance of a strong pre- and post-Christmas sales period if closures are to be avoided early next year.
First out of the sales blocks was Next. Its 6am start did not deter many would-be shoppers, who queued through the night outside its branches nationwide.
At Arnotts in Dublin, queues started forming at 5pm on Christmas Day. And when the department store opened at 9am there were about 300 people standing in line. A wall of satchel bags from Guess marked down from €170 to €85 disappeared in less than three minutes, with one fiercely determined shopper managing to snap up eight bags before the sale was minutes old.
“The dry, sunny weather certainly brought customers out earlier and footfall is tracking up on last year,” said Arnotts retail director Leesa Kavanagh.
Last year Brown Thomas had to postpone the start of the sale in its flagship Grafton Street premises because of a burst water pipe, but this year it was people not water which flooded its floors. Its branches in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway all experienced a significant bounce in trade, with Galway and Limerick doing extremely well. By midday sales in Galway were up almost 50 per cent on last year.
Managing director Stephen Sealey said there had also been a double digit increase in Dublin compared with December 27th last year, the day the sale started following the flood. “It has been a strong start and we have noticed a lot of Chinese shoppers, in particular, coming through the doors this morning,” Mr Sealey said.
He said a shorter sale period was likely, with stock likely to be cleared within two weeks. The change from old to new stock will be even faster in the store’s accessories department and Mr Sealey said that by Thursday 80 per cent of the stock in that department will be new season.
Debenhams on Cork’s Patrick’s Street was also busy. “We have been very busy since we opened . . . There are a lot of men shopping today and a lot of families who are out making a day of it,” a spokeswoman said.
Marketing manager of the Dundrum Town Centre Jeanette Jordan said it was busy, with some retailers reporting sales running at more than twice last year. “In the first three hours of business today some tenants have matched a full day’s trading last year.” She said Christmas week had been very good with footfall up 28 per cent on last year.