08.01.09 - 10:07 -
Plenty of bargains to be had. / YOLANDA MONTIEL
Although the official date of the start of the sales period had been brought forward to January 2nd by the Junta de Andalucía to help boost trade, some big chains had kept with the tradition of starting their sales yesterday (January 7th) - the day after Three Kings Day and they opened their doors at 10 a.m. to thousands of bargain hunters.
Shops such as El Corte Inglés, Carrefour, Adolfo Domínguez and those which are part of the the textile group Inditex (Zara, Bershka, Pull and Bear, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius, Oysho, Zara Home and Uterqüe) already had many offers and discounts aimed at attracting more custom but waited until yesterday to put up their 'rebajas' (sales) signs.
Among the sales shoppers was Gloria Serneire who had waited for El Corte Inglés in Malaga to open from 9.30 a.m. "I wanted to be one of the people running through the Corte Inglés when they open the doors like I'd seen on the television ... It was crazy, the escalators could hardly cope with the stampede." she said.
Some people had waited until yesterday to do their Christmas shopping and others were spending their Christmas present money but whatever way the queues in some shops were very long. "It's taken me 40 minutes to try on two pairs of trousers. Now I've been waiting to pay for them for half an hour and there are 25 people in front of me," said Dani who was in the long queue in Pull and Bear.
The situation was no less stressful for the shop employees. "I haven't got time to think ... if we're not bringing out more stock, we're tidying up what's already out," said Cristina, the manager of Oysho, who still had a long day ahead of her. In Zara Home things were similar: "In the six months that I've worked here, I've never seen as many people," said Patricia without stopping tidying up the shelves.
In a recent report the Andalucía Consumers Union estimated that 80 per cent of people in the region will buy something during the sales period and that they will spend an average of 125 euros - most of it on clothes. "People wait until the sales to kit themselves out, especially in clothes and home furnishings. Shirts and trousers go flying out the door. We are expecting a lot of people because we've got great offers of up to 60 per cent off," said Eduardo Barrero who is in charge of external relations at El Corte Inglés.
The official sales period was started five days early in a bid to sell more before Three Kings Day and make up for what has been classed as the worst Christmas retail campaign ever as a result of financial hard times.
