December 27, 200916 yr Handbags at dawn: Shoppers jostle for bargains in £1billion Boxing Day sales frenzy By Jonathan Petre Last updated at 11:45 PM on 26th December 2009 Comments (0) Add to My Stories Fights broke out at some of Britain’s top stores yesterday as shoppers jostled for the best bargains at Boxing Day sales. Police had to be called to Gucci’s flagship store in Knightsbridge, West London, after a fracas just before the doors opened at 10am, and there were also scuffles in Milton Keynes. According to shoppers at Gucci, where £500 handbags, shoes and other goods were being sold at half price, a police van and four patrol cars raced to the scene after reports of punches being thrown. Sales fever: Satisfied customers Jess Budgen and Emily Budgen purchased designer handbags in Selfridges The incident was one of several on what was expected to be the busiest shopping day of the year, during which retail experts predicted that more than £1billion would be spent. There was an altercation with queue-jumping youths at the huge Centre:MK in Milton Keynes described as a ‘low-key scuffle’ by a spokesman. And at Selfridges in Manchester several shoppers were injured after a ceiling panel light fell on them. More... From fashion to furniture, just what you can save in stores in the post Christmas sales The sales fever was fuelled by Boxing Day falling on a Saturday, prompting more stores than ever before to begin their January sales early. Experts believe another factor was the ending of the reduction in VAT, which returns to 17.5 per cent from 15 per cent next week. The bonanza for retailers also spread to the internet. Shoppers rush into Selfridges in central London. Hundreds queued from the early hours outside the department store to take advantage of the sales, with a 90 per cent discount on some lines Overall sales by the end of the day were 40 per cent up on 2008, with figures estimated to break through the £200million barrier in the UK for the first time. Out on the cold streets, thousands of shoppers queued in the dark in the hope of catching discounts as high as 90 per cent. The early start, however, proved too much for the tempers of some outside the Gucci store. Police were called to Gucci in West London after scuffles between shoppers broke out One shopper said some who had arrived outside the store as early as 5am became angry when others appeared to barge in at the front of the queue. Sophia Yates said: ‘It was ridiculous. Mayhem. I’ve never seen any thing like this before. There was a lot of shouting. Somebody said someone was punched. All I could hear was a big kerfuffle, and then there was a woman crying.’ The Metropolitan Police said it had assisted staff in bringing crowds under control but there were no arrests. Every shopper for themselves: Bargain hunters dash through Selfridges as the doors open In Milton Keynes, shoppers dealt with queue-jumpers in a slightly calmer fashion. There was an argument as some youths tried to barge in when they arrived at 6am for sales at stores including Next, House of Fraser and Bhs. Shoppers who had been there since 3am were unimpressed. A shopping centre source said: ‘There was quite an argument when these lads tried to push in. They were standing their ground to start with but then dozens of people started having a go at them and they slunk off.’ Stewards at Selfridges worked to keep the crowds under control and there was a separate line for customers hoping to get their hands on Gucci products Shoppers hurt at Selfridges in Manchester were in the ground-floor accessories area just after the store opened at 8am. Four suffered cuts to their heads and bruising and were treated by paramedics. Adam Caulfield, from Oldham, said: ‘It was bedlam. Two or three girls had loads of blood gushing from their heads.’ Richard Dodd, of the British Retail Consortium, predicted yesterday would be the ‘biggest retail Boxing Day ever’. With the holiday falling on a Saturday, nearly all the big shops were doing business, from Harrods and Harvey Nichols to Debenhams and John Lewis. At Selfridges in London, stewards worked to keep crowds under control and there was a separate line for customers hoping to get their hands on Gucci products. By 1pm, the menswear department alone had taken more than £1million. A woman looks at the last handbag left in the Chloe department inside Selfridges on Oxford Street Mary Adonis, 32, who lives in Notting Hill, West London, managed an impressive 2am start. She said: ‘I want to look in all the departments, maybe for a bag. I love Gucci.’ In London’s West End, retailers expected to see 500,000 shoppers spending more than £60million. Jace Tyrrell of the New West End Company, which represents retailers on Bond Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street, said: ‘Boxing Day is the single biggest day of the January sales in the West End but we’re expecting a total of 1.2million shoppers spending around £120million over the next three days.’ More than 125,000 shoppers were expected at Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent, while at the Meadowhall centre in Sheffield, the 12,000 car-parking spaces were virtually full at 11am .Visitor numbers were expected to top 100,000. The Bullring in Birmingham also saw thousands queuing outside from 4am. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1238596/Handbags-dawn-Shoppers-jostle-bargains-1billion-Boxing-Day-sales-frenzy.html#ixzz0asUXKdNX
December 27, 200916 yr how many handbags do women actually need in a year?? That's none of your business :P (And don't pretend you're not grateful when you want the Mrs. to carry your stuff around in it ;))
December 27, 200916 yr Author how many handbags do women actually need in a year?? Maybe you should be asking Jen as a "representative"!!:lol:
December 27, 200916 yr how many handbags do women actually need in a year?? At least 366 :P Same with shoes so they can have a new handbag for every day :P
December 28, 200916 yr Author At least 366 :P Same with shoes so they can have a new handbag for every day :P Does this include Spanish girls?:rolleyes:
December 28, 200916 yr A girl can never have enough handbags :P I used to work in Next and people would queue up for the store opening at 7am on Boxing day. It's crazyness :confused:
December 28, 200916 yr LOL BAGS, I hate girls like you, you just establish and confirm stereotypes, it's like a man wanting BEER, FOOTBALL AND TITS
December 28, 200916 yr A girl can never have enough handbags :P What? They're fucking bags. They carry your shit so you don't have to. Actually I think most women would be perfectly fine with just pockets if it weren't for a) no womens' clothes have pockets and b) they have to carry tampons like 1/5 of their lives and c) lots of women are idiots. I don't get why anyone would spend more than like $20 on a bag anyway. It's a bag.
December 28, 200916 yr From what I can tell having a quick look a the new year's entertainment sales is that most of it is rubbish :P
December 28, 200916 yr I was going to buy a new handbag yesterday, but i couldn't bring myself to spend the money on it.
December 30, 200916 yr I got stuff cheap from Boxing Day sales, I'm not complaining, but those people are nuts. What? They're fucking bags. They carry your shit so you don't have to. Actually I think most women would be perfectly fine with just pockets if it weren't for a) no womens' clothes have pockets and b) they have to carry tampons like 1/5 of their lives and c) lots of women are idiots. I don't get why anyone would spend more than like $20 on a bag anyway. It's a bag. Pockets don't fit pads, either. I've got a handbag because it's a fairly large one that I can actually put a decent amount of stuff in + a jacket if I need to take mine off. Small actual handbags are shitty. Plus, it's not like you REALLY need to keep getting more if you just get one decent versatile one.
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