Christmas is not over yet, Huge sales have already started!
Winter sale signs in a French Connection shop window. Photograph: Frank Baron
Department stores
At Very.co.uk there’s an abundance of big name brands, with up to 75% off fashion, electrical goods, jewellery and accessories. Another online retailer, Littlewoods.com is also offering 75% off at the moment.
At Debenhams you can get up to 70% off online on selected items today, and the instore sale starts at 7am on Boxing Day. John Lewis’s sale starts online at 6pm tonight (Christmas Eve) and starts instore on December 27 from Midday.
Luxury stores
If you’re after luxury goods, Selfridges’ sale starts on Boxing Day, check their website for the opening hours of your local store. Then there’s Harvey Nichols who also go to sale on Boxing Day. All the stores are opening at different times so again, it’s best to check their website for your local one.
At Harrods you can shop the sale online right now and instore on Boxing Day when it’s open from 10am – 8pm. Liberty’s sale also starts on Boxing Day and is open from 10am-8pm.
Fashion
If fashion is your thing then eco-fashion retailer Ascension is offering 50% reductions online at the moment. For designer clothing visit matchesfashion.com where you can also get up to 50% off. Then there’s My-Wardrobe.com, where they are offering 50% off designer clobber right now.
Vintage retailer Rokit’s sale has already started and you can save as much as 50% off dresses and jackets and 30% off tops.
Several high street stores have already started their sales, among them Topshop (both online and instore) Dorothy Perkins, French Connection, Laura Ashley and Gap. Moneysavingexpert.com has a good list of places where sales have started.
Homewares
Heals online sale starts on Christmas Day for those who are bored with watching the telly presumably. Their instore sale starts on Boxing Day at the Tottenham Court Road branch in London and the Redbrick Mill branch in Leeds. Everywhere else, the instore sale starts on December 27.
At Ikea all stores except the ones in Cardiff and Belfast are open on Boxing Day for the sales. Check your local branch for opening times. Argos starts their sale online on Christmas day and instore on Boxing Day.
If you’re after more niche homewares (and garden stuff and toys) try Cox & Cox. Their sale starts at midnight on Christmas Eve with up to 60% off. Graham and Green have started theirs now and you can save up to 50% off. Few and Far, Priscilla Carluccio’s award-winning shop in Knightsbridge, starts its sale on January 2 and you can get up to 70% off furniture, lighting, accessories and clothing.
Books
For book lovers, we’ve found out that publishing house, Phaidon is holding a ‘New Year Warehouse Sale’ at the Phaidon store, 173, Piccadilly (opposite the Royal Academy). The sale will run for only ten days, starting on
January 1 at 8:30am and running until January 10 at 7:00pm.
Perfume
For cheap deals on perfume, try The Fragrance Shop which has a huge sale online now and instore on Boxing Day.
We’ve barely scratched the surface when it comes to the sales this year. If you’ve spotted any shops offering serious bargains, please let everyone know about them in the comments section below.
Indus League to open 16 stores, eyes tier-II cities for expansion
Apparel retailer Indus League Clothing is sewing recovery plans as consumer
spending picks up during festive season.
The Future group company
plans to open at least 16 stores, including exclusive showrooms for its brands
such as Daniel Hechter, Indigo Nation and Scullers. The company, which saw 30%
rise in sales in November as compared to same period last year, is now bullish
on growth prospects and is hiring 300 people for its front-end
operations.
Earlier this year, there was not only a 10% dip in
same-store sales, walk-ins too fell by 20%. But the company got a boost with the
onset of consumer spending in festive season. âThe festive season has
brought back growth in November,â says Rachana Aggarwal, CEO, Indus League
Clothing.
The company, which has already opened nine stores this
year, plans to expand into tier-II towns. âWe are moving into tier-II
cities such as Madurai and Vizag with our John Miller and Indigo Nation
brands,â said Aggarwal.
The company has also rejigged its
marketing spend, with print ads coming down in favour of more direct marketing.
Promotions inside malls have gone up. Also, the company has put up LED screens
in Bangalore, where customers who are part of the loyalty programme can put up
their travel pictures. For their teen brand Jealous 21, the company is planning
big shows in colleges and universities. âWe are still spending around to
8% of our revenue on ads. But we are using new channels to get the message
across, which rewards loyal customersâ said Aggarwal. For example, in
Bangalore, Hyderabad and Cochin, exclusive jazz music and party events were
organised just for customers on the loyalty programme. This new ad strategy
seems to be working well to retain customers, she added.
Revenues are
expected to rise to Rs 450 crore the coming year, she said, adding that the
consumer spend happening now is not just a festive trend, but an overall
improvement in the sentiment. âPeople are more cautious yes, but they are
back to spending.â However, she added that this time round more business
is coming from hypermakets like Brand Factory, for the same brands. This means
that while a person might continue buying Sculler casuals, he is more likely to
shop for it in Brand Factory than at the brandâs showroom. âA
showroom has this idea of being pricier. That might be the reason. But he is
back to buying,â says Aggarwal.
Hyper-market brands Privilege
Club and Jay Walk, which are available at Big Bazaar, have shown a 30-40% growth
in recent times, and drove sales during the slowdown. Indus League sells
products across the price spectrum – Privilege Club, Jay Walk in the value
segment, Indigo Nation and John Miller in the mid-price segment, and Scullers,
Urbana and Daniel Hechter in the premium band.
Earlier this year,
when the company saw its growth plummet along with the retail sector, it
introduced new entry-level price points for all its brands. So, Scullers got
cheaper by Rs100 to Rs 799 for its new corporate line for women. The range is
still priced at Rs799-1,099, lower than the Rs 899-1,299 range for its previous
lines. Similarly, an Indigo Nation shirt was moved to an entry-level price of Rs
799 against Rs 899 earlier.
Trouble in toy town as Barbie is left on the shelf
The 50th anniversary of Barbie is commemorated by a lineup of dolls from different eras, but UK sales are thought to have slumped 35%. Photograph: Craig Ruttle/AP
Fifty can be a tricky birthday for anyone. But spare a thought for Barbie, who hit the landmark this year only to face rejection in playrooms around the country.
Recession has caused trouble in toy town with confidential industry data suggesting UK sales of Barbie slumped 42% this year as old favourites such as Lego and newer franchise the Sylvanian Families stormed ahead, up 20% and 40% respectively.
Experts argued that the decline of the famous doll was due to the straitened economic times.
Elaine Whiteman, toys and books buyer at John Lewis, said heritage brands such as Lego, Playmobil, Meccano and Sylvanian Families had led the field this Christmas: “If people have got less money to spend they buy something that offers value for money and can be passed down to the next generation.”
Not surprisingly, Peter Brown, chief executive of Sylvanian Families manufacturer Flair Leisure, agreed. “There has been a move away from glitz and bling in the recession. When there is financial uncertainty, that doesn’t marry well with the Hollywood lifestyle that Barbies and Bratz dolls represent. “
In the year so far, UK sales at Barbie owner Mattel are down 26% as the popularity of new ranges such as Rainforest has helped offset declining doll sales, according to market research group NPD, which tracks the toy sales of retailers including Argos, Tesco and The Entertainer.
Mattel celebrated Barbie’s 50th by giving the pneumatic blonde a new look, complete with thinner jaw line, almond-shaped eyes and fuller lips. It also teamed up with designer Christian Louboutin to create a limited-edition doll, which, at £100, comes with four pairs of his famous red-soled shoes.
A spokeswoman for Mattel said that NPD figures did not cover the independent toy shops but she accepted that the doll was finding middle age tough.
“A lot of the decline is down to Woolworths which had 40% of the fashion doll market. That’s a big hole to fill but it’s always a bit cyclical in this market.”
Total toy industry sales are down 10% this year. When measured by volume, sales are down 17% in November according to the NPD data. The November figures give an important insight into the sector, as a third of all toy sales are linked to Christmas. The average sale price, at £8.89, was 11% lower than in 2007.
Analysts say large manufacturers such as Mattel and Hasbro have been harder hit by the disappearance of Woolworths. The defunct retailer had annual toy sales of £400m, providing a national platform for product launches and promotions.
“Toys go in cycles,” said one. “Barbie is in a temporary down due to the recession and because it has done fantastically well in the past. Woolworths was a huge retailer of Barbie dolls and Mattel has not been able to replace lost sales volumes.”
The bestselling toy of the year will be VTech’s Kidizoom digital camera, which costs around £50, said NPD.Surprise hits such as Go Go Hamsters sold out early on, but Whiteman says there is always a toy whose success catches the market off -guard. Barbie sales at John Lewis, she added had gone “through the roof” as dolls such as Barbie and the Three Musketeers made Christmas lists. Other bestsellers include the Maxi Micro Scooter at £89.95 and a John Lewis toy kitchen for £109.95.
“Last year was a tough one for the industry,” added Brown. “A lot of money was lost when Woolworths went bust and suppliers lost their trade insurance. Virtually all toy retailers are doing better than last year but impulse sales have been lost as there used to be 800 Woolworths you could wander into. There is very clearly a gap in the market and it will be interesting to see how that is filled.”
The top 10
1 Kidizoom Camera
2 Ben 10 Kevin’s Cruiser
3 First Steps Babywalker
4 Bop It
5 Monopoly City
6 Sylvanian Families Caravan and Family Car
7 Baby Annabell
8 Go Go Hamsters
9 My Laptop
10 Music & Motion Choo Choo
Source: NPD
U.S. retailers open past midnight in holiday push
NEW YORK (Reuters) – In the nights before Christmas, some U.S. retailers are opening their doors round the clock to wring out every last possible holiday sale.
But few consumers are burning the midnight oil in their hunt for bargains, and a visit to New York City stores showed only a handful of tourists, late night revelers and desperate last-minute shoppers wandering the aisles.
Macy’s Inc’s flagship store in Manhattan’s Herald Square began operating 24 hours a day on Monday and will close on Christmas Eve at 6 p.m.
Across the United States, Macy’s kept 12 stores open in metropolitan areas such as New York, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, out of a chain of about 800 outlets.
Other store chains with a number of locations open round the clock this week include consumer electronics chain Best Buy Co Inc and Kmart.
The Manhattan Macy’s store, often known for its daylight shopping frenzy, was calm at 12:30 a.m. EST on Wednesday. Sales clerks even had time on their hands to fold sweaters into a pile. But some shoppers said that was a draw.
“When you come here in the afternoon, it’s shoulder to shoulder,” said Phil Reeves, a car dealership manager visiting from Australia.
“It’s more relaxed and from our point of view we can do other things during the day.” The extended hours let him and his family see a Broadway musical before heading into stores.
Greg Hatton, a truck driver from Guelph, Ontario, said he was with his girlfriend making impulse purchases after some barhopping.
That convenience is a key advantage that the retailers are seeking as they face heightened competition from web commerce, sales lost in last weekend’s East Coast snowstorm and consumers focused on deep discounts.
“What retailers are looking to do is get any leg up on the competition to get what little dollars are available,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at the NPD Group.
“We’re seeing a new tradition form right in front of our eyes,” he said of the extended hours and the decision by a rising number of retailers to open even on U.S. Thanksgiving Day and Christmas.
Cohen said that aside from a few hours of extra wages, incremental costs to retailers are minimal but create invaluable goodwill.
Overall the National Retail Federation expects U.S. retail sales to fall 1 percent to $437.6 billion this holiday season from a year ago. In two weeks, retailers are set to release December sales results.
FEWER HASSLES
A number of Macy’s rivals opted not to stay open around the clock in the run up to Christmas and may have lost some customers as a result.
J.C. Penney’s store in Herald Square, one block south of Macy’s, shut its doors at midnight, a closure some shoppers found inconvenient.
“I’m from the Midwest and there you can go to a Target or a WalMart in the middle of the night,” said Sarah O’Haver, who was leaving the Penney store with several shopping bags at the stroke of midnight.
“They call this the city that never sleeps but you can’t even find a 24-hour grocery store,” she said, adding that she would probably pop up into Macy’s to round out her shopping because it was still open.
Few stores in the area from Herald Square to Times Square were open and there were signs that retailers were going further to capture holiday sales.
The Gap Inc offered 60 percent off on some merchandise at its namesake stores in Times Square and Herald Square stores in discounts reminiscent of last year’s fire sales.
Others relied on special events to lure shoppers after hours and fill up their stores.
Foot Locker Inc’s Times Square store remained open until midnight and offered 70 percent discounts on some items. A crowd of young adults snaked around the corner of its 34th Street store, which stayed open until the early hours, waiting to buy the newly launched Air Jordan XI Space Jam sneakers.
“I’m in line now because it’ll be sold out tomorrow,” one youth said.
At the Toys R Us Inc in Times Square, a number of parents were taking advantage of the modest crowds and lack of children to get their toy shopping done early Wednesday.
“I’m a single dad and I just got off a date,” said John Reynolds, a radio programer from New York. The absence of kids and later hours means “you can walk more freely.”
One investment banker, who declined to give his name saying his colleagues would not let him live down shopping for toys in the wee hours, made a date of it with his wife after going to a restaurant.
(Editing by Michele Gershberg and Steve Orlofsky)
Wal-Mart to continue discounts, deals after Christmas
(Reuters) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) will continue its holiday discounts and deals into the week after Christmas, the world’s largest retailer said on Wednesday, as it introduces new deals and extends some old ones.
Beginning December 26, Wal-Mart will offer clearance discounts of up to 50 percent on many home holiday items and toys, besides introducing a $50 gift card with an Xbox 360 purchase and offering an eMachine netbook for $228.
Wal-Mart has already rolled out aggressive price cuts ahead of the 2009 holiday season. It is offering more than 100 toys for $10 each, and it has cut prices on highly anticipated hardcover books by 60 percent or more, igniting a price-cutting war.
On Wednesday, the company said it will also extend other previously announced deals such as its selection of top Blu-ray movies for under $20.
Wal-Mart shares closed at $53.34 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bangalore; Editing by Vinu Pilakkott)
Portico to open 20 EBOs, 100 shop-in-shops by 2011
With a view to tap the healthy growth potential in the bed-and-bath segment,
leading home textile player, Creative Portico, is planning to open 100
shop-in-shop outlets and 20 Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBOs) by 2011, a senior
company official said.
“We are strongly focussing on the bed-and-bath
furnishing segment that is growing at 20 per cent presently and to tap this
potential we will be opening around 20 EBOs and 100 shop-in-shops,” Creative
Portico’s Senior General Manager (Retail and Marketing), Chandan S, said here
today.
The company launched its first EBO – Portico New York- in
suburban Bandra here while it has 170 shop-in-shops across the country
presently.
The company would be investing around Rs 20 lakh per EBO,
Chandan added.
Going forward, Creative also plans to open 4-5
flagship stores in major metros while it targets entry into Tier II cities in
the next 2-3 years.
Portico, which has a 10 per cent share in the Rs
900 crore nascent organised bed-and-bath market, feels there is a huge potential
in this segment as it is an inexpensive method of changing the decor of a
room.
Portico, which is growing at a rate of 50 per cent
year-on-year, targets a Rs 90 crore revenue this fiscal as against Rs 65-crore
in FY 09.
Creative Portico, the wholly-owned subsidiary of leading
garment exporter Creative Group, deals in three categories namely, portico
regular range, kids range and has recently stepped into promoting healthy living
through its Therapeia range of products, all ranging from Rs 600 to
10,000.
Therapeia range has products like i-bedding (treated with
negative ion technology, soya bean quilts (natural fibre duvet), anti-mite and
bite pillows and eco pillows.
Besides, Creative Portico has an
exclusive agreement with Tommy Hilfiger to make premium home furnishings in the
country.
Rosebys ties up with Style Spa, eyes Rs 500 cr revenue by FY14
DELHI: Home furnishing and lifestyle retail chain Rosebys today announced a
tie-up with K K Birla Group furniture retailer Style Spa to set up 100
shop-in-shops by March next year as it looks to become a Rs 500-crore company by
2013-14.
The company also said it is in discussion with real estate,
paint and consumer care players to partner for its “one-stop shop in the
furnishing and decor segment”.
“We will initially open 50
shop-in-shops at Style Spa’s outlets across the country soon and then expand the
concept to its 100-odd stores by March 2011 under a revenue sharing model,”
Rosebys Director Nikhil Sen reporters here.
He said the tie-up will
provide a synergy for customers by offering the entire range of home solutions
under a single roof. The shop-in-shops will have an average space of 200-500 sq
ft.
“Modern customers look for furnishing items also when they come
to buy furniture and this tie-up will be strategic for both partners,” Sen
said.
On investment, he said: “We have a 5-year plan of Rs 125 crore
for brand building. This tie-up will help us further in becoming a Rs 500 crore
company by 2013-14.”
Rosebys is in talks with real estate, paint and
consumer care companies to make the partnership even more inclusive.
Snow disrupts Christmas deliveries
A postbox covered in snow in Belfast. Photograph: Peter Morrison/AP
Tens of thousands online shoppers may not receive deliveries in time for Christmas after snow and ice caused delivery problems for Royal Mail and all the main supermarkets in the worst affected areas.
Royal Mail said the weather had caused disruption to 5% of the post. Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda have been forced to cancel grocery deliveries in some areas.
Royal Mail said it was doing “everything possible” to ensure the post arrived on time, but the icy conditions meant some addresses were unreachable.
“More than 95% of Royal Mail’s operation is working completely normally, but in a very small number of areas some deliveries have been subject to disruption as the severe weather and road conditions mean that we cannot get to some addresses safely,” a spokeswoman said.
“We are keeping the mail moving and doing everything possible to deliver all letters and parcels by the latest recommended posting dates for Christmas.”
Tesco has put on extra staff in an attempt to ensure that orders are delivered on time. But a spokesman added: “It goes without saying that grocery deliveries in some areas have been impacted by the weather and treacherous driving conditions.”
Asda said some deliveries had been cancelled because of the conditions but deliveries would continue into Christmas Eve. “Clearly, the weather has led to issues in a small number of cases. We are doing everything we can to get deliveries to people,” it said.
Sainsbury’s said it had been forced to cancel some online orders. “Disruption to service has affected less than 1% of our orders in the past week, and we’ve been offering alternative delivery times where possible, said Tanya Lawler, the supermarket’s director of online. “Where we are unable to do so due to the high level of customer demand in the run-up to Christmas, we are informing those customers immediately so they are able to make alternative arrangements.”
Maggie Atkins, 73, from Overton, Hampshire, told the Daily Mail her online Tesco delivery had failed to arrive. “I was told my order was cancelled because of the weather,” she said. “I live alone and I can’t even hobble around a supermarket. I really think Tesco could have offered a priority service to the disabled.”
The online retailer Amazon said it expected goods ordered before 2pm today to arrive in time for Friday.
“Customer orders continue to be dispatched in time for Christmas delivery,” said a spokesman. “There may be a short delay to the arrival of some deliveries in the worst-affected areas, but all of these deliveries are expected to be made before Christmas.”
Retailers in X’mas spirit as shoppers binge
run-up to Christmas, retailers across the country are seeing an uptick in sales
as shoppers, buoyed by the festive sentiment and rising confidence levels in a
fast-recovering economy, feel emboldened to loosen their purse
strings.
Several major retailers are seeing significantly higher
sales year-on-year, with the increase more pronounced in categories such as
perfumes and jewellery, garments and apparel, toys and gifts, Christmas
decorations and items such as confectionery, wine, liquor, cookies and imported
foods.
In December, large retailers are on an average experiencing
overall sales growth of around 22% year-on-year, with some categories seeing up
to 60% higher sales, flattered by the so-called âbase effectâ.
Christmas sales were subdued last year after consumer sentiment took a hit in
the wake of the economic slowdown triggered by the recession in the developed
West and the terror attacks on Mumbai.
Reliable data on retail sales
are hard to come by in India, unlike developed markets. Organised retailers
enjoy a tiny market share and even in that sector, there are no industry-wide
data sources. Figures in this story are averages from respondents to a dipstick
survey by ET.
Retailers say sales figures this year are likely to be
around 15% on average, higher than even the boom levels of December 2007,
further proof of momentum returning to the economy. Indiaâs GDP growth
slowed to 6.7% last fiscal after averaging more than 9% in three straight
years, although for the quarter to end-September, the growth figure recovered to
a respectable 7.9%. The results are showing, and retailers expect the upward
momentum in sales, which started during the Diwali season, to last through early
January.
âWe are expecting a 35% rise in demand for diamond
jewellery during the year-end festivity,â said Mehul Choksi, group MD of
Gitanjali Group, which owns diamond brands such as Nakshatra, Gili and
DâDamas. For Gitanjali, itâs not all about Christmas. The company is
a beneficiary of the high price of gold, which has dimmed its allure among
shoppers and encouraged them to buy diamonds instead.
In Kolkata,
Starmark, the Emami groupâs books-music-gifts retail venture, has seen a
30-35% jump in sales since last Friday and the retailer expects this to pick up
further on Christmas Eve.
âThis year, sales have been extremely
good after near flat sales last Christmas. Products like Christmas trees and
decor, toys and gifts are moving off the shelves fast,â said Starmark CEO
Gautam Jatia. Starmark, which has four stores in Kolkata, has seen sales in the
past two weeks grow more than 15%, with lifestyle products such as apparel,
gifts, jewellery and perfumes recording more than 20% growth.
Jatia
has noticed a changing pattern in Christmas shopping. âEarlier we used to
see Christmas shopping picking up at least two weeks in advance. Now, it
typically starts from the weekend before,â he said.
Unlike in
the West, Christmas is not a big sales season across much of India compared with
festivals such as Diwali. However, together with the wedding season in north
India and the rising spending over New Year celebrations, retailers are ending
well what has otherwise been a muted year.
Top 10 Christmas songs of the decade
Christmas shoppers spend more if they hear festive tunes, research shows. Photograph: Getty Images/Christopher Furlong
Love them or hate them, there’s no chance high street stores are going to desist from the Christmas tunes. The likes of Mariah Carey and Slade singing about Christmas trees and Santa are good for business, making people much more likely to splash out on gifts, according to research from the music licensing organisations.
One in four people claim to be more generous when buying gifts if Christmas music is played, according to PPL and PRS for Music, the royalty collectors for songwriters and musicians.
Over the last decade they have seen a rise in Christmas-themed music played in stores and have analysed data from shops, radio airplay, television and live events to reveal Carey’s All I want for Christmas is You as the most played from the last 10 years.
The Pogues’ Fairytale of New York featuring Kirsty MacColl takes second place and Slade’s Merry Xmas Everybody is third.
The licensing bodies have enjoyed rising revenues in recent years as they collect money from a wide range of businesses that use music from synchronised swimming teachers to internet video sharer YouTube. In an attempt to offer more support to a music industry battered by online piracy and changing consumer habits, PPL and PRS have been running a MusicWorks campaign to emphasise the financial benefits to retailers, pubs and others of playing music.
“Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without the music we all know and love. Not only does it make us feel good when we hear it, it also has a direct benefit for those businesses that use it to set an atmosphere and mood and so encourage us to purchase. There is no doubt from the extensive research we have done at MusicWorks that the power of music is such that its use by businesses in public can considerably affect consumer behaviour,” says spokesman for the licensing organisations.
Their research, carried out with consultants Entertainment Media Research, claims 95% of people say they prefer shopping in stores that play music. But half of shoppers say Christmas music should only begin in stores in December.
The top 10 most played Christmas songs of the noughties:
1. ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU Mariah Carey (1994)
2. FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK The Pogues (1987)
3. MERRY XMAS EVERYBODY Slade (1973)
4. STOP THE CAVALRY Jona Lewie (1980)
5. DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS? Band Aid (1984)
6. DRIVING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS Chris Rea (1988)
7. LAST CHRISTMAS Wham (1984)
8. I BELIEVE IN FATHER CHRISTMAS Greg Lake (1975)
9. STEP INTO CHRISTMAS Elton John (1973)
10. WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS TIME Paul McCartney (1979)
Source: PPL & PRS for Music
