/>When many of us were doing our last-minute present buying on Christmas Eve, the sales veterans will have seen it as a pure gold opportunity to scope out potential bargains and do intelligence on sizing
ASK any Lidl or Aldi sales magpie, and they will assure you that the serious side to bargain hunting is all about the preparation.
They wear their discount scouting hat every month of the year and before going into combat, they cogitate, ruminate and mull over the upcoming early-morning specials such as the high-powered telescopes and ski boots they couldn't miss.
When many of us were doing our last-minute present buying on Christmas Eve, the sales veterans will have seen it as a pure gold opportunity to scope out potential bargains and do intelligence on sizing. So when the flag goes up today on the traditional Christmas sales day, they were good to go.
This year, there is the prospect of really good bargains -- thanks to the Revenue Commissioners. Their autumn love letters informing householders about the details of the upcoming 2014 property tax impacted on sales figures and the bad weather of the past two Saturdays hasn't helped either.
Stephen Sealy, MD of Brown Thomas is taking a "deep discounts" approach to sales by slashing prices "aggressively", by up to 65pc on some stock, in order to get it out and clear the way for incoming spring stock. Optimistic about trading at the beginning of 2013, Mr Sealy confirms that business is up but not as much as he would have liked. He describes the Revenue Commissioners' salvo as "very unhelpful" but aims to finish the year with a positive bounce from early Spring/Summer 2014 sales in December.
Arnotts of Henry Street traditionally cut the ribbon on their post-Christmas sales on December 27. But as competition heated up on the shopping streets, they moved it up to December 26 and for the first few years, they flagged their December 26 sales start with crowd-pleasers such as Jedward[1] and Mary Byrne.
Sales are the perfect treatment for a bad case of cabin fever and you have an 18-carat excuse for escaping from the in-laws and the prospect of yet another afternoon on the couch watching B movies with only the coffee centres left in the tin of Roses.
Of course, sales patterns have changed hugely over the decades. I covered those sales when young men with enterprise and a desire to dodge granny's overcooked turkey queued outside Clerys of O'Connell Street for days on end, in order to bag themselves some expensive golf clubs or, if they were biddable, a snazzy three-piece suite for the mother. I invariably met them on December 25 as I headed off to cover the Christmas Day swim in Sandycove in Dublin and they took up their possessions with a deck chair and a tupperware box of ham sambos.
IN recent years, the trophy ticket prizes changed. Young couples targeted posh Smeg fridges, a real symbol of newly-wedded wealth. And the profile of those populating 9am sales queues has changed considerably, with lots of foreigners, in particular, Chinese students zoning in on designer items. At Arnotts, I saw it first hand last year as it was sharp turn left inside the door to target Coach leather goods and other handbags.
At Brown Thomas, the number of staff who can speak Mandarin has grown as Chinese shoppers can scoop savings of up to 40pc compared to the prices and taxes back home. The post-Christmas sales provide the perfect opportunity to beat down the cabin fever and escape from the cloying clutches of the in-laws. What mother-in-law can argue if her daughter's other half is ambitious and wants to buy himself a new suit?
Bargain hunting is not just confined to the bricks 'n' mortar shops. Some stores started their online sales earlier than door openings, with the Kilkenny stores launching their online sale at 6pm on Christmas Eve, so within minutes of their 13 stores closing their doors, the discounts started online. In the sales rush, you'll meet those bringing back unwanted Christmas gifts and strategic festive fiends seeking out '90pc off' luxury Christmas trees and baubles.
For comfort, I recommend that you dress in lots of layers because heat can be a killer in the sales rush and taking on and off clothes and queuing for dressing rooms will only slow you down. Don't forget to bring a small bottle of water and if you've been frustrated by tiresome plastic not working when you want it to at ATMs, go prepared.
Irish Independent
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