Bargain hunters sale away on €1bn shopping spree

AFTER splurging €4 billion in the run-up to Christmas, shoppers were out in force yesterday for the traditional winter sales.

With at least €1bn to spend, bargain hunters in search of good value hit the high streets with a vengeance after a two-day shopping break.

Economists predict that one in six of the population will join the sales frenzy, each spending an average of 200.

On the first day of the sales in Dublin, Arnott's catered for 45,000 customers, with the other major city stores such as Brown Thomas and Clery's attracting huge support.

Queues formed ahead of the 5am opening at Next store, Dundrum, in Dublin's newest suburban shopping centre.

"Most had their eyes on our high-cost items like coats and shoes which were reduced to half price," a spokesperson said.

At about the same time, mother and daughter Jane and Sandra Gill from Clane, Co Kildare, were waiting outside Clery's in O'Connell Street hoping to find replacement furniture and bedding.

"We lost our house through a fire four weeks ago," said Jane.

John Bebbington, store manager at Debenhams, Jervis Street, Dublin, said: "We opened at 7am and there was a queue outside the door ... It's been non-stop ever since. We have almost twice as much stock as we had last year. A lot of people are in spending gift vouchers. The hot items? We have electrical twin-packs that's a toaster and a

kettle down from €130 to €57.50. And duvet sets are also very popular, down from €125 to €55.50."

At the newly opened Waterford branch of Soundstore, salesman Anthony Hennessy reported brisk interest in kitchen appliances and the larger TVs that were reduced by up to €500.

Bobby Power, sales and marketing manager for the Arramount group, said leather suites (25% off) were popular with shoppers at Limerick's Dock Road store. Beds were reduced from €369 to €189.

Bank of Ireland chief economist Dan McLaughlin has predicted that shoppers will continue to ignore personal debt warnings as they splash their cash in 2006.

The consumer boom will be further fuelled in the New Year when the first of the €16bn Special Savings Incentive Accounts (SSIAs) are released.

Even before the Christmas period, figures from the Central Statistics Office showed consumer spending accelerating at 6.5%. It hit an all-time peak of 8.6% at the height of the Celtic Tiger boom in 2000.