THINKING of getting first in line for an after Christmas bargain? Well, you're already too late for the beginning of some sales, as stores jump the festive gun to make a record trading season even better.
On Grafton Street, A Wear and Wallis were in sales mode yesterday, to be joined by Miss Selfridge today. However, the main stores are waiting until after Christmas to cut their prices Clerys, Brown Thomas, Boyers, Oasis, Cash and Moons all start their sales on Friday morning.
Arnotts is holding off until Saturday and Roches Stores until January 14th. Dunnes Stores hasn't decided on a date, but with its Cornelscourt branch staying open all last night, it probably doesn't need to worry about revenues just yet.
By yesterday evening, many traders were already celebrating a successful shopping season, with revenue up on last year. The biggest winners in Dublin have been the new Irish branches of UK chain stores such as Boots and Debenhams, which have exceeded their owners' expectations.
New shopping centres in Jervis Street and Blanchardstown have pulled business away from traditional areas such as Grafton Street, besides affecting business in smaller towns outside the capital.
The Clerys general manager, Mr Tom Rea, said he was pleased with the level of trade achieved in spite of the increased competition, which has seen the addition of one million square feet of new retail space in the past two months.
"We've had an excellent Christmas, which won't be far off the excellent results of last year. There are a lot of young people out, there, spending serious money, he said.
According to the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, consumers will spend an estimated £2 billion in the six week period from early December to the end of the sales. About £550 million of this will be spent in Dublin.
Mr Rea says business has been boosted by an influx of shoppers from Northern Ireland and, earlier in the month, Iceland. "But more importantly, people are no longer going up North from here."
Ms Sarah Birmingham, the manager of the Wall is store in Grafton Street, said business was wonderful" this Christmas, although there had been a shift from Grafton Street to other bunches in the new shopping centres.
Operation Freeflow stopped many potential shoppers coming into the city centre, she said, and traffic disruptions associated with the EU summit had also affected business.
