SALES fever gripped Wrexham on Monday as more than 1,000 people queued up outside one store from 3am to grab a bargain.
Huge queues snaked around the Next store at the Eagles Meadow shopping centre by 6am, when staff threw open the doors signalling the start of the famous sale.
Next store manager Claire Birchall arrived at 5am and was amazed at the number of people waiting patiently for the sale to begin.
Speaking at the start of the sale she said: “I have been with the company 10 years and manager here at Eagles Meadow since May. I am expecting our busiest ever day here in Wrexham.
“The queue was immense but people have been very patient. We are allowing 500 people in initially and then it will have to be a system of 10 out 10 in, that’s the only way we ensure customer and staff safety.”
She added: “I must admit I have never seen it so busy, it’s incredible.”
First in the queue were friends Laura Jones and Louise Thomas, of Wrexham, who just beat Ashley Foulkes, who travelled from Rhyl to grab a bargain or two, to be first in line waiting for the doors to open.
All were after children’s clothes and had arrived at Eagles Meadow in the small hours of Boxing Day morning.
Laura said: “We got here at 3.10am and to be honest we didn’t think we would be first in the queue. I just want children’s clothes.”
Louise added: “I’m just going to grab what I can and then sort it out somewhere quiet. It’s simple, grab handfuls or you miss out. There’s time to sort out what you’ve got before going to the till.”
Mum and daughter shopping team Kelly Booth and Sheila Randles, of Llay, arrived at Eagles Meadow at 5.15am ready to buy clothes for Kelly’s two-year-old daughter, Seren.
Leaving Next, carrying several bags each, Kelly said: “It has been well worth the wait in the cold as we have got some really nice clothes at rock bottom prices.”
With sales figures yet to be counted, but a two per cent increase in some Wrexham retail branches already recorded, the feeling among many was that after a tough 2011 the seasonal surge was quite healthy this year.
“These last couple of weeks have been excellent,” said Kevin Critchley centre manager at Eagles Meadow shopping centre “We don’t have the figures yet, but my experience tells me this Christmas is as busy as the last few years, and people are now coming out and buying.
“The year has been difficult for Wrexham and all retailers, but we’re holding level. Compared with the rest of the country where everywhere is reporting being down, to be level, with many stores slightly up is fantastic.”
Both car parking and pedestrian flow at Eagles Meadow were choc-a-bloc.
“Because there’s been a full week in the run up to Christmas I think things have been left a bit later,” he said, speculating that with a lot of people off work for a whole week before the big day this year, people may have been relaxed about making a start on their Christmas shopping.
Chairman of Wrexham Chamber of Tourism and Trade Alex Jones agreed: “It’s nice to see Wrexham back to it’s former glory, full of people walking up High Street and Hope Street with bags full of shopping. This week has been very promising in all sectors, retail and leisure,” he said, speaking before Christmas.
“Next, Debenhams and a lot of other retail stores all started sales before Christmas suggesting the run up hadn’t been so good. But this week particularly has picked up, it’s been the best trading week for me and looking around the town it’s busy and people have been staying out until late.”
In Chester thousands of people hit the sales in the city centre, transforming Eastgate Street into a sea of people. A number of stores said they were extremely busy from early morning with large queues forming outside the Next store before it opened.
City centre manager, Stephen Wundke said footfall was up in the city, despite a drop in spend per head from £57 to about £48, throughout the year. What this means for the shops is that even though people are spending less there are more people,” said Mr Wundke.
“We are on schedule to beat last year and from the information I have had from 12 different traders in the city, both big and small, November and December cracked the figures in 2010.”
Mr Wundke said that it had been a difficult year for traders as shoppers spending habits had radically changed. He added: “It hasn’t been as bad for our city in comparison to the rest of the country – the vacancy rates in our shops are about eight per cent whereas they are about 14 per cent across the UK.
“The big problem is the spend per head which is down – people are spending less because they just don’t have it.
“The government had put VAT up and bills for gas, electric and petrol have also risen which means consumers are more aware of how they are spending too.”
It was brisk business too at Broughton Shopping Park with thousands of visitors searching out those all important bargains.
Andrew Wilkinson, Buckley town centre manager, said traders there had adapted well to the economic climate by filling units with businesses routinely used such as hairdressers instead of commercial shops.
“Buckley now has a lot of service businesses and they’ve done alright this year,” he said. “Buckley has altered to be able to weather the recession. We’ve not had a problem with vacant units,” he said. “We have about six per cent vacant compared to the national average which is about 15 per cent.”
Trader Stephen Hughes, of Peter Hughes Footwear and chairman of Holywell Town Partnership, agreed town centres needed to change if they were to survive and said he was pleased the report to the government this month by retail guru Mary Portas had recognised this.
“I think town centres need to make themselves more interesting,” he said.
Colin Gilligan, manager of Broughton Shopping Park, said: “The Next store opened at 6am and they had a big queue waiting to get in. Other shops opened shortly
afterwards, we have been getting very positive feedback. It has been a tough period but we saw an upturn in the week before Christmas.”
The news comes after a harsh year of trading for business owners and shop workers throughout Flintshire.
“2011 has been a difficult year as far as retail is concerned,” said Mr Gilligan. “The topsy turvy situation in the economy has worked its way through and had a major impact on consumer confidence.