Sales rush starts in town at 5am

Dec 29 2008 by Katie Campling, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

SHOPS have enjoyed a post-Christmas sales boom in Huddersfield.

Huddersfield town centre was heaving with shoppers all out to bag a bargain on Saturday.

The stores obliged, with many offering discounts of up to 50% or even 75%.

As always, clothing store Next in Kingsgate shopping centre was a major draw for sales shoppers with many goods half price or less.

It was one of the later opening stores, closing at 7pm, however, the keenest bargain hunters had got up early to be there when the store opened at 5am.

Judy Davies, 49, from Fartown, said she visited the Next sale every year but this time it had seemed busier than usual.

She said: “It is a hassle with lots of people and queuing but if you get here early and know what you’re looking for, then you can get a bargain and it’s worth it.”

Both Waterstones bookshops at New Street and Kingsgate were offering a 75% discount and electrical stores were enjoying bustling trade too.

Computer shop Game in Kingsgate had customers queuing out of the door and troubled music retailer Zavvi on New Street was doing strong trade, with customers wanting to grab DVD and CD bargains.

Zavvi was hit by the collapse of Woolworths – and its wholesale arm EUK – in November.

EUK had been Zavvi’s main supplier and it struggled to find another source of stock, causing a fall in sales.

Administrators Ernst and Young were called in on Christmas Eve to Zavvi, which was formerly Virgin Megastores. The outlook for Zavvi’s 3,400 staff is not clear.