Boxing Day shoppers enjoy calm before sales storm in Leeds

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/dec/26/boxing-day-shoppers-leeds-primark-empty-christmas

Version 0 of 1.

Louise Amindari is one of the few shoppers in Primark but her bag is laden with Boxing Day bargains.

There are three blouses: one a glamorous cerise number with jewelled top for all of £3. “I really don’t know how they make these so cheaply,” says Amindari, a frown suddenly taking away her smile.

“Its probably the labour – but lets not dwell on that …” Amindari has rather stumbled by chance into Primark in the Trinity Leeds shopping centre. She was dropping her daughter off for a job at the same mall and thought she would buy Christmas cards for next winter.

“Clinton Cards was not open yet so I came in here,” she says with a guilty grin, pulling out a nice pair of knee-length leather boots from her to-buy bag too.

Amindari has the shop virtually to herself. There are over 20 tills but only one of them is working and that is empty; waiting for Amindari to make her way over.

It is a different picture at Next where the doors have been open since 6am. The place is heaving with over a thousand shoppers.

Amaha Tulu is in a huge queue that snakes back round the shop. The 38-year-old bakery worker got up at 5.15am at his flat in the Lincoln Green area of Leeds to be there for bargains.

He too has a large plastic bag full of clothes: two shirts – reduced from £25 to £10 – some khaki pants and a zip-up grey jacket. “I like original shirts,” says the Ethiopian-born Tulu. “I will go back home and have a sleep before my shift starts later on,” he adds.

At the Trinity Leeds admin offices of general manager Kevin Duffy, the only noise is the sound of the air conditioning.

The affable Scotsman says the day is progressing much as expected: shops like Hollister, Victoria’s Secret and New Look are doing very well but not everywhere’s open.

“There are shorter trading hours, no trains and only limited buses today so shoppers need to use their cars or taxis. But there were 2,000 people outside this morning waiting to get in and I would expect to see 60,000 today.”

Duffy predicts that when public transport gets back to normal on Saturday there will be a bumper sales day.

“We expect to clear £10m for the week to Sunday, up 8% on last year … it says to me that people are more comfortable with the economy now and it’s not such a difficult environment.”

Duffy thinks it’s not just the individual feelgood factor that is boosting sales but also the growing position of Leeds as a shopping destination and rival to Manchester’s Trafford and Sheffield’s Meadowhall centres.

Meanwhile back in Next, Vishnu Bekkem is buying a sparkling necklace for his delighted two-year-old daughter. An IBM software engineer from India on a first-time secondment to npower in Leeds, he says it’s all new and interesting. “I am just happy to be here,” he says.