boxing day in melbourne

Australian shoppers storm Boxing Day sales | Money | News.com.au

It was hectic...I went to Chadstone shopping center and ..upss..thousands people were there...I can't believe we got car parking after 1 hour driving around the shopping center anyway..follow this story below 

Australian shoppers storm Boxing Day sales

By staff writers

NEWS.com.au

December 26, 2008 12:11pm
* Retailers tip $5 billion in spending
* Department stores open from 3am
* Men's shirts, women's shoes top sellers

SHOES, jocks, men's shirts and bags were the must-have items when the Boxing Day sales bonanza kicked off this morning around Australia.

Melbourne

In Melbourne, hundreds of people queued up outside the Myer and David Jones Bourke St stores from 3.30am to be among the first shoppers to score bargains, reports The Herald Sun.

Shoppers are expected to part with more than $5.5 billion between Boxing Day and the end of December, and another $9 billion between January 1 and January 15.

Bargain-hunters sacrificed a good night's sleep and a post-Christmas hangover to be the first in line.

Pop star Gabriella Cilmi entertained the crowd outside Myer Melbourne before doors opened at 5am, with Delta Goodrem launched David Jones' Sydney sales at 6am.

June Coe and her daughter Kerry Peake stayed at a city hotel to rise early to catch the specials.
Related Coverage

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* Shoppers storm Boxing Day salesNEWS.com.au, 26 Dec 2008
* Bumper crowds bag big bargainsHerald Sun, 26 Dec 2008
* Record Christmas spending spreeNEWS.com.au, 24 Dec 2008

"We’ve never been done this before so we’ve come here to see what it's all about," Mrs Coe said.

"We're not sure what we’re going to buy, but we are positive we won’t go away empty-handed."

Melbourne's David Jones was opened by model Kristy Hinze at 6am, with a crowd of 400 strong gathering to be first-in-best dressed.

In the ladies fashion department, sisters Miriam Arabi, 24, and Sarah Arabi,18, from Preston, grabbed handfuls of jeans, t-shirts and bathers before 7am.

"We came last year but we can't decide whether it is busier or not," Sarah said.

Brisbane

In Brisbane, Boxing Day sales kicked off at 9am, with retailers offering aggressive discounts, reports The Courier-Mail.

One-day-only offers, cash incentives for early starters and 3 years' interest and deposit-free credit deals tempted bargain hunters.

Myer Queensland regional manager Tony Sutton expects huge numbers of customers to take advantage of this year's sales.

"Customers are now being careful where they shop and what value they get. More people are now seeking value which makes us think that this year is going to be pretty big," he said.

Men's business shirts are tipped to be the biggest sellers, with David Jones expecting to sell 1 million men's shirts nationally. They expect to sell 100,000 pairs of women's shoes.

David Jones Queens Plaza manager in Brisbane Scott Adams said the post-Christmas sales are a family affair.

"A lot of people are shopping together, families and couples," he said.

"The post-Christmas clearance sales are synonymous with a great family shopping time."

Sydney

In Sydney, thousands of bargain hunters lined up outside department stores at the crack of dawn in the CBD, with Myer opening at 5am, an hour earlier than David Jones.

Myer regional manager Andrew Vaz said the crowd waiting for him when he showed up for work at 4am was bigger than he expected.

"We probably had two or three thousand people come through the door when we first opened,'' said Mr Vaz.

Shopper Leone Snowden had planned on dropping off her daughter Melissa at her part-time Myer job, but ended up spending $550 on clothes and skin care products.

"It's been fun,'' she said, adding she was hesitant to give out her name.

"My husband will know how much I spent,'' she laughed.

Myer's Mr Vaz said this year people feel they deserve a reward after bad economic times.

"It's a way of distracting themselves,'' he said.

Adelaide

In South Australia, shoppers are expected to break the $1 billion mark in post-Christmas spending for the first time when most sales begin there tomorrow, reports AdelaideNow.

Independent retail consultant Stirling Griff said people have money to spend at the sales after putting savings aside during the financial crisis.

"The spectacular post-Christmas sales mean that the floodgates are going to open. There will be fantastic opportunities and people should make the most of the bargains," he said.