- Title: BRITAIN-RETAIL/CHRISTMAS Christmas comes early to London's Oxford Street
- Date: 3rd August 2015
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (AUGUST 3, 2015) (REUTERS) SELFRIDGES DEPARTMENT STORE WITH BUSES GOING PAST OXFORD STREET SIGN EXTERIOR OF 'CHRISTMAS SHOP' SIGN 'CHRISTMAS SHOP' 'FATHER CHRISTMAS' WITH ICE CREAM AND STUFFED REINDEER ICE CREAM TO 'FATHER CHRISTMAS' PHOTOGRAPHER STORE LAUGHING SNOWMAN TOY FATHER CHRISTMAS STATUETTE PINE CONE WITH STOCKINGS IN BACKGROUND STO
- Embargoed: 18th August 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: United Kingdom
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVAACGI24PD80JJPGBNEV6UW4NB3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: It may be the height of the British summer, but the London-based department store Selfridges is already thinking of winter and opened the 'Christmas Shop' on the fourth floor on Monday (August 3).
While stores around the world appear to get their Christmas stock in earlier and earlier, the reasoning behind the festive shop is consumer driven, according to Selfridges Christmas Home and Decorations Buyer, Geraldine James.
She admitted that while British buyers tend to stay away, it is tourists who are pushing for Christmas goods in summer.
"I think a lot of people are very sentimental about Christmas," she said, adding "and they like to look what they've done for the whole year and say 'oh, we had a lovely trip to London over the summer and this bauble reminds us of that trip' so I think probably conventionally you don't sit and think 'what am I going to dress my tree with this year?' but if you're a visitor and you're only in London for a week, then you might do."
According to the department store, the shop contains over 150 lights and trees, around 120 different styles of crackers, and nearly 60,000 baubles.
But, while Christmas is coming almost 150 days early for Oxford Street shoppers, the festive season never leaves James and her team.
"Between me and the team in the office, there isn't one minute when we don't think about Christmas - not one day," she exclaimed. "But we actually do the first trade show we went to was the 11th of January so pretty much all year. And then of course, we now open and we trade to Christmas and then we start it all over again in January."
And when asked about what she'd say to critics, James replied "I'd say to them, look the other way. Don't shop if you don't want to, and please don't be offended that we are open because actually it's just fun."
The 'Christmas Shop' is due to double in size to 6000 square feet in the autumn to include other decorations around the home. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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