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CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY – BUT NOT SOON ENOUGH, SAY SHOPPERS.

Christmas is coming early to north Manchester – but not soon enough, say shoppers.

Independent retailer Housing Units will open its 2011 Christmas department on September 8, but customers have complained that it could have been earlier.

“I’ve had dozens of emails, phones calls and letters of complaint that we’ve waited longer than a couple of the big London stores to launch our Christmas department,” said Nick Fox, director of Housing Units.

“The main point seems to be that now the summer holidays are out of the way, people want to get stuck straight into Christmas. We believed early September was plenty early for Christmas – even though some people think it should be a lot later. But, overall, shoppers like it.

“Starting Christmas in September should be viewed as massively positive for shoppers, the local community and the business alike; far from being a cynical commercial ploy, it is the best way of helping both shoppers and the business make the most of Christmas during tough times.”

Management at Housing Units, which is based at its own multi-store retail park in Failsworth, north Manchester, says that just as families spread the cost of buying a summer holiday, with first payments months in advance, they want the same when it comes to Christmas.

“Everything in our research, statistics and customer feedback says that we’re doing the right thing. People are able to spread the cost of Christmas, and actually spend more over a number of visits than if they’d done a single last-minute hit closer to December 25 – the complaints about not opening soon enough underpin that,” said Nick Fox.

“The Christmas and New Year break is becoming as big a spending highlight as the summer family holiday – but people aren’t confined to a few weeks to choose and buy their summer holiday, so why should they be confined to a few weeks to plan and buy everything they need for Christmas?

“People start planning and buying their annual holiday six months and more in advance, and Christmas can often be just as pricey – so the opening of our Christmas department provides several upsides: people can spread the cost of Christmas, and, of course, we benefit as a business, which in turn benefits the local community.

“If people were forced to plan and buy their holiday just a couple of weeks before they travel, then they’d have very limited ready cash available to pay for it, and the standard of holiday would suffer accordingly for many people.

“But by spreading the cost they are taking the pressure off their wallets, and, by the nature of some of the Christmas products available, they are also investing in making for bigger and better Christmases year-on-year.

“The retailers who open Christmas departments in summer are not generating publicity stunts, they are making sensible and serious commercial decisions. After all, what sort of outcry would there be if travel agents and tour operators only opened their stores or went live on their websites in June with their August summer holiday products?

“Yes, Christmas is becoming more and more commercial, but it does not detract from the spirit or nature of the festive fortnight because the population wants to make more and more of Christmas – and they are doing it by spreading the cost.”