It is a perennial complaint of shoppers that the consumer frenzy of Christmas begins earlier every year. Usually, however, even the most eager stores wait until the summer heatwave is over.
But not Harrod’s, the famous London department store, which on Tuesday opened its Christmas department more than four months before the big day, with the city still enveloped in a fug of warm, humid weather.
Those keen to stock up on decorations and gifts well ahead of the event can now peruse the Christmas World section, all 930 square metres of it.
In a publicity stunt to launch the department, Harrod’s arranged for a Santa Claus to preside over the opening, dressed seasonally in Hawaiian shirt and shorts and carrying a surfboard.
The real business begins in November, when a more traditionally-dressed Santa welcomes children to the Harrod’s grotto, a traditional feature of the London Christmas for many years. – Sapa-AFP