Beales and Haskins bid to attract early Christmas shoppers

A survey for the BBC found three in five people in the UK will cut their spending this Christmas, with annual inflation at a 40-year high of 10.1 per cent.

Beales in Poole is offering 50 per cent off in its Christmas shop, under the slogan “Extraordinary times need extraordinary prices”.

Tony Brown, chief executive of Beales owner New Start 2020, said the company had made a decision to launch Christmas offers early because the outlook for trading was “so unclear”.

“I’d rather get the Christmas stuff on offer now then risk it not selling when we want to sell it,” he said.

The store is also offering substantial discounts in fashion and other areas, as well as among the decorations, cards and gifts in the Beales Christmas store.

The store had to place orders for its Christmas lines in January, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine worsened the economic challenges.

“You normally wouldn’t make such drastic reductions until the end of November or beginning of December,” he said.

“Looking at what you believe people are going to have from a cash point of view and giving them an offer is far better than a ‘wait and see’ strategy.

Tony Brown

“I do think there’s going to be a significant strain on people and they will look for the best value they can. Our job is to make sure we offer that value but without significantly damaging our own business as well.

“It’s a real tightrope that retailers have got to walk between keeping viable and supporting the customer’s aspirations for Christmas.”

Ferndown-based Haskins Garden Centres, which operates five centres across the south, runs a large Christmas department.

Its chief executive, Julian Winfield, said: “We know that our centres are more than just places to shop for our customers – they provide a positive, enjoyable environment where people can come to browse our products and meet with others. This is why we spend time each year carefully curating our Christmas department to spread some Christmas magic.

The Christmas range at Haskins Garden Centre (Image: Haskins Garden Centres)

“We have been preparing for a difficult winter for a while and have been conscious of providing a variety of products that cover a range of pricing options to accommodate all needs. We will also continue to host restaurant promotions, in-centre product competitions, and promote the economic benefits of growing your own fruit and vegetables.

“Additionally, we remain committed to our annual Christmas charity donation which sees us give away around 500 soft toys a year to local children's charities and foodbanks through our fundraising efforts.”