From The Times: January 2, 1923
The winter sales, which began yesterday, had encouraging results. In one drapery house — not a big store — nearly £3,000 was taken by midday. A great number of people were shopping, all spending small amounts of money, so that for every £1,000 taken more work had to be done by the firms concerned.
People did not arrive so early as they used to, but there was a good number in the shops by 9 o’clock. Quite a few were accompanied by children, and there were many mothers fitting out their small families with everyday or party frocks.
At Whiteley’s, Westbourne Grove, there was an unexpectedly large number of women buying coats and skirts. Fur-trimmed velour costumes at £4 10s were in big demand, and charming petal dance frocks in georgette chiffon at £4 17s 6d, reduced, in some cases, from 12 guineas.
At Selfridge’s there was an early morning rush on blouses at 5s each. Other goods that attracted the largest sales yesterday were a set of aluminium ware, five pieces for 7s 6d.
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Hampton’s, Pall Mall East, were hardly able to cope with the tide of customers who came looking for some furnishing bargain. The articles at half-price brought, perhaps, the most buyers, but the carpet buyers were almost as numerous.
The new showrooms in Whitcomb Street are developing into a fine marketplace for inexpensive furniture and furnishing, and are an important side of the firm’s trade. The model six-roomed house was attracting much attention, and the fact that its contents will be sold until January 27 at a reduction of 10 per cent was duly noted.
DH Evans’s was crowded all day, and there was a big rush on the corset table, where some hundreds of corsets made for export but cancelled owing to some error in date of delivery were being sold at 5s and 6d and 7s 6d. Five-shilling hats were so popular that District Messengers were sent for them by eager customers in the morning.
Peter Robinson’s had very large crowds all day, and the buying seemed especially keen in the gloves, hosiery, millinery, and mantle departments. Mail orders were heavier yesterday morning in many houses than they have ever been known before. The provinces and the country generally were sharing the sales opportunities of the townswomen at very little extra.
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