Selfridges bemuse shoppers opening Christmas shop 147 days early

The opening of the Selfridges Christmas store 147 days early has been met with a backlash from shoppers.

Selfridges open Christmas store 147 days early. Picture: Selfridges

The retailer unveiled its new festive shop on Monday, revealing its Christmas them of ‘With love from...’, a tribute to London, Manchester and Birmingham.

However, shoppers have described the opening in the height of summer as “crazy” and “ridiculous”.

One shopper outside the store on Oxford Street said: “If you’re selling it all year it doesn’t feel magical, and I feel that Christmas is magical.”

Another said: “For me, I think it’s crazy. I usually do my bits last minute, so for me it’s delusional.

“But then I have a best friend who absolutely loves Christmas so it’d be just up her street. I think it depends on the type of person.

“But for me I wouldn’t go in and buy Christmas decorations now. I’d buy them nearer the time so then you can get the spirit then.

“Otherwise it’s far too early. It’s summery. It’s not winter. You don’t need it.”

Another added “Actually I think it’s crazy, because it’s too early. It’s summer time.”

As in previous years, Selfridges launches its Christmas Shop in two phases, with phase two set to launch on September 4 with the complete, full-scale product offer.

And for the first time, as a response to an increasing customer demand for a greater availability of Christmas products outside the festive season, Selfridges will be launching a capsule collection of some of its greatest Christmas food hits on Friday, much earlier than its usual date in October.

Eleanor Gregory, Selfridges Christmas & home buyer said: “We’ve been opening the doors to our Christmas Shop during the summer for years now and have become a real destination for fans of Christmas and festive decorations within and outside the UK. Some customers return to us year after year, excited at the prospect of discovering the new ranges and adding to their collections.”

“We have so many customers visiting from all over the world, eager to snap up festive decorations and souvenirs on their London summer holidays which they can’t buy at home. So, we make sure we’re ready to showcase Christmas decorations they will truly treasure. The fact that we’re also going to be selling some of our most requested Christmas food lines from Friday for the first time ever, is complementing the Christmas selection we make available in the summer perfectly. This new extension to our usual offer is simply addressing this growing demand for convenience Christmas shopping outside the traditional Christmas season from many of our customers.”