Old habits die hard
The Dunkirk spirit was alive and well over the festive period, with every patriotic Brit doing their bit and spending for England.
All this subversive talk of recessions seems to have been overlooked this Christmas, as many retailers are reporting frenzied activity around their post-Christmas sales. It looks like the Great British public's main concession to these challenging economic times is not to save, but to bargain-hunt.
Department store John Lewis, which has been releasing regular trading updates over the festive period, began its clearance sale last Saturday and managed to flog £21.3 million worth of gear - a seven percent increase on the same day last year. ‘Home' products, including technology, led the way.
"This is a remarkable result at any time and particularly so in this challenging economic climate," said John Lewis MD Andy Street. "John Lewis customers are being judicious in their purchasing and recognise the outstanding quality and value of the products we have on offer, particularly in our home assortments as well as in audio visual and fashions."
And it's not just John Lewis benefitting from this binging for Blighty, at least not if you take this BBC story at face value. Also, giant etailer Amazon has announced that this 'holiday season' has been its best ever.
Let's not forget, however, that this also looks like a singularly perilous time for retailers, with Woolies, MFI and zavvi being joined by Adams Kids on the High Street casualty list. You'll get long odds on them being the last.
