LARGE CROWDS AT SALE

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27875, 25 January 1956, Page 2

LARGE CROWDS AT SALE

EARLY MORNING QUEUES STAFF WORK LAST NIGHT PREPARING FOR TODAY It really began some time before seven o’clock yesterday morning. By that hour it was evident that Cashel street was not quiet and deserted as it usually is before breakfast. Outside a well-known fashion salon about a dozen women were then congregated; and their number increased rapidly as the minutes ticked by. The occasional male, forgetful of his own similar behaviour when stricken with test-match .fever or when joining in the quest for Ranfurly Shield seats, passed by, aloof and superior. But the women were not dismayed. The salon, Anthony Andersen, Ltd., had advertised its annual Summer Sales and though for some it meant a wait of more than two-and-a-half-hours before the doors opened, the savings, calculated calmly in terms of pounds, shillings and pence, were a very satisfying and profitable prospect. Each year when the seasons for Summer and Winter Sales come round, this particular sale is always the most popular. Perhaps it is because the firm has such an excellent reputation for its fashions; and at the end of each season they are cleared at genuine bargain prices that have little relation even to wholesale cost. It is estimated that a crowd of over 100 had gathered when the doors were opened, sharp at 9.30 a.m., and these were just a forerunner of what were to come throughout the day. Once inside the store no vicarage tea party ever presented a more animated scene. Women delved into the racks of frocks, suits and coats with the enthusiasm and irrepressible excitement of children taking part in a lucky dip. There were exclamations of delight and even gasps of astonishment. Hosts of frocks -in tie silks, polished cottons, shantungs, sheers and nylons —frocks that are normally sold at from five to 15 guineas—found ready buyers at prices ranging from 39s 6d to 79s 6d. There was a selection of • cotton sun frocks by a well-known London designer at 49s 6d each: and there were beautiful suits bv another London designer at £6 19s 6d; as well as hundreds of other bargains—coats, suits and frocks. Today the same crowds are not expected but there will be equally good bargains. Last night the staff of Anthony Andersen, Ltd. was busy bringing forward fresh stocks to replenish gaps in the racks and, in some cases, prices were being even further reduced. This will be done at the end of each day until all the stock is cleared and the sale is finished. —P.B.A.