“Despite the summer weather, we‘re in full festive mode here at Selfridges,” says Geraldine James, Selfridges‘ Christmas Home and Decorations buyer.
She‘s not kidding.
Selfridges, which has been voted as the ‘World‘s Best Department Store‘ on numerous occasions, opened its Christmas shop on Monday – 143 shopping days before the 25th December.
The premium department store retailer has overhauled 3,000 sq ft of the fourth floor in its flagship location on Oxford Street, converting it into something of a winter wonderland complete with festive decorations and Father Christmas himself.
“We‘ve been working on this year‘s Christmas shop since Christmas last year,” James added.
“We have so many customers visiting from all over the world and eager to snap up festive souvenirs on their summer holidays, which they can‘t buy at home. So, we have to make sure we‘re ready to showcase Christmas decorations.”
The shop‘s first customers were from Pennsylvania in the US, and bought a Christmas 2015 bauble as a souvenir.
Thousands of Selfridges‘ glass baubles are available, having been designed exclusively for the store and individually mouth-blown by staff at a supplier in Hungary.
But it doesn‘t stop there. Phase two of the Christmas shop‘s opening will be unveiled in autumn, when the floor space will increase to more than double the size. That means over 60,000 baubles, 120 cracker options and counting and in excess of 1,250 card and wrapping paper designs.
