200,000 flocking to Merry Hill for bumper weekend

The spending extravaganza kicked off yesterday with Black Friday, which saw tens of thousands of bargain-hunters scramble to get cut-price deals.

Hundreds queued from the early hours and, while the sales at Merry Hill passed peacefully, the American-import of Black Friday drew criticism from police after fights and scuffles broke out in other areas of the country.

Bosses at the Brierley Hill shopping centre said Christmas trading was already up 30 per cent on last year and 200,000 shoppers were expected this weekend alone.

Yesterday, around 560 people arrived at the centre's Asda to grab bargains within the first hour of trading. Queues had formed 90 minutes before it opened at 8am with 200 people hitting the shop floor within seconds of staff welcoming them inside.

First in the queue was Glenda Jukes from Brierley Hill, who declared the deals to help her save up to £300 were too good to miss.

Asda allowed the first 10 people in the queue into the shop in one go and followed it up with a one-in-one-out system to avoid the chaos seen elsewhere.

Asda Merry Hill spokeswoman, Emma James said: "We had a lot of meetings ahead of Black Friday and we wanted to ensure the safety of customers.

"A few people have said it's a lot more organised and say it is better than other store's sales which is always good to hear."

Neil Carbutt, deputy store manager, added: "It is obviously something that has come over from America and we seem to have adopted it - it's just like Halloween."

By 8.20am, all 40-inch televisions had been sold. And by 8.40am, all Xbox 360s had gone off the shelves too.

But not all were impressed, with the queue attracting the attention of shoppers going about their normal day-to-day business.

One woman from Sedgley, who did not wished to be named, said: "I can't see the point in it to be honest. No-one is ever that desperate for a television or toaster or whatever they're after. It's silly."

Laura Clarke, 31, of Kingswinford, was more in favour of Black Friday.

She said: "I wanted a television and some Beats By Dre headphones for my daughter. I tried going online but you couldn't get on the websites so I decided to come here. I could save up to £200 so it's worth shopping early for."

Sharon Humphries, 45, of Colley Gate, Cradley, added: "I was here about 6.50 this morning. I tried to do my shopping online but I couldn't get onto the website - I've had about an hour and a half sleep."

Merry Hill senior marketing manager, Kelly Reed, said this weekend was one of their biggest.

She said : "Black Friday marks the beginning of the Christmas rush and this year coincides with the last monthly payday before the festive season.

"With the cost of Christmas appearing to mount every year, it's clear shoppers are keen to take the opportunity to grab a bargain.

"For Merry Hill, it's one of the busiest shopping weekends of the whole year. We're currently trading 30 per cent up on the previous year, and we predict around 200,000 visitors to the centre from Friday to Monday.

"We have over 50 retailers taking part at Merry Hill this year, including Asda, M&S, HMV, and Thomas Cook, with savings of up to 80 per cent.

"Game also reported having hundreds of shoppers in on Friday morning and beat their sales expectations comfortably."