Church Square Shopping Centre is to open from 6am until midnight to meet the demand from bargain hunters on Black Friday.
The discount day – held this year on November 27 – is renowned for massive markdowns and incredible offers, and provides a huge pre-Christmas boost for the centre’s retailers.
With new stores opening managers are predicting an even greater sales surge than last year’s event, which saw a massive increase in footfall on Black Friday.
The stores offering Black Friday discounts include BHS, Argos, Boots, Tyrers Department Store, B&M Bargains, Fat Face, Game, H Samuel, Clarke’s, Claire’s, Co-oP Travel, Roman, Ryman, Superdrug and The Fragrance Shop.
In addition Costa and McDonalds will be open early and late so bargain hunters can grab a drink and something to eat.
This year the centre will open from 6am, when St Helens Mayor Councillor Stephen Glover officially launches the event, which runs until midnight.
There will also be free parking for shoppers, said Church Square Shopping Centre manager Steve Brogan.
“The car park will be open from 5.30am so shoppers can get ready for when the Mayor signals the event to start, and BHS starts trading, at 6am with a big range of discounts.
“New Look will open at 7am, followed by Topshop at 8am. Many stores will stay open late, with BHS, Boots and Game all trading until midnight. More and more stores are telling us that they plan to take part, including H&M, which only starts trading the day before.
“Our website www.churchsquaresthelens.co.uk lists all the retailers taking part along with some of their offers.
“We are expecting it to be very busy all weekend – last year we know that both the Saturday and Sunday saw a much bigger turnout of shoppers, giving a real kick-start to the Christmas trade.”
The new H&M store comes just a month since fashion retailer Fat Face opened its largest UK store in the centre, while both Scotts menswear and jewellery store Pandora have recently moved into larger, revamped stores.
Church Square Shopping Centre is open daily and home to a range of big name stores – such as River Island, BHS, Boots and Superdrug – along with independent retailers plus the busy St Mary’s Market. Details on what’s happening at the centre at www.churchsquaresthelens.co.uk