Furniture retailer Arighi Bianchi has reported one of the busiest mornings in its recent history after scores of shoppers queued before opening time for the first day of its biggest-ever warehouse clearance event.
Queues stretched around the retailer’s Macclesfield store on Saturday morning as bargain hunters arrived ahead of the 9am opening, eager to secure discounts of up to 90% on luxury furniture, home accessories and ex-display pieces. Some shoppers began queuing from 7.30am.
The event, which was teased across Arighi Bianchi’s social media channels and to thousands of email subscribers in the days leading up to launch, attracted shoppers from across Cheshire and beyond.
Known for its premium furniture collections and designer brands, the retailer says the prospect of securing high-quality sofas, dining furniture, occasional pieces and home accessories from as little as £5 proved too tempting for many customers to resist.
Sarah Bianchi, CEO of Arighi Bianchi, said: “We’ve held warehouse sales before, but never on this scale. The response has been incredible. People were arriving well before we opened and the queue continued to grow throughout the morning. At one point we recorded almost 1000 people in the store.
“What we’ve seen is that customers still have a strong appetite for quality and design-led furniture, but they’re becoming increasingly savvy about how and when they buy. When you combine luxury products with discounts of up to 90%, it’s a compelling proposition.”
One shopper, Josie Taylor who travelled from Congleton, said: “I’ve never seen anything quite like it. I arrived before opening and there was already a huge queue. With the quality of furniture Arighi Bianchi is known for, I knew it would be worth getting here early. I managed to pick up a £4000 sofa reduced to £499! What a bargain and it is ideal for my daughter’s first home. I also got a couple of new mirrors for a fiver each. They were too good to miss.”
Sarah added: “The atmosphere has been fantastic. While we’ve seen huge demand, there is still plenty of stock available and new items continue to be added. Anyone thinking of visiting should still come down and see what’s available.”
