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Bah, humbug ... 'austerity' Christmas tree sells out
Jonathan Prynn, Consumer Business Editor13 Nov 2009
Made of brown paper wrapped around wire twigs, lacking greenery or tinsel and closely resembling a dead shrub, it hardly gives off Christmas cheer.
But this year the most fashionable houses in London will be putting up the "austerity tree".
The £50, five-foot decoration, which is made in China and comes sprayed with fake snow, has been a surprise bestseller at John Lewis, with the first batch of 2,500 sold out more than six weeks before Christmas Day.
A second delivery of 440 will arrive in stores on 10 December but are expected to be snapped up quickly.
Anna Rigby, head of buying for gifts at John Lewis, said: "We've been completely taken by surprise, sales have been tracking at 400 per cent of forecast. People like the simplicity. You just pull it out of the box and pull down the branches into any shape you want."
Reader views (1)
Actually, the Christmas tree appears to have had it´s origins in pre-Christian paganism, so what the heck. It won´t be long before the politically-correct brigade, not wishing to upset religious minorities, insist on calling it a "seasonal tree" anyway.
- Graham Rodhouse, Helmond, Netherlands, 13/11/2009 12:59
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