If you’ve not been to London in a long while (or at all), you might not know that Carnaby Street has changed beyond all recongnition in recent years. Gone are all the sleazy shops selling cheap and cheerful stuff, and in their place are brace of shops that wouldn’t look out of place on Neal Street in Covent Garden: Mambo, Quicksilver, Ben Sherman, Henri Lloyd etc.
But there are two sets of shop window signs that are entertaining me at the moment. Size, the fancy trainer shop has got a great offer on selected lines of shoes – “Buy One, Get One Free”! A brilliant “retail concept” for shoes.
The other unmissable offer is in Mambo where a week or so ago, banner posters appeared with the following words emblazoned across the windows: “Everything £29 or less”. Not a bad offer I guess. It didn’t get me inside, but you’ve got to think that they’re doing good prices on jackets and trousers etc. A day or so later, and an A4 sheet of paper is tacked on the massive “Everything” signs – “Excludes sunglasses and watches”. Aha. Yup – I can see Mambo having quite a few pairs of sunglasses and watches that’ll be a little more pricey than £29. Still, they really should have excluded them first time around. But wait – another couple of days and a second disclaimer is pinned to the overarching “Everything” sign: “Excludes new lines and full priced goods”.
Hang on. So what they’re saying is that “Everything” is £29 or less aside from sunglasses, watches, new lines and full priced items. In other words, everything except sale stock is for the most part “More than £29”. What a brilliant offer!