Business was booming in town yesterday bringing good news for retailers who feared continuing losses in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

A number of stores around Hamilton said they were as busy as the same period last year, if not busier, as shoppers ventured out in search of some post-Christmas bargains. Many of the big stores boasted huge reductions as they battled it out for the spare dollars around Bermuda.

And, in Hamilton, Reid Street was particularly crowded as shoppers took advantage of massively reduced prices, which had been slashed by up to 75 percent an all-out effort to entice bargain-hunters and make room on the shelves for new stock.

But it was the larger department stores, such as Trimingham's, Cooper's, and Gibbon's which were having the most significant sales. Trimingham's and Gibbon's dropped prices by up to a whopping 75% off the cost of some items, such as clothes, with some others offering a 50 percent reduction.

However, some smaller stores, such as designer fashion house Stefanel, seemed to be avoiding competition with the larger retailers, instead planning their sales for sometime soon into the New Year. But others, like E.R. Aubrey jewellers and Trends shoe store, dropped prices alongside the department stores in the effort to boost sales.

Shopper Jennifer Gracie, from Somerset, said: “There are loads of people out. It's like Christmas Eve all over again.”

Bruce Robinson, general manager of Marks & Spencer, made the same analogy. He said: “We're busy like Christmas Eve - almost. There's been lots of people coming in to shop.

“You can tell by the parking in Hamilton. You can't park anywhere. A lot of people were saving for the sales, looking for bargains. We're actually ahead of last year at the moment.”

And an assistant manager at the Phoenix Stores also predicted that the after-Christmas sales this year would beat last year. Assistant manager Deon Breary said: “We're pretty busy. I think we're busier this year than last year.”

Roger Davidson, president of Smith's department store, said, “It's been busy all day - we didn't open until 10 a.m. because we needed time to prepare for the sales, having been closed for Boxing Day and Christmas. “The store's been busy, which we're pleased to see. We're probably running on par with (this time) last year.”

And Lawrence Trimingham, president of Trimingham's, seemed to agree that “busy” was the catchword of the day for retailers.

He said: “We've been run off our feet. I can't tell exactly how we're doing, but we've been busy. I think all of Hamilton is busy ... I've no idea (if we are busier than last year), but it seems nice and busy. It seems like people are out there trying to get some good deals, and we have some good deals for them.”