Spending a lot of Penneys

 Bargain hunters shell out thousands in post-lockdown blitz. Public queue from 3am at Dublin flagship store on Mary Street

- CIARA PHELAN

KNICKERS, false lashes and fluffy socks were the top three items that had women queuing from as early as 3am for the reopening of Penneys stores yesterday.

Thousands of shoppers flocked to the fashion giant splashing the cash on anything they could grab hold of and on average spending between €200 to €300.

The Mary Street flagship store in Dublin was forced to open at 8.45am – almost two hours early – after gardai advised management the volume of people joining the line was increasing.

At that point hundreds of shoppers had already formed a queue which ran the full length of the store and back on to Parnell Street.

Eager fashion lovers of the budget retailer began arriving from the early hours on Mary Street, wanting to get first choice of summer stock.

A total of 16 stores opened across the country while the remaining 20 within shopping centres will welcome back customers on Monday in line with Government guidelines.

Beauty bars, fitting rooms, toilets and cafes remained shut while extra security and gardai were on hand to help with crowd control.

Buzzing with excitement, Louise McNally and Saoirse Monaghan from the city centre hauled large shopping bags from the store after spending nearly two hours inside.

Louise said: “We’ve been here since about 7.30am and we’ll probably be back on Monday once I check the funds. It was amazing. I spent €330, we all spent around the same and I couldn’t even tell you what I bought. I got a shock when I got to the till.