#WATCH: Brown Thomas opens Christmas shop at Limerick store

DESPITE Christmas being more than four months away, Brown Thomas in Limerick opened its Christmas shop this Friday morning.

There was mixed reaction from customers on social media and in the store with some saying it’s too early while others disagreed.

“Oh I love it, I love it, I love it I really do and I look forward to coming in here every year to see it, there are a couple of things I always get so I just like it,” said Celine Cusack from Janesboro who was one of the first in the Christmas Shop which is located on the third floor of the O’Connell Street premises.

Teresa Moody from Surrey in the UK who is visiting relatives in County Limerick says she was delighted when she came across the seasonal decorations.

“It’s lovely, we were surprised to see it, we didn’t expect to see it here at all, it’s great it’s on a par with the big stores in London,” said Teresa who previously lived in Limerick city for almost three years.

It's beginning to look a lot like #Christmas !!! spotted in @brownthomas #Limerick just now #notkidding #dafuq #summerholidays pic.twitter.com/5i2gznsCmM

— Sinead Hennessy (@SineadFailte) August 15, 2017

Gary Ryan from Golf Links Told told the Limerick Leader he hoped his wife doesn’t hear about the Christmas store opening in mid-August.

Liam Dwan, general manager of Brown Thomas in Limerick, has defended the opening of the Christmas store so early in the year insisting it’s down to customer demand.

"We have done it for the past number of years and it is down to demand. People like to just take it in and they like to see what themes there are and it just gets them thinking as opposed to doing everything at Christmas time,” he said.

“You could actually compare it to back to school because that now starts the week after children finish for the holidays so it’s similar for Christmas because people like to have a bit of a  lead in time and it is customer driven,” he added.