By Annie Dorasamy
Shoppers, hungry for bargains in these tough economic times, were caught up in a near stampede at the Phoenix Plaza's relaunch celebrations last week.
Last Saturday's queue of people wanting to get into the store snaked for many metres, weaving through other shops in the complex.
The desperate shoppers wanted to cash in on sale items, particularly at Shoprite, where Aunt Caroline rice sold at R60 for 10kg and four litres of Ritebrand oil for R30.
The same items later this week sold for R90 and R50 respectively, so customers who bought them last week made a saving of R50.
Speaking of their experience on the day of the sale, shoppers said they had been pushed and shoved and had their feet trampled on, but didn't mind, as long as they left with the staple groceries.
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"It was a madhouse," said Sammy Naidoo, who lives at Rydalvale in Phoenix.
"But you can't blame anyone, because the cost of living is so high and especially with items like rice and oil being advertised so cheaply, you have to expect that there would be a mad scramble."
He said he had told his neighbours and family about the sale but when he got to the store at 9am, the doors had been temporarily closed.
"We were told the store opened at 7 o'clock, so there were a lot of people already inside. Some had packed their trolleys because there were no limits.
"When the doors opened again, the items had been cleared off the shelves. So people followed the packers to the storeroom, crowded the area and refused to let them come out.
"The packers then started throwing the rice and oil to the customers, hoping the crowds would disperse.
"But that made things worse and people from all directions flocked there, pushing and shoving and trampling one another," said Naidoo.
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