BURST
The lineup for this year’s Aritzia Warehouse Sale had already started taking shape by Sunday evening, despite the fact that the first public day of the shopping event does not start until Tuesday.
A Vancouver city traffic camera located at Canada Place and the base of Burrard Street showed at least a dozen people in line outside the Vancouver Convention Centre West on Sunday evening.
The assemblage of shoppers in the snapshot included the first group in the lineup, who came prepared for the lengthy wait — they were pictured sitting in foldable camp chairs with what appeared to be a tent beside them.
A Vancouver Convention Centre employee confirmed the lineup had started earlier Sunday afternoon ahead of the much-anticipated annual warehouse sale.
“It happens every year,” the employee confirmed of the day-early lineup, adding that most people in the line would be camping overnight in order to be among the first to shop the invite-only Friends & Family event on Monday. The convention centre has security on patrol around the venue.
While the line stretched partway down the length of the large downtown event centre by Sunday night, the venue employee remarked that it wouldn’t take long for the lineup to stretch much further. In recent years, the line has gone from the Convention Centre along the waterfront and into Coal Harbour.
The massive shopping event, which is exclusive to Vancouver, sees the locally headquartered clothing brand’s wares marked 50 to 90 per cent off the retail price. The Aritzia Warehouse Sale has become a popular shopping event in the city, especially amid the gear up for back-to-school.