Black Friday rush will start early
Nov 20, 2012 (Menafn - Daily News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --For the second year in a row, Black Friday starts early, with some stores opening at 8 p.m. Thanksgiving Day.
Sears and its sister store Kmart are having door-buster sales beginning at 8 p.m. Thursday, although Kmart is open even earlier.
"We are open from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday. We close for four hours and start our Black Friday specials from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m.," Kmart manager Chris Vinson said. "We close for two hours, get the store revamped and open again from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m."
Vinson said the closures are necessary to get the door-buster specials reset for both 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. openings and to sweep the store and clean the restrooms.
So what are the best deals of the day? Anything on the front page of its advertising circular in Wednesday's Daily News, Vinson said.
"All of those items are well below our regular sale prices," he said.
Sears manager Peter Stewart said the store hopes to get a jump on sales by opening at 8 p.m., ahead of the midnight opening for many other stores in Greenwood Mall. "We've got some great deals," Stewart said.
Electronics, tools, work shoes and a new line of apparel are expected to be popular. Tickets will be distributed for the items, which are available in limited quantities, he said.
Sears customers must use the store's external entrance until midnight, according to mall manager Robia Gross.
Macy's will open at midnight, along with numerous other retailers and a few restaurant vendors.
JC Penney opens at 6 a.m., and Dillard's opens at 8 a.m.
Meanwhile, Walmart will maintain its regular store hours Thursday, and Big Lots will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday. Kohl's will be open from midnight Thanksgiving until midnight Friday. Many other retailers will open earlier than usual.
Target will be open from 9 a.m. Thursday to 11 p.m. Friday, manager Jim Sauerheber said.
"We are expecting the normal (Black Friday) crowd throughout; we are just starting a little early," Sauerheber said. "We expect the first three to four hours to be extremely busy, and it will
probably slow down after midnight and pick back up again at 6 a.m. or 7 a.m."
Target has door-buster specials at 9 p.m. Thursday and at 4 a.m. Friday. Shoppers purchasing 50 of apparel between 4 a.m. and noon Friday will get a 10 Target gift card.
Nearly every store employee is scheduled to work sometime during the 26-hour shopping period or during the stocking hours.
"We have all different kinds of shifts," Sauerheber said, noting that employees receive holiday pay for their work.
While there haven't really been any standout toys for the season, Sauerheber said he expects the new Nintendo Wii, which was released Sunday, to be popular.
"It has sold really well," he said.
Retailers have advertised heavily for Black Friday sales, with preprinted circulars for Wednesday's Daily News weighing a full 3 pounds.
Televisions, computers and other electronic items are featured prominently in many of the advertisements.
Gross said if the number of shoppers carrying store bags before the big day is any indication, the holiday season should be a good one.
"We have a lot of great stores this year that offer a wide variety of choices for our shoppers," Gross said.
"Many of this year's hottest items are available at the mall. We anticipate that with our assortment of stores and improvement in shopper confidence, we'll have a strong holiday season. Black Friday is the first traditional holiday shopping day, and we're looking forward to a very successful kickoff of the shopping season."
-- For more Greenwood Mall retail hours, visit www.greenwoodmall.com/holiday-hours.
-- While the Daily News closes at noon Wednesday, the front office will remain open until 2 p.m. to sell the popular advertising-filled paper. Tweet your Black Friday tales to @bowserminor.
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