Not even a torrential downpour could put off hundreds of people who crammed into shops and queued for hours to snap up Black Friday bargains this morning.One shopper who was close to the door of Digicel at about 5am but had not yet got inside the store said she had been queuing since midnight. A $9 Samsung Xcover had inspired her long wait and, she said, had given her “sore feet”. Other bargains on offer this morning included a BlackBerry Curve for $1 and the top-end Galaxy PS III for $399 from CellOne. Both stores were still filled with customers at 6am.Crowds had also started gathering from about midnight for the 4am opening of Brown & Co, the Phoenix and P-Tech. Music was blasting on Reid Street from 3.30am providing the waiting shoppers with a ‘party’ atmosphere. DJ Aztec mix of lively music included club, soca, reggae and hip-hop, his huge speaker blasting the songs into the street between the Phoenix and P-Tech. Additionally, thousands of white Christmas lights decorated the Phoenix Group’s Reid Street store fronts.Darreana Burchall was one of the first in line at Brown & Co., whose customers were offered 40 percent off between 4am and 5.30am. “It’s my favourite store,” she said. “And this is my first Black Friday, so I figured I’d try it out ... and party!”“It’s great!” said Kalveta Conyers, another waiting customer. “This is fun!” She was looking for items featuring a zebra print, and pointing to her black-and-white umbrella, said: “Like this!” Another shopper waiting in line said he had finished his night shift at 3am. “My wife sent me along with a list,” he said.Well-known cricketer Treadwell Gibbons Jr and his friend Michael Smith were at the front of the Brown & Co. line. They said they would shop this morning. “And we’re just looking around, to see what’s happening.”P-Tech’s staff were being kept busy with buyers looking for bargains among the electronic equipment and cameras sold there. Behind the counter, staff member John Narraway said: “We were setting up until 2am. People were walking up and down the street — it was great, like New York!“This is our first year doing Black Friday, and so far it’s going really well. The nice part is that all the staff have worked together. A few were here until 2am .to make sure the store was ready and stocked up.Chief executive officer of the Phoenix Group George Grundmuller, who said he’d been awake since 1am, could not hide his own excitement as hundreds of shoppers swarmed into the Phoenix with many people heading straight for the toy department. “The first person was lining up at 8.30pm,” he said. “And we’ve weathered the storm,” referring to a torrential downpour that stopped just before 3am, apparently not deterring the many bargain seekers who had been waiting patiently on Reid Street in the hours before opening time.Among the customers crowding the toy department were 11-year-old Dennikia Lambert, who was with her family. “I got up at 12.54!” she said. “I’m shopping for my baby sister.” Among the gifts she had helped to choose were a Lego Friends set and an Ultimate Easy Bake Oven.It is the second year that the Phoenix Group has opened early for Black Friday. “We’ve opened earlier this year — we have a full hour and half more of shopping. We started it last year and it turned out to be our best sales day of the year. Traditionally December 24 is the best day, but last year it was Black Friday.“We are open for 17 hours today.”Gibbons Company was the next store to open 5am and a small crowd had gathered at the Church Street entrance before the doors were opened.In the store, shop assistant Tony Thompson was trying on a classic blue blazer for customer Neli Outerbridge, so that she could see if it would suit her husband. She said she’d been attracted by the 30 percent off the $175 price tag. Gibbons were offering 30 percent off items throughout their store between 5am and 9am. ‘V’ neck cashmere sweaters were also being offered at an even higher discount, bringing the price down from $169 to $99.Mr Grundmuller said the key to a successful shopping event was to create a lot of excitement and to pay back the customers for their loyalty. At the Phoenix Group, this translated into discounts of 60 and 70 percent. “In retail it works if there’s a buzz and a lot of people shopping,” he said.He said the store will be open for 17 hours today, and this evening Santa Claus, after arriving in Hamilton on a fire truck, will come to the store so that children may have their picture taken with him.The event was marred by an arrest at Digicel on Church Street, just after the store’s special midnight opening time, according to Police Inspector Andy Morgan.The incident occurred when a man who was queuing to get into the store could not produce a numbered ticket for service and was asked to move on by the staff. He refused, became agitated and police intervened and arrested the man.InspMorgan said that between the Digicel and CellOne premises the number of people waiting to buy cell phones and cell phone supplies was estimated to be between 400 and 500 by midnight. They were queuing on Church Street, Washington Lane and along the terraces of the Church Street level of the Washington Mall.