Black Friday an ‘event of significant importance’
Stores are gearing up for the annual Black Friday sale – with some hosting weeks-long promotions in the run-up to the event.
Black Friday takes place on the first Friday after Thanksgiving, which is on Thursday, and traditionally some stores open before dawn and stay open late.
Danielle Riviere, the Chamber of Commerce chief executive, said that Black Friday kicked off the holiday shopping season and “remains an event of significant importance to retailers”.
“Black Friday serves as a pivotal moment for businesses to significantly boost their sales and revenue. Black Friday is synonymous with enticing discounts and promotions, attracting a substantial number of consumers eager to capitalise on the best deals available,” said Ms Riviere.
While the Chamber of Commerce was not specifically promoting Black Friday, Ms Riviere said the organisation’s focus was directed towards fostering holiday shopping for businesses.
“We have taken proactive steps by collecting information from our members and compiling the Corporate Christmas Guide, which serves as a valuable resource to promote businesses during the holiday season.”
Ms Riviere said the importance of shopping locally for events such as Black Friday or Christmas “cannot be overstated”.
“Supporting local businesses is a year-round endeavour and holiday shopping assumes particular significance due to increased consumer spending during this period.
“Buying locally is a direct and impactful way to contribute to sustaining our economy. It's noteworthy that the retail industry is 100 per cent Bermudian and supporting local businesses in the retail sector is crucial for the overall health and resilience of our economy.
“Therefore, our message strongly advocates for the benefits of shopping locally, emphasising its role in bolstering the community and fostering economic sustainability.”
Malachi Eversley, whose wife, Demeka Tacklyn, runs Street Vybez, on Court Street, said the store would feature Black Friday specials.
He said: “Black Friday is good for Bermuda and helps Bermudians to get good-quality products at affordable prices which helps in this economy.”
Everton Dawes, who runs Casual Footwear, on Court Street, said his shop would offer discounts of between 5 per cent and 50 per cent.
“It is worth taking part in Black Friday. Anything to increase sales is a good thing,” said Mr Dawes, adding that his shop would open early on the day.
The History Channel says that the first recorded use of the term Black Friday was applied not to post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping but to a financial crisis, when the US gold market crashed on September 24, 1869.
According to the channel, two ruthless Wall Street financiers, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, worked together to buy up as much as they could of the nation’s gold, hoping to drive the price sky-high and sell it for huge profits. On that Friday in September, the conspiracy unravelled, sending the stock market into free-fall and bankrupting everyone from Wall Street barons to farmers.
The channel says that the most commonly repeated story behind the Thanksgiving shopping-related Black Friday tradition links it to retailers.
After an entire year of operating at a loss (in the red) stores would supposedly earn a profit (went into the black) on the day after Thanksgiving, because holiday shoppers blew so much money on discounted merchandise.
However, the History Channel says that although it is true that retail companies used to record losses in red and profits in black when doing their accounting, this version of Black Friday’s origin “is the officially sanctioned – but inaccurate – story behind the tradition”.
The real history behind Black Friday, says the channel, goes back to the 1950s when police in Philadelphia used the term to describe the chaos that ensued on the day after Thanksgiving, when hordes of suburban shoppers and tourists flooded into the city in advance of the big Army-Navy football game held on that Saturday every year.
The channel said: “Not only were Philly cops not able to take the day off, but they had to work extra-long shifts dealing with the additional crowds and traffic. Shoplifters also took advantage of the bedlam in stores and made off with merchandise, adding to the law enforcement headache.”
Tony Thompson, the chief executive of Gibbons Company, said it was doing Black Friday promotions all week in the run-up to the day itself.
On Thursday, the store will stay open until 10pm, an hour later than last year. On Friday Gibbons will open at 6am and close at 9pm.
“Black Friday is not what it was ten years ago. People are shopping differently than they did ten years ago and there is a lot less foot-traffic. It is not as consolidated as it was. It is a week-long affair, now.
“It is spreading out over a longer period. It was crazy, hectic as a one-day affair, and people were frustrated.”
George Grundmuller, the president and chief executive of The Phoenix Stores Ltd, said the group’s shops, which include The Phoenix Centre, Brown & Co, 59 Front, The Annex Toys and P-Tech, would be opening at 7am on Friday.
The group also has promotions in the run-up to Black Friday and he said “there are some really big deals” planned for the day.
But he declined to give further details.
Mr Grundmuller said: “People generally appreciate having Black Friday and there are many who like the excitement.”
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