Several Fayette County businesses participated in “Black Friday” this year, offering great savings for their customers.
Black Friday, arguably the largest sale day in the U.S., has a few interesting stories as to how it became what it is today. In the 1980s, the term “Black Friday” began to be used by retailers to refer to the single day of the year when retail companies finally go “into the black” (make a profit) after being “in the red” for much of the year. Another possible origin, according to Joseph P. Barrett, who was a police reporter for the Philadelphia Bulletin, the term “Black Friday” came out of the old Philadelphia Police Department’s traffic squad.
Whatever the reason, the day after Thanksgiving has become a holiday of its own and local businesses are passing the savings onto the customers.
“So far, so good. We have been busy since we opened our doors up this morning,” Pam Kingery, Craig’s Shoes & Sports store manager said during an interview Friday. “We are doing 40 percent off store wide. We open at 10 a.m. Saturday and the sale goes until 4 p.m. We are also doing 15 percent off stadium seats and varsity jackets as well. Finally we will be open on Sunday’s starting December 6 from 1 until 4 p.m.”
LeElla Lanes ran a few deals for customers as well on Friday, according to owner Diane Amore. From 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. the business was taking 20 percent off of customers’ meals when they dined in. Additionally, until 1 p.m.,LeElla was offering bowlers of all ages the chance to come and bowl a $7 game. Amore said that it was business as usual and they saw about an average amount of people come in, when compared to prior years.
“The day has been good so far,” Kirk’s Furniture (in New Holland) co-owner Bruce Kirkpatrick said Friday. “Recliners are big right now. We have had about the average traffic, but still busy. It has been a very good (Black Friday) so far.”
Boylan Jewelers, owned by Bill Boylan, also had a big sale for its customers. Offering 50 percent off store wide, many customers grabbed at the opportunity to buy some jewelry. Boylan said that they were busy on Black Friday, thanks to the big sale, but it was busy as normal.
Finally, the Tanger Outlets mall in Jeffersonville was swamped with customers rushing to find the best deals on Black Friday on some name brands. The parking lot remained full nearly all day and extended hours continued the shopping from 12 a.m. until 10 p.m.
“We have been very busy and we are pleased with the turnout,” Andy Gibson, assistant general manager, said Friday evening. “It was not more than we expected, but was about what we prepared for. We haven’t had any issues either, it has been quite nice. Nike and purse stores are doing particularly well this year. We should have a better idea at the end of the night on how we did traffic and sales wise.”
