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TMCNet: Businesses upbeat about Black Friday: HIGH HOPES

[November 26, 2009]

Businesses upbeat about Black Friday: HIGH HOPES

Nov 26, 2009 (Times-News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Area retailers sounded a largely optimistic note Wednesday regarding Black Friday, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season.

Ted Dalton, a salesman at Dave's Discount Furniture, said employees at the Burlington site on North Church Street were busy stocking the store and warehouse in anticipation of a big rushonFriday,the busiest shopping day of the year. "It's kind of hectic in here right now. We're trying to get ready, we're closed (Thursday)," Dalton said.

Sales have improved of late, and the store is trying some new promotionalwrinklesthisyear,including one that includes a free pillowtop mattress set with the purchase of complete bedroom set.

Dalton said the poor economy of the last several years has put a pinch in sales but hasn't been as tough on the store as it has on some other local businesses.

Strong name recognition and the store's philosophy of keeping plenty of stock on hand even during the downturn have helped, he said.

Owner David Morton, Manager Boyce Morton and staff are "very hopeful" that this Black Friday will be an improvement over the last several years, Dalton said. "We're anticipating a big weekend." Over at Burlington Tire Service on South Church Street, Manager Eric Harrell also expects a profitable Friday.

The morning of the day after Thanksgiving is typically strong, he said, with a number of customers bringing in the cars and trucks for service, and to a lesser extent, new tires for those traveling out of town.

Harrell said the business didn't do any special promotions for Black Friday.

"We've just got everybody working," he said.

Harrell who's been at he store since 2002, said "it's hard to say" whether this Black Friday will outpace those of the past few years. "I hope it's better than last year, but I just don't know if it will be like it was in the past." The traffic and the vino are already flowing strong during the holiday wine sale at Warehouse Beverage on Pravas Lane off N.C. 54 in Graham.

"I'm jamming right now, and it's only Wednesday," said Warehouse owner Stuart Latham.

Latham said he gets much of his traffic off nearby I-85/40. Like Dave's Discount Furniture, Latham says he tries to keep his store fully stocked at all times.

Retailer Suzette Potter is hoping Black Friday sales will mark a strong start to the Christmas shopping season, but she worries that it might not. "Things have obviously been slower the whole year, throughout the year, versus years' past," she said. "Christmas seasons (over the last couple of years) haven't been what they have been." Potter and husbandWalter Potter own The Wireless Solution stores on South Main Street in Graham and Mebane Oaks Road in Mebane.

In addition to the promotions offered by cell phone companies, the Potters are offering discounts on phone accessories to entice customers to buy at both stores between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Friday.

In addition to the downturn in the economy, local shoppers have increasingly gone to big box retailers instead of smaller, locallyowned stores, Suzette Potter said.

"People don't realize that you get the personal customer service and stuff here that you can't get at the big box store," she said.

Things look promising for the Potters, though, judging from traffic Wednesday at both Wireless Solution stores. They were so busy helping customers, only Suzette Potter could break away for a couple of minutes to talk.

And speaking of larger retailers, busy was the word Wednesday at the Belk store at Alamance Crossing. Manager Stephen Kane said he expects a crowd of 30 to 50 to gather by the time his store opens at 3 a.m. Friday.

Belk will offer free gift cards for the first 250 customers. The cards will range in value from $5 to possibly as high as $1,000, he said.

More than 200 "early bird specials" spread across all departments Deep discounts, and deep discounts of "well-over 50 percent off," and will greet customers, Kane said.

To see more of the Times-News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.thetimesnews.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Times-News, Burlington, N.C.

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