Published: November 18, 2007 02:08 am      

Black Friday approaches

Area stores brace for biggest day of the shopping season

FAIRMONT — The day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday, kicks off the traditional Christmas shopping season in the United States. Falling on Nov. 23 this year, Black Friday is approaching quickly for area businesses.

The Meadowbrook Mall in Bridgeport fills up and gets pretty crazy on Black Friday, marketing director Robin Urquhart said. To be ready, the mall tries to have enough staff on hand to keep the food court and restrooms clean.

It also ensures that all the doors are unlocked early. The mall and most of its stores open at 6 a.m. on Friday, but some individual department stores vary and open earlier.

Although the Meadowbrook Mall experiences “a huge influx of traffic” that day, it doesn’t necessarily see a huge increase in purchases, Urquhart said. People are often rushed while shopping because of the crowds.

However, the mall has growth in sales during the holiday season. It especially notices a hike in gift certificate sales.

“(Stores are) hoping that holiday season is going to put them over the top and increase sales profits,” Urquhart said. “Definitely, that’s our biggest sales season.

“You have a lot more people and a lot more issues, but it’s a fun time here. We try to enjoy it as much as we can.”

The Middletown Mall in White Hall contains mainly offices and services and doesn’t have much retail, said Betty Schmidt, mall manager and marketing director. For this reason, the mall doesn’t really feel an impact from Black Friday and keeps its normal hours. However, the retail stores in the building normally see an increase in crowds that day, she said.

Jonathan Rider, owner of Rider Pharmacy on Merchant Street in Fairmont, said his staff anticipates a rush on Black Friday and is ready for it. Plus, the shop likes to stay busy, he said.

The busy nature of the day after Thanksgiving is similar to Rider Pharmacy’s annual Christmas Open House, which sets the tone for the rest of the holiday season. Rider expects Black Friday to show equal or more success.

“It’s one of those days that you’ve just got to deal with,” he said. “We try to make the day as fun for our customers as we can.”

On Black Friday, the amount of sales is generally better than a typical day, and the store staffs a heavier load of workers, Rider said. Rider Pharmacy gets prepared by “deciding what sales we’re having, staffing our employees significantly, (and) making sure that we have all the product ready to go so that when we open up everything’s ready,” he said.

Sharon Belczyk, who owns Empire Gift Garden with her husband Paul, said Black Friday typically affects malls and other large stores more. In the afternoon after shoppers have visited the malls, the store starts to see its traffic pick up.

“They want to see something different and unusual, and that’s why they come to a store like ours,” Belczyk said.

“We offer great merchandise priced right every day. People don’t need to wait for a sale to come here.”

The downtown Fairmont business, located on Adams Street, experiences more of an impact from the Christmas season as a whole. Compared to the rest of the month of November, Empire Gift Garden generally sees an increases in sales on Black Friday, but this isn’t the store’s major selling day. The day after Thanksgiving kicks off the Christmas season, and sales improve throughout this holiday shopping time.

During Thanksgiving and Christmas, many out-of-state people who are visiting family come to Empire Gift Garden, Belczyk said. These persons look forward to stopping by the store during the holiday season and make it a tradition.

“We’re prepared every day for our customers,” Belczyk said. “We’re always ready to be of service to them. That’s the only way a small store can compete nowadays. You just have to compete with a better product or a better service.”

Duck Soup, also on Adams Street, may not get the masses of people that major department stores do on Black Friday, but it still has “a good clientele coming in.” Donna Gorbey-Michael, who owns Duck Soup with her sister-in-law Connie Cerullo, said people who don’t want to go to the malls and are looking for something different often visit their store.

During Black Friday, the store still tries to keep extra staff around in case additional help is needed.

Duck Soup’s annual open house at the beginning of November is a big business day, and the shop remains steady throughout the season, Gorbey-Michael said. This time of year is an exciting and fun time at the store.

“We don’t see a drastic change like other stores do,” she said. “From October to the end of December, we’re pretty busy.”

E-mail Jessica Legge at jlegge@timeswv.com.