Black Friday begins tonight

By Jonathan Hunley News & Messenger
Published: November 26, 2008

You've got to hand it to Potomac Mills for truth in advertising: When mall executives say stores there will be open on Black Friday, they really mean it.

The earliest of early-bird customers can start shopping at midnight tonight, and the doors won't close until 10 p.m. Friday.

"We're prepared for very large crowds," said Caroline Barry Green, director of mall marketing at Potomac Mills mall.

Large crowds will be the norm at retailers large and small on Black Friday, considered the beginning of the Christ-mas shopping season and so named because it kicks off the time of year when many stores are "in the black," or turning a profit.

Specifically, up to 128 million consumers may look for bargains this weekend, according to a survey done for the National Retail Federation. That means Potomac Mills' midnight opening will be but one gimmick shopkeep-ers will use to entice willing spenders.

The decision to open late at night instead of the usual early in the morning was made after other Mills properties found success with the formula, Green said. She said Concord Mills—Potomac Mills' sister operation in the Charlotte, N.C., area—has done it for the past two years, to the delight of retailers and customers alike.

The increased hours give shoppers more options, Green said. For example, she said crowds may hit stores right at midnight, then tail off about 4 a.m. when some big-box retailers will open, and then pick up again between 6 and 7 a.m.

"That's the pattern that the other markets have seen," Green said.

In addition to the early opening, Potomac Mills will give away compact fluorescent light bulbs to the first 200 cus-tomers, providing complimentary massages and serving up coffee during an "Eleventh Hour" break from 11 a.m. to noon.

"It's going to be a lot of fun," Green said.

Indeed, she said if she wasn't working, she'd drive a half-hour to Potomac Mills just to get the bar-gains, some of which won't be announced until midnight.

Midnight openings have been a trend for the past couple of years, but fewer retailers will employ them this year, said Kathy Grannis, spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation, the world's largest retail trade associa-tion.

Say a typical Black Friday has customers arriving at 6 a.m., Grannis said. Opening at midnight means an additional six hours of costs for everything from employees to electricity.

"There's a lot of things that go into an almost-24-hour opening," she said.

Individual retailers may not be opening at midnight, but they'll still welcome folks at an early hour. For example, JCPenney and Kohl's will open at 4 a.m., Grannis said, while Best Buy and Wal-Mart will see their first customers at 5 a.m.

"Four a.m. I can officially say is early," Grannis said.

The 128-million-shoppers figure is down from last year's Black Friday estimate of 135 million, but the Na-tional

Retail Federation hopes that the recent downturn in gasoline prices will spur buying. The money that would have gone to Sunoco could go to Saks Fifth Avenue, the thinking goes.

The uncertain economy, though, has Leticia Click unsure of what may happen Friday. Maybe consumers, eager to make sure every penny goes as far as possible, will turn out for deals. Maybe they'll stay home in an effort to save.

"I am totally puzzled," said Click, marketing director at Manassas Mall.

If they do come to the mall, they can come early. Openings at anchor stores will vary, but mall entrances will take spenders at 8 a.m., two hours earlier than normal, and doors will close at 10 p.m., a half-hour later than usual. Same goes for Saturday, Click said. On Sunday, Manassas Mall will open an hour early, at 10 a.m., and close at 7 p.m.

The mall also will have a holiday atmosphere, Click said, featuring a live appearance Saturday from WMZQ-FM as part of the country radio station's "Coats for Kids" drive. A disc jockey will broadcast from 1 to 5 p.m. and collect coats for needy children.

Staff writer Jonathan Hunley can be reached at 703-369-5738.