Black Friday sales here good

Dec 01, 2008 (The Fort Morgan Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- WMT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- The current economy apparently did not keep Morgan County shoppers from buying locally this year, as many downtown businesses seemed to be making plenty of sales on Black Friday.

About 15 customers were waiting outside the door before JCPenney opened at 4 a.m. Friday, said Store Manager Kevin Hall.

Early in the day, he said, a customer counter indicated that more people were walking through the doors than on Black Friday in 2007.

The success of JCPenney may have been due to the store's early-bird doorbuster sales, which concluded at 1 p.m., Hall said. Several high-value coupons also went into effect at 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, he said.

The customers at JCPenney were purchasing clothing on Friday for men, women and children alike, Hall said.

"They're buying in all areas," he said.

Hall said he was originally concerned that the recent drop in gas prices would encourage some local people to make shopping trips to the Front Range, but he was happy to be proved wrong.

Down Main Street at the Oak Tree, the low price of gas may have even worked to the local store's benefit on Friday.

"We've seen a lot of Front Range people," said Oak Tree clerk Connie Hill.

She said the Front Range shoppers told the staff at the Oak Tree that they could not find a similar store in the city.

Hill said early Friday afternoon that the Oak Tree had been busy since it opened at 8 a.m., and only two of the 10 or 12 end tables on sale remained.

"It's been steady," she said. "It's been busy, and people are in good spirits."

Book Nook Owner Bonnie Newton said she also saw a steady stream of customers into the early afternoon Friday.

The store has received heavy customer traffic since early November, she said, and she expects the sales to continue.

"I think sales are going to continue on through the season," she said. "...They started before Thanksgiving."

Business Mart owner Rhonda Staley credited her store's good Black Friday fortune to the buy-one-get-one-free sales held throughout the day. The sales will continue on Saturday, she said.

"We've been very busy since we opened," she said Friday. "...If you have good specials, they'll come in."

At Brown's Shoe Fit Co., Manager Steve Dunn apologized that his Black Friday customers were keeping him too busy to pause for an interview with The Fort Morgan Times.

The strong retail traffic was not confined to the downtown shopping district.

Fort Morgan's Wal-Mart store got an early start to Black Friday and was still doing brisk business Friday afternoon.

"The parking lot was absolutely full at 5 o'clock in the morning," said assistant manager Randy Baker.

Baker said business was stronger than that of at least the last two years on the day after Thanksgiving.

"I'd say all morning we were busier than normal," he said. "We've had all our registers running since 5 -- except the one we broke."

Whether Friday's strong business is a good sign for the rest of the holiday shopping season remains to be seen, Baker said.

"I hope so, but you don't know," he said. "Either that or people are more interested in getting the bargains this year, one of the two -- but you never know."

Wal-Mart started a two-day sale promotion Friday that will continue into Saturday, he said.

Kent Shaw, store manager of Murdoch's Home and Ranch Supply, said the store was "definitely busier than normal" on Friday morning.

Murdoch's did not open early or have special Black Friday hours, Shaw said, but everything storewide was being offered at 20 percent off Friday.

Even for the day after Thanksgiving the store was busier than usual, he said, which he took as a good sign for the holiday shopping season.

"I think we'll have a good one," Shaw said.

-- Contact Jesse Chaney at farm@fmtimes.com.

To see more of The Fort Morgan Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.fortmorgantimes.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Fort Morgan Times, Colo. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

More News:   Market Updates | Stock Alerts | All Trading News | Stock Index