Local retailers and their staffs gear up for Black Friday

BRISTOL, Va. – Jordan Perrigan will be at the Sears store in the Bristol Mall before 3 a.m. Friday, but he doesn’t plan to shop. For the fourth straight year, Perrigan will spend most of "Black Friday" working during the busiest retail shopping day of the year.

"Right when the store opens, it’s pretty exciting to see hundreds of people come rushing in," Perrigan said while filling displays with hand tools.

Like most of the store’s employees, he is scheduled to work 12 hours on Friday, from 3 a.m. until 3 p.m. Doors are scheduled to open at 5 a.m.

"It goes by really fast," he said. "It can be pretty interesting."

Preparations for Friday actually began weeks ago, Sears store manager Priscilla Hagy said.

"We started in mid-September getting our stock in for Black Friday," Hagy said. "We started really preparing this week, getting items into the store. It’s difficult to explain just how much work it is."

A majority of the store’s staff has spent long hours preparing displays, loading stock and double checking details. The work was to continue until late Wednesday, Hagy said.

In the tool department From Page B1

where Perrigan works, a number of Friday morning "door-buster" specials were in place but covered up on Wednesday afternoon.

Like many retailers, Sears has a number of special values to entice early-risers, but other discounts all day for those who don’t want to shop so early.

"About half our [customer] volume will be here between 5 a.m. and noon. People start coming in around 10 who are after appliances because we have a lot of really good deals there," Hagy said. "We’ve scheduled a full staff, and 75 percent of our associates will be here at 5 to open the doors."

The volume of shoppers typically slows by 6 p.m., Hagy said.

Sears won’t catch the earliest risers, however, as JC Penney is scheduled to open its mall store at 4 a.m., Heather Hill, mall marketing director, said. Belks and Kay-Bee Toys are also scheduled to open at 5 a.m.

"JC Penney has been the leader in store holiday hours," Hill said. "Mallwide, merchants are required to be open at 8 a.m. If they want to open earlier, they can."

A national retail slowdown is expected to prompt deeper discounts during the crucial Christmas shopping season, Hill said.

"This fall has been slow. It’s the economy, and its the weather," Hill said. "It’s hard to sell winter clothing like coats, hoodies and sweat suits when its 70 or 80 degrees outside."

Hagy said her store has had a good sales year, and she expects it to continue through the holidays.

Not everyone is going shopping on Friday. Randy Fletcher and his wife Robin were making their rounds Wednesday, because the Grundy, Va., residents have to work on Friday.

The couple emerged from Kay-Bee Toys carrying a large white bag with gifts for their son Devin.

"We’ve just started," Randy Fletcher said. "After this, we’re going to Target, Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club."

The crowds were also considerably smaller on Wednesday, Robin Fletcher said.

But does starting work at 3 a.m. ruin Thanksgiving? Not really, Perrigan said.

"It just depends on how you look at it. You just try to forget it," he said.

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