BLACK FRIDAY...Does it give you the BLUES??

I took this photo at Pacific Centre. It never ceases to amaze me how PACKED this Apple Store always is. If you counted customers in every single store in the mall, I bet that the customer count at Apple would be DOUBLE!! That consistent fullness reminds me of shopping in the US...even with the current recession.

Black Friday is coming up. I was at the movies yesterday, and came across an article in the Georgia Straight, in the travel? section.( www.straight.com Nov 4 to 11) The article talked about the opportunity for Canadians to head south on November 26th to partake in a multitude of bargains. Having been a small retailer myself, I don't necessarily agree with the rationale behind encouraging people to travel across the line to patronize stores that are so much bigger, and able to offer discounts that are largely unheard of here. But the article got me thinking about the actual Black Friday event. Canada does not have anything in our Retail world that even compares. The idea that one day of the year , outside of boxing day, all across the country would be devoted to shopping, AND bargain hunting, is an intriguing concept. From having a store in a small strip mall, to having a store on a streetfront, I know the difficulty involved in getting one's Retail neighbours to work together on ANYTHING!! Just imagine if someone floated the idea at a national level, of a day devoted to shopping! Black Friday has survived wars and recession, and serves as a day to look forward to by millions of consumers in the US who want to participate in an event that elevates shopping to a new level. The millions of dollars that are pumped into the economy, and the millions of customer service people who are employed specially for that day...or who can look forward to overtime...is staggering. Do the Retailers make money? It depends on your business, and it depends on the volume of items you are able to move. Does Black Friday create awareness of your brand, your location, your level of customer service...You bet it does!

I think that too often we Canadians judge the US for their level of consumerism. Maybe this year, it's time you headed down to judge for yourself. If you are in Retail, the bottom line is you want to make money. Black Friday has gone from a shopping day to an industry, involving hotels, tour companies, and restaurants. I think we could all benefit by inventing our own Black Friday...after all, there is no reason we have to reinvent the wheel...we just have to learn from our competitors.