Few ‘Black Friday’ issues reported

Published 3:15 pm Tuesday, December 2, 2008

By Adam Smith

The North Jefferson News



Last Friday was a rainy, gray day, but it didn’t keep thousands of shoppers in north Jefferson County from taking advantage of “Black Friday” deals at area retailers.

Store managers and public safety officials said for the most part, shoppers were calm and cooperative.

In Fultondale, people were lined up outside of stores at the Colonial Promenade shopping center in the wee hours of the morning awaiting the unlocking of doors.

Mayor Jim Lowery and members of the Fultondale City Council met with some shoppers who were waiting in line. Lowery said there were no major incidents reported at the shopping center and that shoppers were courteous and positive.

“We did everything we could to keep any major problems from happening,” he said. “We’ve tried to be proactive in everything we’ve done and the merchants handled the overload very well. It was a very productive weekend for all stores.”

The weekend also gave the Fultondale Police Department a chance to realize the full potential from the recently installed Mobile Command Center, located near Target. Lowery said officers working out of the center assisted shoppers with unlocking car doors and jumping off dead batteries.

Susan Aaron, manager of Maurices in Fultondale, said her business was good on Friday, but not as strong as last year. “We were selling a lot more of the sentimental things and necessities and not so much of the extravagant items,” she said.

In an Associated Press story published over the weekend, ShopperTrak RCT Corp., a Chicago-based research firm that tracks sales at retail stores nationwide, said Black Friday sales were up this year by as much as 3 percent, despite the ongoing recession. Sales figures in the south specifically were up 3.4 percent as compared to 2.6 percent in the northeast.

Nancy Dennis with the Alabama Retail Association said she had seen no official estimates on how Alabama retailers fared over the weekend, but she expected a positive report when figures are released in January.

“I know from going out and doing some shopping, it was very crowded,” she said. “We’re hopeful that it went well and that folks are doing some shopping. The retailers are likely hoping they broke even with last year.”

In Gardendale, Wal-Mart was again the hot destination spot for after-Thanksgiving sales.

Gardendale Wal-Mart manager Derek Freeman said he felt holiday days sales were good, despite the recession and having fewer days this year between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

“It will be a tougher year, but we’ll be fine if everyone hangs on and does what they need to do,” he said.

He said the hot items this year were televisions, electronics and computer accessories.

Freeman said there were no major problems reported from shoppers at the store, despite the fact that Gardendale Police officers working at the store had to intervene in minor shopping disputes.

Police officer Cliff Davis worked from 10 p.m. Thursday night to 10 a.m. Friday morning as part of a police detail shift, working with Wal-Mart’s security staff.

Davis, who was working in the electronics section, said Wal-Mart staff had roped off sections of sale merchandise prior to the 5 a.m. sale time. However, Davis said when the merchandise barriers came down, there was a rush for items.

He also said there were some disputes between shoppers on who was in line first. “We actually wound up tossing a coin over TVs,” he said. “it’s first come, first serve, so whoever won the coin toss got the TV.”

Most of the agitated shoppers were reportedly in the electronics section. However, despite a report aired on radio station WERC, Davis said no shoppers were arrested.

“The level of agitation this year seemed to be higher than in the past,” he said. “I’ve worked that shift just about every year. You feel bad for the employees down there more than anything else.”