Fred Harteis News Articles - Black Friday: Bargains make it busy

Fred Harteis News Articles - Bargain-hungry shoppers raced to malls as early as midnight to be the first in line to grab the best of retailers' so-called doorbuster deals on Black Friday - an early indication that the 2006 holiday shopping season was off to a solid start.

Impatient shoppers were chanting, "Open the door!" shortly before a 5 a.m. opening at a Wal-Mart store in Union, N.J.

Some malls around the country ignited the shopping frenzy at the stroke of midnight as Thanksgiving turned into Black Friday. Retailers got a boost from generally favorable weather throughout the nation.

The Citadel Outlets Center in Los Angeles County, Calif., held a "Moonlight Madness" event this year with some stores opening their doors at 11 p.m. Thursday.

Anita Boeker, Citadel Outlets' marketing director, said the Old Navy store already had a long line of people outside it by 11:30 p.m. Thursday.

Black Friday frenzy from coast to coast
"By the time the store opened, they were facing overcapacity," she said. "Our parking lots are filling up quickly and it's only 3 a.m."

The Hamilton Place Mall in Chattanooga, Tenn., opened at 5 a.m. According to spokesman Jeff Odom, throngs of shoppers crowded into the mall over the first hour to get an early start on the 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. "early bird" discounts ranging from 20 percent to 50 percent in specialty stores such as teen clothier Aeropostale.

"So far it's looking like a good and early start to Black Friday, characterized by very calculated shoppers," said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst with NPD Group.

"Everybody is very focused on the discounts. People are going to stores with Black Friday circulars in their hands," Cohen said.

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Source; Cnn.com

About Fred Harteis: Fred Harteis leads Harteis International. Fred Harteis has a background in agriculture and has created many successful business ventures.