Shoppers Are Out As Early As 4 A.M.,

With Most Retailers Seeing Brisk Sales

From Staff Reports

From the number of early-morning shoppers and the comments of pleased retailers on Friday it would be difficult to believe there is an economic downturn.

Several major retailers surveyed Friday morning, the traditional kickoff for the holiday shopping season, reported better crowds than news about the overall national economy had led them to believe would be the case.

And there was no lack of pre-dawn shoppers.

Wal-Mart

Buddy Kolb, manager of the Wal-Mart Supercenter, reported "a much bigger crowd than we normally have" in the early morning hours on Friday.

Wal-Mart is open 24 hours per day, but advertised day-after Thanksgiving sales did not go into effect until 5 a.m.

The store hired several off-duty law enforcement officers to patrol inside the store, in uniform. Five marked patrol cars were parked conspicuously outside.

"This morning, crowds far exceeded what we have experienced in the past," Kolb said.

The manager said many customers came to Wal-Mart an hour or more before 5 a.m., filled shopping carts with sale items such as flat-screen TVs and electronics that were on sale, then waited in line to check out until 5 a.m. when cash registers were remotely programmed to show sale prices .
Kolb said movies and video games were hot sellers, "but they always are" at Christmas, as are toys.

"This year, apparel" such as "hoodie" sweatshirts, jeans and "bubble jackets" were big sellers too, because of low sale prices, he said.

J.C. Penney

At the J.C. Penney store in the Greeneville Commons, "We were really busy at 4 a.m.," when the store opened said store manager Kathy Martin.

"Shoppers were lined up out the door," Martin said, at least in part because the first 250 people received Mickey Mouse snow globes, whether they bought anything or not. "We ran out in the first hour," Martin said.

She said shoppers were looking for fleece clothing, leather jackets, flannel pajamas, and "tons of pillows and towels," that were featured in an advertising booklet.

Martin said she was pleasantly surprised at the pace of shopping. "The way the economy is, and what everybody's been saying in the news, I thought (shopping) might be down, but so far we're doing great."

Belk

David West, interim manager at the Belk store in the Greeneville Commons, said shoppers were lined up when the store opened at 5 a.m.

A shopper at another store was overheard to say the line outside Belk "stretched to Kmart."

The 5 a.m. attraction was "gift cards of various values," ranging from $5 to $100. Shoppers "scratched off" a paint strip to find the value.

West said early traffic for the day after Thanksgiving this year was "much better" than last year.

Big Lots

At Big Lots on the 11E Bypass, store manager Gary Flanagan said the store "probably had 100 people" lined up outside the front doors shortly before it opened at 6 a.m.

A Magnavox DVD/VCR recorder selling for $79.99 was sold out within two hours of the store opening, according to Flanagan. Cookie Monster and Ernie dolls for $5 each were also selling briskly, he said.

At about 8:15 a.m., Flanagan said, "The response of the early morning was really great. Last year, it was kind of a slower start."

Kmart

When the Greeneville Kmart in the Greeneville Commons opened at 6 a.m., at least 243 people were lined up and waiting, said store manager Rick Jones.

Early-bird shoppers were after flat-screen TVs and a VCR/DVD combo, Jones said, but shoppers did not just concentrate on electronics and jewelry, the traditional big sellers on the day after thanksgiving.

Shopper interest was "pretty widespread," he said.

Kmart was open on Thanksgiving day, for the second year, and Jones said volume "was a sizeable increase" above last Thanksgiving.

"If we just look at the last two days, it doesn't look like we've got an economic problem," Jones said.

Jones pointed out that this year's Christmas shopping season is almost a week shorter than last year. The season usually starts the day after Thanksgiving, but last year Thanksgiving fell on Nov. 22, and this year it was Nov. 27.

Goody's

At Goody's Family Clothing, manager Tammy Bowles said most shoppers wanted toys and quilts ($17.88) in addition to apparel. "We had a lot of men's clothing priced at $8.88," she said, of other items popular with shoppers.

When Goody's opened at 4 a.m., "shoppers were down the sidewalk both ways," she said. "We're having a good day," she said at 9 a.m., with lines of shoppers at all check-out stations. "Hopefully it stays that way," she said.

Bowles said Goody's began extending its shopping hours a week ago, and was open on Thanksgiving day for the first time since 1993.

Bowles said only 92 customers came in on Thanksgiving day between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. "We made our sales plan" for the day, meaning the store reached its target, Bowles said. But she also said that most shoppers on Thursday seemed to be "pre-shopping" for Friday, rather than buying.

Sears

Shortly before 5 a.m., about 20 people stood silhouetted against the interior bright lights of the Sears store on the 11-E Bypass waiting for the doors to open.

When the doors did open, customers rushed in to snatch up Craftsman tools and other discounted items.

Jan Reynolds, of Mosheim, who said he arrived around 4:50 a.m., bought a car jack and set of wrenches.

He said what inspired him to get to the store so early was "the 50 percent off" sale items. He added, "Some stores opened at 4 a.m. That's real early!"

Later, at 8:20 a.m., the store's owner, Pam Bargman, said a Kenmore combination washer and dryer set, selling for $559.99, was likely the biggest seller.

"It's been a great morning," she said. She admitted that prior to Friday, business at the store "has been kind of slow because of the economy."

She predicted Craftsman tools would be the store's biggest sellers in December.

Hibbett Sports

Tracy Keyes, the "head coach" (manager) at Hibbett Sports in the Greeneville Commons, said the store opened at 6 a.m., but did not have a big crowd then.

Traditionally, she said, the big surge at Hibbett comes around noon. "People comes in to buy shoes," she said, or athletic gear. Maybe, after shopping from before daylight, they just want to sit down.

The sporting goods store had a "buy one pair and get another pair for half price" sale on footwear, Keyes said, as well as several sections of sale-priced shoes.

Most of the team gear is purchased at other times of the year, usually when seasons start, but some Christmas shoppers are looking for something with the logo of a favorite team to give to a fan, Keyes said.

Tractor Supply Company

At Tractor Supply Company, at about 8:30 a.m., store manager Andy Youngblood said the store was "probably a little busier" compared with the same time last year on Black Friday.

"If it'll stay that way all day, we'll be tickled to death," Youngblood said.

Large gun safes were "surprisingly" the most popular items, he said. Other popular items included outerware for hunters, jackets and coats.

Staples

At Staples, more than 25 people were in the store browsing for bargains around 8 a.m.

Manager Sheree Thomas said laptop computers, GPS systems and computer hard drives were the most popular items.

Thomas declined to state how sales on Friday compared with last year's sales on the same day.

Bob's Factory Outlet

"We've done pretty good. We're ahead of a year ago," said Bob Weaver, owner of the four Bob's Factory Outlet stores in Greeneville.

Furniture, in particular recliners and loveseats, were popular items. "We've sold quite a bit of furniture," Weaver said.

Other popular items included Samsonite step-stools and cookware sets.

Ace Hardware

At Ace Hardware on West Main Street, approximately 20 customers were waiting outside for the doors to open at 7 p.m., said manager David Dean.

The store's most popular item, Dean said, was a GPS unit selling for $109.99, with a $30 rebate. Also moving briskly were pet beds selling for $5.99 and $9.99, Dean said.

"We're doing better than last year,'' Dean said.

Gilley's Western Store

"We are doing great right now," said manager Sherina Jones. Justin boots were the most popular items, she said.

Jones predicted the Justin boots, kids' boots and Carhartt jackets, bibs and coveralls would be the biggest selling items.

Roberts Furniture

As they do each year on the Friday following Thanksgiving, representatives of two furniture stores mentioned that normally their holiday business starts closer to Christmas.

At Roberts Furniture, Appliances, Accents, Sid Warren, a salesman, said Friday morning had been "pretty busy, steady, and that's good."

That was echoed by his manager, Pam Johnson, who said the store had had a good day, but "our business today has been normal business. Our holiday business has not yet started."

Ross Furniture

Across town at Ross Furniture & Bedding Inc., Kathy Ross said that she and her co-owner, husband Gary, had just been discussing the fact, around lunchtime, that their Friday-after-Thanksgiving business had been better then normal.

"We are pleasantly surprised," she said. Bedding and recliners are "what we've sold today. Yes, for Christmas. I'm very thankful," she said.

She also stressed that most years, their holiday business starts "usually a few days before Christmas."

Anderson's Fine Jewelry

Albert Anderson, owner of Anderson's Fine Jewelry & Gift Distributors, said that the store was quite busy Friday morning, which he noted was rather unexpected in light of the economy.

Anderson said that overall he believes this year will be less than last year.

"So far," he said "jewelry in the white metals, silver, etc., are by far the most popular."

Jewelers Market

David Parker, owner of Jewelers Market, said that his store, beginning on Monday, has been busy.

Due to the very positive traffic flow thus far, he stated that he is optimistic that in the next weeks leading up to Christmas, sales will be good.

Parker said that he has also been busy with repairs and that diamond jewelry, particularly bridal jewelry, along with diamond studs and diamond pendants, have been very popular.

He added that he feels the hometown retailers need to "hang in there" and try to withstand the economic crunch.

Greeneville Credit Jewelers

Ronald Rouse, of Greeneville Credit Jewelers, said that the store's repair business continues to be good.

He said that he didn't have a good feel for what pre-Christmas shopping would bring.

Legacy Fine Jewelers

Business was good Friday morning at Legacy Fine Jewelers, which opened Sept. 29 this year in the Greeneville Commons, said Fay Barnes. She and her husband, Rick Barnes, are the owners of Legacy Fine Jewelers.

She said one could sense the hesitation and cautiousness of the customers in light of the present economy, and that it will be a surprise if sales are better than last year. (She was a manager for Friedman's Jewelry prevviously.)

Engagement rings, bridal jewelry, the tapestry design (silver and 18-carat gold) and colored stones appear to be in the "top-seller" bracket for this year, she said. "After all," Ms. Barnes noted, "people are still falling in love and have to have diamonds!"

Staff Writers Tom Yancey, Nelson Morais, Velma Southerland and Connie Cobble as well as Assistant Managing Editor Rich Jones contributed to this report.