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Dear Friend,
Hope you're having a great Thanksgiving weekend.
***
I actually spent Thanksgiving Day with my family in Sioux
Falls, South Dakota. My brother and dad are operating a cart
there.
On Friday morning at six am, I went out with them to the mall
to help with the sales.
I couldn't stay all day; I had to leave back for Minneapolis
at two in the afternoon.
The following morning, on Saturday, I awoke to read this
headline in one of the Twin Cities daily papers:
"Black Friday Blues"
The article opined as to whether this might be the worst
holiday spending season in 30 years.
And it prominantly quoted a couple of shoppers that stayed
home due to the economy.
However, I got the distinct feeling that the author of the article pre-wrote the article beforehand, and simply found a couple of apt quotes to fit the story.
That's because my experience at the mall on Black Friday, and all the reports I'm hearing, are quite a bit different than the blues...
The Sioux Falls mall my brother and dad were open at was packed from the moment my dad and
I arrived at 5:30 am. With shoppers who had bags. And who were spending money.
My brother and Dad surpassed their last year's Black Friday sales total by NOON.
By the time I had to pack up and leave at two pm, it was
clear that they were on track for their best day of this
season... .
I've heard similar stories from everyone that I've talked
with in the last couple of days.
***
Later on Saturday, after I returned home, I caught more snippets from the news
that seemed to paint a much different picture than the
blues....
Reports from the Mall of America said that traffic was
busier than it's been 15 years.....
And on the 11 o'clock news, reports came in saying that
overall, retail spending on Black Friday was UP 3% this
year over last.
***
Which is all why we open for Christmas....
The 800 ton freight train of holidays.
Almost impossible to slow down.
***
One retail analyst put it like this when asked about his
prediction for Christmas sales this season... back
when the we were in the midst of the October economic
scare...
"My prediction: We WILL have a Christmas!"
***
But perhaps my favorite quote came from a woman here in
the Twin Cities, near the end of the 'Black Friday Blues'
article...
The quote came from a woman who was losing her computer consulting job at
the end of the year....
"I've cut back in other ways, but Christmas is going to be Christmas. I love Christmas! And I love giving
presents!"
Which sounds to me like the key message of this last
weekend...
***
So... what was your weekend like?
Boom or Bust?
If you get the chance, shoot me a quick email to fill me in. I'll try to share some of the responses!
** Read folks responses here **
Brady Flower
612-605-1115
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